Importance of ISO 14001 to developing world tanners emphasised
The potential of the international environmental standard, ISO 14001, to enhance the competitiveness of developing world tanneries on a global scale has been thrown into sharp relief at a recent meeting of South Asian tanners.
Held in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, the four-day workshop brought together various leather industry representatives from across the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) region and saw a range of issues discussed including the growth of China, tariff barriers and emerging consumer demands in the developed world.
A recurrent theme was the growing importance of IS0 14001 to the continued development of the region’s tanning industry. One after another, speakers taking to the rostrum emphasised the role to be played by the standard not just in terms of enabling the industry’s environmental compliance, but also as a wider tool for improving its competitiveness.
The consensus was that against the backdrop of an increasingly globalised industry, the businesses assembled could no longer afford to regard the standard as being the sole preserve of first world tanners.
The point was highlighted at the opening of the workshop by
“In this context, the function to be performed by ISO 14001 is not just desirable, but an absolute necessity.” By way of reference, he pointed to the Bata-Atha tanning complex being built with the assistance of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in the Hambantota district of Colombo, and in which ISO 14001 is expected to play a leading role. “It (the development) will represent nothing less than a revival of the Southern economy,” the Minister said.
The theme was reinforced by Ms. Dilrukshi Wickrema of the Sri Lankan Export Development Board. She said that already, 25 tanneries worldwide had acquired ISO 14001certification while a further 15 were in the process of achieving the standard. The tanning industry of the SAARC region needed to get on board fast if it was not be overtaken, Ms Wickrema said.
Progress on other fronts was reported during the conference. With regard to the Bata-Atha complex, Mr C Batuwungau, chairman of the host organisation SLAT (Sri Lankan Association of Tanners) said he expected the first production units to be up and running by the middle of 2003. He said that between them, the fourteen tanneries relocating to the site were expected to invest around $20 million in civil works and new machinery, with all of them being served by CETP with a capacity of 1,500 cubic metres per day.
Mr Rafiqul Islam, assistant secretary of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce meanwhile disclosed that his government was likely to formulate a national leather policy before the end of the year, adding that Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Sia had already announced the relocation of 185 tanneries from Hazaribagh to a new zone in Savar, at a cost of $30 million. The site offered the scope for a CETP and damping yard for the treatment of around 5 million cubic metres of effluent per year, he said. At the same, he underlined the role to be played by the other SAARC-member nations in facilitating the introduction of cleaner technologies in
At the end of the conference, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, under which the assembled organisations pledged to increase presence in the world market for leather. Unsurprisingly, the attainment of ISO 14001 was identified as a key facilitator.
