Last fall, NRDC's Clean by Design program launched its Suzhou initiative by partnering with the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), which represents more than 30％ of global apparel production. NRDC encouraged the use of CBD's best practices and the Higg Index, the industry's sustainability ranking, in order to maximize efficiency and pollution reduction. By the end of June 2016, the Suzhou initiative completed its baseline investigation, provided tailored technical trainings, and performed expert on-site consultations to 26 dyeing and printing mills nominated by 10 multinational brands. Most importantly, all of the participating mills have created 2016 CBD efficiency improvement action plans that now are ready for implementation.