• International fashion companies BESTSELLER and H&M Group have pledged to invest in the first early-development offshore wind project in Bangladesh.
•  The investment commitment was initiated by Global Fashion Agenda, which is in discussions with other fashion brands to join.
• The wind project in Bangladesh, developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), is projected to reduce emissions by ~725,000 tonnes annually.

5 December: Today, at COP28 in Dubai, non-profit organisation Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and international fashion companies BESTSELLER and H&M Group announce their intention to develop the first offshore wind project in Bangladesh, a project with the potential to significantly increase the availability of renewable energy in one of the fashion industry’s most important manufacturing countries.

More than 70% of the fashion industry’s GHG emissions come from upstream activities and current operations predominantly rely on non-renewable energy sources, such as petroleum, gas, oil, and coal. Changing the industry power supply to renewable energy requires new infrastructure solutions at scale. To ensure and accelerate decarbonisation, GFA is advocating collective investments by fashion brands in new renewable energy generation.

Today at COP28, BESTSELLER and H&M Group have pledged to invest in the first utility scale offshore wind project off the coast of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The groundbreaking energy project is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a global leader in renewable energy investments. Global Fashion Agenda has advocated the need for collective investments of fashion brands to secure large-scale, cost-effective supply of renewable energy in manufacturing countries, and GFA now calls for other fashion brands to co-invest in the wind plant and potentially future energy projects.

The offshore wind project is currently in early-stage development by CIP in collaboration with a local partner Summit Power. If development is successful, operations are expected to commence in 2028. The wind project would have an approximate capacity of 500MW, making it the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in Bangladesh to support the country in reaching its goal of supplying 40% of the nation’s power from renewable sources by 2041. The project is expected to contribute to substantial job creation, stabilise energy supply, and reduce emissions by approximately 725,000 tonnes annually.

The wind project has been identified as the first renewable energy project on such a large scale in the important fashion manufacturing region. Therefore, GFA is calling for stakeholders in the fashion industry and beyond to come together and engage in facilitating renewable energy solutions. Get in touch at impact@globalfashionagenda.org

Find out more about how to get involved in the renewable energy project here.

The Danish Pavilion at COP28 will host an event to launch the groundbreaking investment in Bangladesh on 6 December. More information can be found here.