Investigating major carbon emission sources in Myanmar’s garment industry

Myanmar’s garment industry, a growing global garment supply chain hub, contributes significantly to the country’s economy and carbon emissions. To fill the gap in technical studies in Myanmar’s garment sector, this study quantifies carbon emissions employing the Higg Facility Enterprise Module. It focuses primarily on resource and energy consumption in the main production stages, machinery use, and energy sources, using 2016–2024 data from 48 factories, from small-scale to large garment, footwear, and textile facilities. Diesel-powered generators and boilers, particularly those using natural gas (2705.73 MT), wood and biomass (1535.36 MT), and coal (1189.24 MT), are found to be the primary emission drivers, with small factories showing higher per-unit emissions due to reliance on inefficient systems. Extending generator use increases emissions by 6.09 MT/hour. Using non-energy-efficient clutch-type machines and incandescent lighting systems in the sewing production stage added to the factory’s carbon footprint by 118.41 MT and 99.24 MT, respectively. Knit sweater factories emitted the highest emissions among garment products at 3572 MT. Similar emission characteristics were found in other South and Southeast Asian countries where fossil-fuel-reliant industry practices are observed. The findings suggest targeted factory-level interventions in energy-efficient technologies, sustainable production practices, and nationwide improvements in power reliability are necessary to mitigate emissions. This article contributes to developing facility-level monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions in the garment industry to support climate change mitigation. • Diesel combustion generators and boilers are the main emission drivers. • 70 % of factories use fossil-fuel boilers, while 45 % rely on wood as a fuel source. • Sewing is the most energy-consuming stage in the C-M-P ready-made garment industry. • Clutch-type sewing machines and lighting systems contribute to higher GHG emissions. • Knit sweater factories emitted the highest GHG emissions among product groups.