Earth Day 2012 – Recognising Sri Lankan green companies

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Earth Day is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities.  Sri Lanka is one of the world’s least polluting countries, with a per capita carbon footprint that is diminutive in comparison to some of the world’s developed countries.

However this tiny island is now working towards helping planet earth to recover from the devastating harm caused to its environment. Building on a strong national heritage of environmental conservation, the country’s corporate sector is now stepping in to play a vital part in creating sustainable corporate practices.

Sri Lankan companies are now starting to take a leadership role in their respective categories by demonstrating their commitment towards helping save the earth’s environment.  Sri Lanka can now boast of having the first companies in Asia, in sectors such as IT, tea export, garments, BPO’s and Chambers of Commerce to be certified as CarbonNeutral through a recognised international certification process.

“More and more Sri Lankan companies are taking cognisance of the dire need to integratesustainability and environmental consciousness in their day to day operations,” says The Carbon Consulting Company COO Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne. “Many companies are choosing to totally offset their carbon footprint, while taking action to adopt the mitigation strategies to achieve long term sustainability.  This is response to the growing demand from increasingly well informed and ecologically conscious customers worldwide. The companies that are going to succeed in this low carbon economy of the future are the ones that build sustainability as an intrinsic part of their operational businesses.”

“Creating the first carbon neutral tea product in the world was an extension of ensuring that the values of our company are reflected in our products. In addition to reducing our energy costs, we also got tremendous publicity from this. Our clients are able to instantly see us an eco friendly company. This has been a great differentiator,” says Eswaran Brothers Exports (Pvt) Ltd Deputy Chairman and the driving force behind the World First CarbonNeutral  Tea Subramaniam Eassuwaren.

The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka became the first Chamber of Commerce in the country to become carbon neutral.  “In today’s business context the role of sustainability has risen to a pre-eminent position,” says NCCSL Secretary Sujeewa Samaraweera adding, “Companies across the globe are now recognising the fact that corporates have an undeniable role in helping mitigate climate change and carbon pollution. The world’s leading brands and corporates have declared outright their intention to cut their carbon footprint to demonstrate their commitment towards a sustainable modality of business. Our vision is to help the local business enterprises compete better in markets across the globe. Hence we are leading by example in becoming the country’s first Chamber to be certified as CarbonNeutral. We want to show our members that Sri Lankan companies can be on the forefront of the world trends,”

Founder and CEO of EPSI, South Asia’s first CarbonNeutral computer hardware company  Niranjan Canagasooryam said, “We see ‘going green’ and sustainability as a critical part of EPSI’s ethics and values. Not only can green business practices and processes help protect the environment, but also helps a company improve its bottom line.

A business that makes the decision to be environmentally-conscious will often promotes goodwill among potential customers, while making the world a better place for future generations. Eco-conscious businesses can actually save money through reduced energy usage and bring in new customers who specifically patronise companies that actively make an effort to be environmentally friendly.”

“At Hirdaramani sustainability has always been viewed as an extension of our corporate values and not simply a business necessity. Our green agenda began with the opening of our first green factory Mihila, which apart from being LEED Certified as the first Custom Built Eco Apparel Factory in the world is also the first CarbonNeutral Apparel Factory in Asia achieved with the assistance of the Carbon Consulting Company. Mihila has set the standard on how to make sustainable manufacturing work and has laid the foundation for greening our entire organisation.  Our green agenda extends beyond our core business to encompass our role as corporate citizens, with investment’s into renewable energy and sustainable community projects.

Taking the lead in sustainability, we feel, is our responsibility as industry leaders, to set the standard for Sri Lankan businesses as a whole,” said Hirdaramani Group Director Arjuna Kuruppu.

In addition several other companies in diverse industries have chosen to take a firm stand on saving the environment by being certified CarbonNeutral.

Hayleys Business Solutions International (Pvt) Limited is the country’s first BPO, BBDO Lanka ( Pvt ) Ltd is South Asia’s First Advertising Agency and Duo Software is Asia’s First IT Company. The Sri Lanka Design Festival and the HolcimGeo Cycle Awards have even been made into CarbonNeutral® events. The future therefore for Sri Lanka is starting to look green.