Dilmah pledges $ 1 m towards combination of marine, terrestrial, sustainability and other projects

Thursday, 30 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The philosophy of business as a matter of human service underpinned by the six pillars of quality, tradition, our customer, ethics, integrity and sustainability is central to Dilmah’s enterprise. Dilmah Conservation firmly believes in the importance of making a conscious effort to uphold these responsibilities to both society and the environment. ‘Who Cares about Nature’ served as a unique forum to share these values and promote the importance of sustainability and conservation with a wider audience. The event took place on 24 and 25 January 2014 at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies. The key themes of ‘Who Cares about Nature’ focused on the role of business in serving community and environment and man in the natural ecosystem. The program featured a series of events highlighting these themes in relation to the importance of mainstreaming sustainability, conserving Sri Lanka’s biological wealth, restoring ecosystems, gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge, supporting environment and nature education, and empowering indigenous communities. Speaking at the event, Founder of Dilmah Merrill J. Fernando stated: “Dilmah owes its success to the quality of Ceylon Tea. Our business was founded therefore on an enduring connection to the land and the communities in which we operate. We have pioneered a comprehensive commitment to minimising our impact on the planet, fostering respect for the environment and ensuring its protection by encouraging a harmonious coexistence of man and nature. “We believe that conservation is ultimately about people and the future of the human race, that efforts in conservation have associated human well-being and poverty reduction outcomes. These core values allow us to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations of sustainability. “My sons, Dilhan and Malik, and I are joined by the third generation of the Dilmah Family in our dedication to this cause. Together we reaffirm the unshakeable family commitment to the values that make Dilmah much more than just another tea.” Dilhan Fernando briefly spoke about Dilmah Conservation project to uplift the small enterprise owners and introduced one of their local heroes Samantha Rajapakse. Samantha is a tailor by profession and tailors uniforms for a nearby camp at his house. Last year Dilmah Conservation challenged him to try his skills in farming and purchased him a land closer to his house to start a sweet orange plantation. Samantha attending the event presented the first yield to Merrill J. Fernando as a token of appreciation. Following that, Dilhan then read out the Dilmah Conservation Pledge: “Which commits $ 1 million for financial year of 2014/2015 towards a combination of the marine, terrestrial, sustainability and other projects that Dilmah Conservation undertakes; a minimum of 10% of the pre tax of Dilmah and its affiliated companies profits are assigned in making a combined impact on the MJF Foundation and Dilmah Conservation which will exceed $ 4 million this year; and Dilmah and its affiliate businesses of MJF group in collaboration with several Sri Lanka universities are set to achieve carbon neutrality monitored by the advisory committee of Dilmah Conservation who will ensure that the operations are carried out holistically and delivered by 2017.” Key highlights of the event included a series of educational and recreational programs including a special guest lecture titled ‘Man and the Environment’ by Chief Executive of Parks Victoria, Australia and former Deputy Director General of the IUCN Dr. Bill Jackson. In his presentation Dr. Jackson stated: “1972 was a special year for me as my high school teacher asked me to read a book by Rachel Carson an American Marine Biologist titled ‘Silent Spring’. In her book she described the harmful effects of pesticides and particularly DDT on the environment. In her book she explains how using chemicals in the agricultural industry was causing immense harm to the environment and therefore immense harm to people. This provoked the first major rally for environment conversation in the world sparking a huge public outcry about the relationship of the wellbeing of us as humans and wellbeing of nature. Subsequently the US banned the use of DDT in 1972. Rachel Carson’s enthusiasm and my science teacher pushing me to pursue my interests encouraged me to share the passion towards environment conservation”. Dr. Jackson further elaborated that had the state continued to act on environment conservation the situation should have been much better at present, but has not progressed much parallel to the advancement of technology in the past 40 years. The UN estimates that 8 billion people by 2024 with a ratio of 2/3 of the people will be living in cities. “It is not the growing population but it is a problem on how much we consume and how much we waste. The compounding effect of climate change has a huge impact on the environment as well as the social structures. To overcome these issues eco-systems needs to be created by promoting nature based tourism, recycling and reusing products which in return will sustain the livelihoods of the community. People need to go back to connecting with nature and one such initiative is ‘Healthy Parks, Healthy People’ which has created disabled friendly environments so that anyone could equally enjoy the outdoors,” Dr. Jackson observed. At the event, Dilmah Conservation also launched a series of publications on Sri Lanka’s abundant biodiversity and heritage, with the aim of creating awareness, sharing knowledge and making available information on our country’s flora, fauna and the indigenous and nomad communities to the general public. In line with Dilmah Tea’s core commitment to sustainability, Dilmah Conservation has pioneered numerous environmental and social development initiatives. An interactive exhibition of audio-visual material highlighting these various initiatives comprising innovative urban agricultural models, marine habitat and shipwreck conservation, elephant and dugong conservation and novel species discovery were also on display at the event. For more information on ‘Who Cares about Nature’ visit http://www.dilmahconservation.org/. Pix by Lasantha Kumara