Sustainable water management in Pakistan’s textile industry

Unsustainable industrial water consumption has become a massive environmental sustainability challenge. Discharge of untreated wastewater, lack of water-efficient technologies, and absence of recycling and reuse techniques are significant contributors to industrial water pollution. All industrial manufacturing operations and raw material production consume water extensively. Textile dyeing is considered the second-largest water polluter globally, with 20% of the world’s wastewater generated by the fashion industry alone. This is majorly due to large amounts of water used for textile manufacturing that is later discarded as wastewater without efficient treatment. Pakistan’s textile industry contributes 8.5% to the GDP, more than 60% to the country’s exports, and employs about 45% of the country’s labor force. However, the adoption of sustainable business practices, and not just the mounting export figures, can make the sector highly competitive in the global export market. Simply put, firms that are incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) components of sustainability in their business models are the only successful future businesses, as they devise stringent policies to reduce pollution and protect ecosystems. Pathways of influence Currently, the country’s textile sector is snowed under by extrinsic challenges, challenges including the government’s withdrawal of RCETs, as well as intrinsic issues of environmental and social sustainability. Major environmental concerns, including rising GHG emissions, unsustainable water consumption, and discharge of hazardous chemical effluents, that require the right financial allocations and technological advancements for control, are connected to the industry’s functioning. However, despite massive financial burdens resulting from the current government policies and climate change, environmental consciousness is not an overlooked philosophy anymore by the sector due to multiple factors of influence. International conventions on environment and climate change are among the foremost influencers that have shaped the sector’s policies toward decarbonization and water footprint reduction. Water stewardship, in particular, has emerged as a leading sustainability best practice, encouraged by these global treaties. These protocols, also mandated by the EU’s GSP+, have positively integrated the CSR concept into the industry’s manufacturing, whereby companies have willingly committed to ensuring sustainable water consumption and wastewater treatment on their sites. The international market and green preferences of the buyers are other known drivers of water stewardship, as they help gain competitive status and credibility in the export market. Textile firms are complying with these preferences through acquiring certification schemes, the absence of which triggers the boycott of products, ultimately harming the competitive status compared to other regional export leaders such as Bangladesh. Growing awareness among industry stakeholders regarding the benefits of water conservation has also scaled up the progress on water stewardship. Research shows that water conservation measures in the industry not only reduce production costs but also energy consumption, wastewater treatment costs, and pollutant load. It also ensures water availability for future use. Furthermore, the thoughtfulness to the fact that climate change as well as continuous unsustainable water withdrawal are exhausting the country’s natural water resources thus causing water insecurity, has also been central in upscaling water management in the sector.