AII funded this project to build strong business cases for decarbonization in Tier 3 manufacturing, where significant emissions occur but fewer interventions have been tested. The project also aimed to demonstrate that sustainability improvements can enhance cost competitiveness and operational efficiency.
This project implemented Cleaner Production (CP) systems across 10 textile manufacturing facilities in India and Bangladesh, focusing on Tier 2 and Tier 3 processes, such as viscose filament production, spinning, knitting, and wet processing. The approach combined baseline assessments, identification of efficiency opportunities, implementation support, and monitoring through KPIs and dashboards.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR MATURITY LEVELSThe Cleaner Production approach is highly scalable as it combines low- and medium-cost interventions with strong returns on investment and builds internal technical capacity within factories. By generating replicable business cases and providing structured methodologies supported by dashboards and KPIs, the model can be applied across multiple processes and geographies. Scaling will require access to financing for higher-capex measures, continued technical support, and stronger brand engagement to drive adoption, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3. The project demonstrates clear potential to expand to hundreds of manufacturing facilities across major textile-producing countries.
Significant energy savings are achievable in Tier 3 facilities through relatively low-capital interventions, particularly around compressed air systems and motor efficiency. Common opportunities include reducing air leakage — which can reach 60% in some facilities but can be brought down to 10% through regular testing and operator engagement, optimizing the placement of air receivers to reduce compressor load during peak demand, upgrading to energy-efficient centrifugal compressors, and installing monitoring systems to track and improve compressor performance. On the motor side, replacing drives in humidification plants and spinning units that operate below standard efficiency thresholds with higher-efficiency class motors (IE3 or above) can close gaps of several percentage points, typically with simple payback periods of around three years or less.
