81282465-Services to strengthen capacities for sustainable management in the textile sector

The garment industry in Cambodia is still in need of a crucial modernization process, in which sustainable production is a success and a competitive factor. However, the basis of a holistic understanding of sustainability is lacking among stakeholders to shape this reform process and strategically develop the sector. The effective implementation of legislative and regulatory requirements for aspect such as social security, occupational health and safety, and preservation of the environment is progressing at a slow pace. In addition, the interaction between government, private economy and civil society is stalled by reservations and low acceptance. Increased compliance with sustainability standards promises to improve market opportunities while mitigating the social disruption and environmental damage in the country. To address these issues, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development commissioned the project "Sustainable textile industry in Cambodia". It shall support the textile industry in Cambodia in its transformation towards more sustainability and aims to have "[public] and private participants [...] increasingly [use] approaches for a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable transformation of the textile economy in Cambodia". The project focuses on improving the textile supply chain to a fair production for people and the environment. It identifies the common interests of key actors - in the factories, ministries, civil society, and international brand manufacturers - and brings them together with the aim of developing a shared vision of sustainability and promoting greater cooperation, including the improvement of compliance with social and environmental standards in the supply chain. Such an approach can pave the way for qualitative growth alongside price competition. Cambodia"s competitive disadvantages compared to other regional production countries can be changed by strengthening management capacities, which is one of the four main aspects of the project: "Output 4 - Service offers to strengthen sustainable management capacities in production are available". Challenges of the textile industry shall be addressed by strengthening management capacities in factories by local service providers. Although there are many stakeholders involved and service providers are available for certain topics in Cambodia, technical input is to some extend still depending on foreign experts since local service providers lack the respective capacities. Based on a demand and supply study, a good understanding of currently accessible service offers, and their quality should be identified. To achieve a clear picture of the potential sustainability of these service offers, it needs to be established which service offers factories would be willing to invest in (pay for), once they are on the portfolio of local service providers. The assignment"s goal is therefore to develop demand driven service offers and build the capacities of local service providers to deliver them to the Cambodian textile industry. The service offers shall concern business services focussing on productivity/quality management, social sustainability (e.g., working conditions, gender equality), environmental sustainability, digitalization of processes (e.g., wage digitalization) and/or human rights due diligence requirements (e.g., reporting on risk management).