Lahore, Pakistan, August 12, 2015
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Pakistan’s leading textile producer, Nishat Mills, reduce its environmental footprint and improve competitiveness by identifying opportunities for energy and water savings.
Pakistan's textile industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the country, employing more than 30 percent of the nation's workforce. But textile production and processing - which includes the washing, dyeing, and finishing - has a heavy environmental toll, consuming several billion liters of groundwater each year and a significant share of Pakistan’s industrial electricity.
Nishat, a premier composite textile mill, with Pakistan’s largest production facilities for spinning, weaving, processing, and stitching, wants to set the example and cut its own footprint. IFC’s Resource Efficiency Advisory program will provide the textile giant with an assessment of energy and water efficiency opportunities at its Lahore plant.
“IFC has unmatched data and resources and this allows us to accurately benchmark our performance with the best of the best global players,” Umer Mansha, Chief Executive Officer of Nishat Mills Limited, said. “Nishat values IFC’s expert and impartial opinions on resource efficiency.”
IFC advises clients on options to reduce operating costs, minimize waste, and decrease harmful environmental impact. Along with these recommendations, IFC will also offer Nishat an action plan with key priorities, investment estimates, and an implementation schedule.
“Pakistan’s textile sector is an important foreign currency earner, making up 8.5 percent of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product,” said Nadeem Siddiqui, IFC Country Manager in Pakistan. “It is also a key consumer of energy in a country presently being tested by a power crisis. For that reason, engagements helping first movers to address common challenges in energy and resource consumption are crucial.”
Pakistan represents IFC’s largest exposure in the Middle East and North Africa region. In the last three years, IFC has ramped up its investments and advisory services work to support the development of Pakistan’s private sector.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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