VDS Group, an export-oriented apparel manufacturer with corporate offices in New York City and manufacturing headquarters in Bangladesh, has announced that its new Vintage Denim Studio manufacturing facility in Bangladesh has earned LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The 300,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is the first factory in Bangladesh to earn LEED certification, and, having achieved a LEED score of 90, is the first factory worldwide to achieve LEED-NC v3 status.

The facility treats and reuses 100 percent of its wastewater, and has installed a stormwater management system and water-efficient landscaping and fixtures, with expectations of achieving water savings of 46 percent. It is equipped with a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic panel that provides 13 percent of its total energy, and the company has installed energy-efficient fixtures and other design features that are expected to cut energy consumption by 45 percent. The facility also sends no waste to landfills. Other environmental initiatives include a site design geared to controlling erosion and sedimentation, heat island reduction, use of non-fossil fuel vehicles, and monitors and controls to regulate water and energy consumption as well as carbon dioxide emissions and other chemicals and pollutants.

June 26, 2012