There is substantial scope to generate economic, social and environmental gains in Pakistan by promoting a more sustainable industrial development pathway. This report Sustainable Industrial Development in Punjab, Pakistan focuses on the industrial province of Punjab that is home to over half of the country’s population. It argues that there are significant unexploited opportunities to reduce industries’ footprint, while improving their competitiveness, notably through firm-level investments in resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP), green investments in industrial estates, and the promotion of industrial symbiosis and resource circularity.
A more comprehensive approach to industrial resource use and pollution management is needed in Punjab. The focus of national and provincial authorities has traditionally been on industry compliance with environmental regulations, which remains low. This reactive ‘end-of-pipe’ approach focuses on managing downstream releases of already-formed contaminants in the air, water, solid waste, and soil.
The Government of Punjab (GoPunjab) should put sustainable industrialization at the center of its growth strategy and should modernize its policy toolkit for this purpose. Punjab’s Growth Strategy 2018 envisioned that growth must be private sector-led, investment-driven, export-oriented, environmentally sound, and employment-intensive. Developing an ambitious and integrated policy to green industries would be a strategic way to jointly achieve these objectives, and in so doing, Punjab could become a lighthouse for the rest of Pakistan.