WWF Pakistan has joined with the European Union and ILO in a project to implement International Labor and Environmental Standards (ILES) in the country. The program aims to improve the industrial sector’s competitiveness and strengthen the capacity of public sector to implement multilateral environmental agreements and national environmental laws and standards in Pakistan.

The ILES project’s mission is to contribute to improved environmental sustainability and worker livelihoods in Pakistan by supporting sustainable economic growth and development. Given the harmful levels of pollution discharged from numerous industries, the project will focus on an overall improvement in the sustainability of production and consumption practices, with a particular focus on water use and management in water-intensive small and medium enterprises.

The project aims at enhancing capacities of the textile and leather sector to adopt smart environmental management practices to reduce water and energy use, as well as hazardous chemicals, by 15 per cent to 20 per cent, in addition to addressing air and noise pollution and solid waste management.

Other objectives include reduction in energy consumption by enhancing capacities of the 500 textile and leather sector small and medium enterprises to reduce energy use by 15 per cent, promoting responsible production and consumption practices, and improving the livelihoods of workers by providing social protection.