Bangladesh took an important step today toward establishing its national Sustainable Building Labelling System, as senior representatives from government, UN agencies, financial institutions, academia, professional bodies and the private sector gathered in Dhaka for a Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on the implementation of HBRI-DESH (Design for Environment and Sustainable Habitats).<\/p>\n
The workshop was led by the Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works (MoHPW), in collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements\u00a0Programme\u00a0(UN-Habitat), the United Nations Environment\u00a0Programme\u00a0(UNEP) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), under the project\u00a0Transforming the Built Environment through Sustainable Materials in Bangladesh,<\/em>\u00a0funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).<\/p>\n Discussions\u00a0centred\u00a0on the implementation of HBRI-DESH and its digital platform,\u00a0DESHboard, which together will serve as Bangladesh’s nationally developed labelling system for sustainable,\u00a0affordable\u00a0and climate-resilient buildings.<\/p>\n The inaugural session included Most. Ferdousi Begum, Additional Secretary and\u00a0Chairman\u00a0of the National Housing Authority; Mr. Asifur Rahman Bhuiyan, Chief Architect, Department of Architecture; and Dr. Giasuddin Haider, Director General of HBRI. A high-level panel, “Advancing Sustainable Buildings in Bangladesh: Policy, Institutional Pathways and Financing for HBRI-DESH Implementation,” brought together senior representatives from\u00a0MoHPW, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK), the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC), including Md. Abdul Awal, Deputy Secretary,\u00a0MoHPW, and Md. Ashraful Islam, Chief Town Planner, RAJUK, to discuss the policy, coordination and financing needed to scale the system.<\/p>\n The scale of the challenge underscores the urgency. According to the UNEP\/GlobalABC\u00a0Global Status Report 2025\u20132026, buildings and construction account for\u00a0nearly 37\u00a0per cent of global energy-related CO\u2082 emissions and around half of global material extraction. Bangladesh, among the world’s fastest-urbanising\u00a0countries, has seen its urban population\u00a0roughly double\u00a0in two decades and is projected to become majority-urban by 2037, with housing demand expected to reach 10.5 million units by 2030, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).<\/p>\n Participants represented a broad cross-section of stakeholders: government ministries and agencies, Bangladesh Bank and financial institutions, development partners, universities and research institutions, professional bodies such as the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) and the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), architectural firms, real estate developers, construction industry representatives, environmental experts and civil society\u00a0organisations.<\/p>\n HBRI-DESH is more than a technical framework \u2014 it is a nationally owned instrument that will help translate Bangladesh’s commitment to sustainable urban development into practical action. Through strong collaboration among government, the private sector and development partners, we can\u00a0establish\u00a0a credible and transparent system that promotes sustainable,\u00a0affordable\u00a0and climate-resilient buildings across the country,” said Most. Ferdousi Begum, Additional Secretary and\u00a0Chairman, National Housing Authority.<\/p>\n The consultation generated recommendations on governance, institutional coordination, financing mechanisms, capacity\u00a0development\u00a0and digital systems, which will directly inform HBRI-DESH’s implementation guidelines and a phased national rollout, including pilot initiatives and partnerships to encourage wider adoption.<\/p>\n The initiative supports Bangladesh’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and progress toward Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12 and 13, marking an important milestone toward a low-carbon, resource-efficient and climate-resilient built environment.<\/p>\n [ENDS]<\/strong><\/p>\n