Mongolia’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MOFALI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have held a technical consultation to address chemical management and promote greener supply chains in the country’s leather and cashmere sectors. The consultation, held in Ulaanbaatar on September 2, brought together government officials, industry representatives, academics and technical experts, including the Mongolian Leather Industry Association.

The discussions focused on policy and technical challenges affecting sustainable production across Mongolia’s leather value chain. Experts shared approaches covering safer chemicals management, circular economy practices, green materials, chemical inventories and life-cycle assessments.

Participants also discussed opportunities to reduce chemical risks, introduce cleaner production technologies and strengthen technical capacity within the leather and cashmere industries.

A key focus of the consultation was reducing the use of hazardous chemicals and expanding safer and more resource-efficient alternatives. Factory engineers, researchers and industry representatives contributed practical insights on production processes, chemical use and technology requirements.

The event was organised under the Global Environment Facility-funded “Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Supply Chains in Mongolia” project. The project is being implemented by MOFALI with support from UNDP and will run from 2025 to 2030.

The initiative aims to improve chemicals management, resource efficiency and environmentally sustainable production practices across Mongolia’s cashmere and leather sectors.

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