IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has entered into a partnership with Levi Strauss & Co (, a leading jeans-wear manufacturer, to develop a global programme aimed at achieving environmental sustainability, a company press release says.

The programme will build on the extensive experience of IFC’s Bangladesh Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) programme, focusing on providing advice on implementing cleaner production practices in over 165 textile factories in Bangladesh. This is the first time that the IFC PaCT program will be implemented outside Bangladesh. Initially, a pilot is planned in six facilities in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

Said Michael Kobori, vice president of sustainability, Levi Strauss & Co that the company is pleased to be the first IFC partner to pilot its PaCT programme in additional countries. The goal of his company is to scale the practices globally to achieve greater reductions in water, energy and chemical use across our supply chain.

The global textile sector faces critical environmental challenges associated with water, energy and chemical use that leave a large footprint on the world’s environment. The implementation of cleaner production measures can reduce the use of natural resources, mitigate threats to humans and the environment, and promote greater overall efficiency through improved production practices.

Simple and low-cost measures could reduce water use by up to 20 per cent in factories and lead to savings in future infrastructure and operational expenditure, the release adds.

IFS aims to help Levi Strauss & Co reach this goal through cleaner production assessments and PaCT Advantage, a web-based diagnostic process to develop a roadmap for continuous improvement by suppliers. The results of the PaCT Advantage diagnostics can then be benchmarked across sites and countries.