Global Compact participants commend KVPL’s commitment to sustainable development

As part of the four-day Local Network Exchange Program held in November 2012, seven Global Compact participants from countries spanning the United States, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India visited Hayleys Group’s Kelani Valley Plantations’ rubber and tea estates in Dewalakanda and Panawatte.

The Exchange Program seeks to foster collaboration among Local Networks by providing an opportunity to share experiences and identify best practices across regional boundaries. Visiting two of the most traditional industries in Sri Lanka, the delegates hoped to learn how a Sri Lankan plantations company incorporated the elements of sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and social responsibility.

Panawatte and Dewalakande rubber factories in particular have received the FSC Chain of Custody Certification for manufactured sole crepe and latex crepe. All of KVPL’s rubber plantations have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), as being environmentally and socially sensitive entities.

“The Global Compact aims to encourage innovation, creative solutions and good practices among its participants. Kelani Valley Plantations is proud to play an active role in engaging with like-minded individuals and displaying our voluntary corporate citizenship initiatives, thereby spreading awareness,” stated Kavi Seneviratne, Managing Director, Kelani Valley Plantations PLC.

Commending the plantations for their community engagement as well as high standards of sanitation within and outside working environments, Shahamin S. Zaman, CEO of CSR Centre in Bangladesh stated: “It is encouraging to see all the good practices of CSR in KVPL – a lot of emphasis and priority has been given to employer-employee relationships and their wellbeing which will in the long-run create a happy workforce and enhance labour productivity. KVPL’s community initiatives inclusive of high sanitation and hygiene standards are commendable. It is companies such as KVPL which are role models for responsible business.”

Walid Nagi, Acting Head of Local Networks at the United Nations Global Compact Office, said: “One of the challenges of adopting sustainability is that people think they need a lot of financial resources. However, it is more about looking at aspects such as setting internal policies and getting corporate governance right. What I’ve seen today at KVPL is great in that it does provide security for the entire family of the plantation worker.”

KVPL’s rubber plantations, spread over 4,695 ha, are confined to the Yatiyantota-bulathkohupitiya region. The manufacturing facilities annually produce about 4 million kilograms of Sole crepe, Latex crepe, Centrifuged latex and Skim crepe.  Sole Crepe from Dewalakande, Panawatte and Kiriporuwa estates are internationally synonymous with supreme quality. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary driver of globalisation, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.

Local Networks perform increasingly important roles in rooting the Global Compact within different national, cultural and language contexts, facilitating the progress of companies with respect to implementation of the ten principles, and creating opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement.