Talawakelle wins Gold at National Business Excellence Awards 2015

Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC (TTE PLC) was bestowed with five National Business Excellence Awards including the Gold for Agriculture and Plantations Sector for the second successive year, clearly demonstrating its commitment towards implementing best sustainable management practices and achieving performance excellence. 

Apart from winning the Gold, Talawakelle won three Silver awards for ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance,’ ‘Excellence in Environmental Sustainability’ and ‘Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility’. Talawakelle also received a Merit award under the Extra Large category.

The event was conducted by the National Chamber of Commerce recently at Colombo Hilton under the patronage of the High Commissioner of United Kingdom James Dauris.

Delighted Managing Director Roshan Rajadurai said: “We are encouraged by the recognition and many accolades received for the continuous commitment demonstrated by the corporate and operational teams towards achieving excellence in sustainable management practices, despite the trials that is affecting the industry.”

Incorporated in 1992, TTE PLC is a leading Regional Plantation Company (RPC) managing 17 tea estates in both high and low grown elevations and producing the finest Dimbulla and Ruhuna specialty teas. With a human resource base of 8,827 people and a land extent of 6,491.55 hectares, the company produces over 7.0 million kgs of black orthodox tea as well as green tea annually.

Strongly driven by an inspiring vision to be the most admired plantation company, the principles of sustainability have always been at the core of the company’s operations. Since the inception in 1992, the Company has been consistent in its efforts to develop and sustain human, natural and economic resources in its journey towards sustainable growth, which have been recognised and rewarded many times during the past two decades. 

Two of company’s flagship estates, Kiruwanaganga and Mattakelle, won the Gold and Silver awards under the Food and Beverage category at the National Green Awards ceremony held in October 2015. During the year 2014, the company has secured two other Gold awards awarded to the Plantations Sector by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka at the 50th Annual Report Awards and for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability by the National Chamber of Commerce.

TTE PLC firmly believes that the overall quality of the product and the resultant satisfaction of its customers are intertwined with the quality of life it is able to extend to its employees and the job satisfaction they experience. The company’s Human Resource and Social Policy demonstrates the allegiance towards nurturing  the most valuable resource – people; treating people at all levels with dignity and respect, enhancing quality of life, self-esteem and morale and empowering and providing equal opportunities for all employees form the very basis of the company’s business. The other policies on health and safety, environment and quality further complement the company’s drive to ensure sustainable development of its people, environment and the industry.

TTE PLC pioneered the ‘quality’ and ‘food safety’ concepts in the tea industry which were endorsed by Great Western, achieving the first HACCP certification in the industry in 2001 and Kiruwanaganga achieving the first-ever ISO 22000 FSMS certification among all food processing factories in the country in 2006. All operational factories of the company are now ISO 22000 FSMS certified. 

The quality of its product is the key business driver and strategy to ensure premium quality which has clearly set the benchmark within a competitive industry. The ranking at No. 1 position in terms of prices fetched at the Colombo Tea Auctions for low grown and western high grown categories among all Regional Plantation Companies for 10 consecutive years stands as a testimony in the drive for quality. 

‘Home for every plantation worker’ is the company’s holistic program designed to address and enhance social, health and welfare on all TTE PLC estates. This integrated program aims to develop the living environment through infrastructure development of basic amenities, capacity development, health and nutrition programs and youth empowerment to improve the standards and quality of life of the resident communities across all estates. 

The company has successfully implemented the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Program since 2011, which is an internationally recognised certification program integrating best social, environmental and ethical management practices in daily operations. Rainforest standard follows 10 universal principles of sustainable agriculture, which are built on three pillars – environment, economy and social justice.