Building Low-carbon and Sustainable Pathways for Tamil Nadu’s Leather and Footwear Sector
This conference proceedings captures key insights from a roundtable discussion held on November 5, 2025, in Chennai, focused on transitioning Tamil Nadu’s leather and footwear sector toward a low-carbon future. Bringing together government officials, industry leaders, research organizations and financial experts, the discussion explored how this export-oriented sector can maintain global competitiveness while addressing evolving environmental standards and resource constraints.
This document synthesizes a multi-stakeholder discussion on transitioning Tamil Nadu’s leather and footwear industry to sustainable, resource-efficient production. It highlights the sector’s economic importance amid challenges like high-carbon processing and supply chain emissions. Stakeholders urged actionable decarbonization pathways, including process innovations, circular practices, and digital tools, along with the need to align finance, technology, and capacity-building for MSMEs.
