Where Bangladesh's next decade of business leadership begins.
Real cases from banks, factories, telecoms and ports, plus the keynotes and panel from ESG Bootcamp Bangladesh 2025. Read the highlights here, or download the full book free.
Prefer to browse first? See the 19 cases · Key insights
Published by ESG Institute Bangladesh in collaboration with North South University School of Business and Economics, for ESG Bootcamp Bangladesh 2025, the first and largest corporate bootcamp on sustainability and ESG held in the country.
Credit committees, classrooms and supply chains, not borrowed acronyms.
Tonnes of CO₂, megawatts, loan books and percentages, so you can see what changed.
Each case ends with a question to take back to your own industry.
"Sustainability is not framed as sacrifice. It is framed as a strategy. Governance is not paperwork. It is trust. And social responsibility is not charity, it is resilience."
Sadia Samira, Chairman, ESG Institute Bangladesh · EditorialDrawn from the keynotes and expert articles in the casebook. Figures are as cited in the book.
Bangladesh Bank data cited in the book: green financing rose from 4.0% (2020) to 15.2% (Sept 2024), while sustainable finance went from 8.0% (2021) to 39.2%.
In 2020 only 49 Bangladeshi companies published sustainability reports and just 11 aligned with GRI, against 498 reports in India.
Bangladesh Bank's sustainability and climate-related disclosure guidelines began phased implementation in 2024, with full compliance targeted by 2027.
The government estimates about USD 230 billion for nearly 100,000 adaptation projects, roughly USD 8.5 billion a year, with around 20% expected from private finance.
Bangladesh ranked 9th in the World Risk Report 2024, and lost an average 0.41% of GDP a year to climate events between 2000 and 2019.
Graduation phases out preferential trade benefits and concessional financing, so credible ESG performance becomes a market-access question.
The takeaway across the cases: energy, finance and governance are where Bangladeshi companies are moving first, and the ones that measure early are pulling ahead.
Pick a sector. Each card shows the headline results; the full story, with the lessons and the question each case leaves you with, is in the PDF.
Apex Footwear Limited
South Asia's first WRAP Gold shoe factory and the country's first LWG Gold tannery built a circular Derby shoe: leather traced end to end, recycled TPR, FSC packaging.
Agridew Biochar Ltd.
Bangladesh's first 500 kg/hour pyrolysis biochar plant turns rice husk and jute sticks into biochar, with transparent MRV aligned to Puro.earth.
PRAN-RFL Group (TEL Plastics)
Recycled plastic becomes furniture and household goods, fed by buy-back programmes and 12 collection centres heading to 100 by 2030.
Nilorn Bangladesh Ltd.
A garment-accessories maker cut Scope 2 emissions to zero through I-REC procurement and GHG Protocol market-based reporting, with no heavy capital outlay.
Fakir Fashion Limited
"Zero BESS" pairs rooftop solar with lithium-ion storage, replacing diesel backup and keeping lines running through grid outages.
Panam Group
Waste heat, servo motors, LEDs, rainwater harvesting and ETP reuse: a 25,000-employee exporter shows ESG is built in boilers, dyeing halls and rooftops.
Mutual Trust Bank
Since 2017 every medium and large corporate loan passes an exclusion list, site visits and environmental and social action plans before approval.
City Bank
First Bangladeshi bank in the UN Net-Zero Banking Alliance, with financed-emissions tracking, a Green Savings Account and 5,013 women entrepreneurs financed.
IPDC Finance
A PCAF-aligned Joint Impact Model measures financed emissions and steers capital to cleaner manufacturing and climate-smart agriculture.
IPDC Finance
With ActionAid and SAJIDA Foundation, climate-resilient farming in Lalmonirhat and rainwater harvesting in Mongla show resilience as responsibility.
IPDC Finance
Joyee, launched in 2018, built an ecosystem for women entrepreneurs: collateral-free loans, markets, training and Bangladesh's first women-focused sub-branch.
Robi Axiata PLC
Compliance rebuilt as muscle memory: a board risk committee, an e-sourcing platform and supplier ethics workshops.
Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd.
The Proyash Digital Classroom Initiative treats digital inclusion for children with special needs as a material ESG issue, not charity.
Grameenphone
With Plan International Bangladesh and Telenor, a digital inclusion project reached tea pickers, transgender youth and girls at risk of early marriage.
Confidence Group
Lean tools (Gemba walks, Pareto, 5 Whys, Poka-Yoke) cut defects in SPC poles that carry Bangladesh's electrification.
BSRM Wires Limited
A heavy steel factory runs partly on sunlight, with IoT monitoring and a group-wide 15 MWp renewable vision by 2026.
Interport Ship Agents Ltd.
One company refused a "special fee", kept evidence, reported to MACN Bangladesh and helped change the rules for the whole sector.
Swisscontact PROGRESS: IRIS
A Lindex supplier gets its first report, a carbon baseline and a roadmap, with Intertek as the consultancy and Sweden and Switzerland funding.
Swisscontact PROGRESS: Executive Greentex
A LEED Platinum knitting factory running on captive generators gets a solar feasibility study and Climate Action Roadmap.
The casebook collects editorials, keynotes, a closing panel and expert articles from the people shaping ESG in Bangladesh.
"This sort of program ensures a blend across industries, different mindsets of people and a proper framework regarding the establishment of ESG factors."
Galib Nakib Rahman, Senior Executive, Dhaka Stock Exchange"The ESG Institute is helping the country prepare to meet future ESG requirements."
Zahir Uddin Mohammad Babur Khan, Deputy Director, Government Affairs, Chevron Bangladesh"This bootcamp creates long-term reliability and sustainability in business for the stakeholders."
Mushfique Rahman Khan, Deputy Manager, Procurement and Inventory, BSRM10 pages from the casebook: contents, the keynotes, the panel and four of the cases.
Four short fields and the PDF is yours. We also email you the link.
First edition, 2025Yes. There is no price. We ask for your name, email, organisation and phone or WhatsApp number so we can send the file and, where relevant, tell you about ESGIB programmes.
A PDF of 80+ pages, readable on phone, tablet and laptop. Your download link appears right after you submit the form and is emailed to you.
Sustainability and finance teams, boards, consultants, lecturers and students who want Bangladeshi cases rather than imported ones. Lecturers are welcome to use it in class.
Apex Footwear, Agridew Biochar, PRAN-RFL Group (TEL Plastics), Nilorn, Fakir Fashion, Panam Group, Mutual Trust Bank, City Bank, IPDC Finance, Robi, Banglalink, Grameenphone, Confidence Group, BSRM, Interport, and two Swisscontact PROGRESS cases (IRIS and Executive Greentex).
Yes. The cases show practical ESG moves, from energy storage to financed-emissions tracking to anti-bribery systems, that apply in any emerging market.
Write to contact@esginstitutebd.com or WhatsApp +880 1790-327065. We will share how cases are selected.
Yes. See our corporate training and sustainability reporting services.
The Fundamentals of ESG & Sustainability9 chapters + 6 appendices · 200+ pages · 27 figures
A Guide to Sustainability Storytelling16 chapters · 200+ pages · real examples throughout
The AI Playbook for ESG & Sustainability Professionals128 pages · 9 chapters · 3 appendices · prompt libraryHivedemy turns ESG into short, hands-on lessons built and checked by professionals worldwide. Every lesson teaches first, then asks you to do the work, and every attempt gets a reason.
Nineteen cases. Real numbers. Free to download.
