AkijBashir Group has been onboarded as a member of RE100, becoming the first company from Bangladesh to join the global corporate renewable energy initiative led by Climate Group, said a press release on Thursday.
Through the commitment, the group is reinforcing its transition toward 100 per cent renewable energy across its operations.
RE100 brings together more than 400 businesses globally that have committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2050 at the latest. Members report progress annually, with renewable electricity claims reviewed against RE100’s technical criteria.
The commitment builds on existing investments across the Group’s particle board, ceramics, glass and other manufacturing facilities, where around 90 MW of solar generation capacity has been developed.
At Akij Ceramics in Trishal, a 24.39 MWp rooftop solar project is expected to generate approximately 28,050 MWh of clean electricity annually and reduce around 22,440 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. Of the total capacity, 10 MW has been connected to the national grid through net metering.
AkijBashir Glass in Habiganj has installed an 18.2 MW rooftop solar system supported by battery energy storage, helping the facility use solar-generated electricity beyond daylight hours. The facility also combines solar power with waste-heat-recovery steam-turbine generation, and the Group reports that 71 per cent of the facility’s energy is sourced from renewables.
At Janata Jute Mills, rooftop solar meets the mill’s full electricity demand, supported by battery storage. Akij Particle Board Mills has installed an 8.1 MWp rooftop solar photovoltaic system, expected to generate approximately 9.3 million kWh of clean electricity annually and avoid around 7,452 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.
The Group has worked with Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) on multiple renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and its manufacturing businesses continue to explore waste-heat recovery, water reuse, net metering and more efficient production technologies.
