Bodyline certified as first CarbonConscious company

Monday, 7 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Leading apparel factory recognised for its commitment to environmental sustainability

The vision of incorporating environmental sustainability into day-to-day business operations, which has been a hallmark of the management philosophy of Bodyline Ltd., one of Sri Lanka’s best known apparel companies, was recently recognised when it was certified as the country’s first CarbonConscious company.

The company achieved this status through The Carbon Consulting Company the leading local provider of corporate sustainability solutions. Articulating the vision of CCC, Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne, COO of The Carbon Consulting Company, said: “CCC was created by a group of green visionaries with the express purpose of helping organisations reduce their environmental impact and maximise the CSR and marketing opportunities arising from these efforts. We see ourselves as essentially a social business, with a mission is to help corporate leaders and decision makers develop the skill sets and knowledge base that would be required for survival in the dawning era of a low carbon economy. The development of the CarbonConscious certification is a prime example of the work we have been doing over the past few years. It meets a clear need gap in the international marketplace for a recognition mechanism that rewards corporates who have taken significant steps to monitor and mitigate their environmental footprint resulting from greenhouse gas emissions.” Bodyline has independently calculated and verified its Greenhouse Gas emissions over a continuous period of three years with CCC, and has successfully implemented a ‘Green Team’ charged with a mission of managing and mitigating this impact. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) assessment was carried out in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol – Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The assessment took into account data on fuel consumption, electricity consumption and material consumption as well as direct emissions released from sources that are owned or controlled by the company, indirect emissions associated from purchased electricity and other sources including business travel, employee commuting, and third party deliveries. The certification of this factory also marks another significant milestone for the Sri Lankan apparel industry as it continues to build its position as a preferred destination for ethical and sustainable manufacturing. With increasing consumer demand for ‘green’ products, sustainable manufacturing remains a key growth segment in the market place. CEO of Bodyline Dilan Gooneratne said: “People-Planet-Profit being the focal principles of sustainability, in my view, people become the most important factor, as people decide the optimal utilisation of resources to achieve organisation targets, be profit or otherwise, with due consideration for environment. As a result, inducing right behaviour and mindsets of people to achieve a balance between ‘needs of today and needs of the future’ will ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.” CCC continues to engage with the Green Team at Bodyline to drive environmental performance and incorporate key environmental performance metrics into their daily business operations. Since its incorporation three years ago, CCC has been at the forefront of promoting corporate sustainability solutions in the local marketplace, helping many Sri Lankan corporates across diverse sectors to achieve regionally significant sustainability milestones. CCC is the regional partner of the CarbonNeutral Company, one of the world’s leading providers of carbon reduction solutions, and offers the internationally recognised CarbonNeutral Certification. It is also the official Sri Lankan partner for the International Water Footprint Network, and has pioneered the concept of Water Footprinting in the country.