Holcim Lanka rescues animals in Aruwakkalu together with IUCN

December 30, 2014, 12:00 pm 

Holcim (Lanka) Ltd (HLL), as the only green cement manufacturer in Sri Lanka, has sustained its commitment to the conservation of the environment as part of its operational policy throughout its longstanding tenure in the local market. Anchored to the triple bottom-line approach of creating value for People and the Planet, alongside profitability, the company places great emphasis on the protection and promotion of bio diversity as part reducing the environment footprint the company leaves behind.

Chalaka Fernando- Head of Sustainable Development of Holcim Lanka commented "We are true to the environment commitment of leaving the lowest footprint possible. In partnership with IUCN, the Animal Rescue Programme is yet another opportunity we take to stay true to this commitment. We believe in embedding this green culture into our corporate DNA, therefore every year we recognize and appreciate our employees’ effort made to conserving nature"

IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization and a leading authority on environmental and sustainable development. By leveraging on IUCN’s expertise, Holcim Lanka has achieved some exceptional results in four key bio diversity areas:

Prior to the mining process IUCN administers the inventory of bio diversity in the site. This involves surveying the species of plants and animals in the designated area. During this inventory taking, various species of animals were rescued by the HLLL team. About 2000 animals were captured and rescued in 2014. These are slow moving animals which are relocated in secure areas in accordance with their natural habitat. Holcim Lanka is perhaps the first and only corporate entity in Sri Lanka to conduct such a programme. Significantly, this has attracted employee interest and many Holcim Lanka employees volunteer to engage with this project.

Triple bottom line focus yields rich dividends for Watawala Plantations

December 30, 2014, 6:22 pm 

Transformative economic, social and environmental impact of its actions won much national and regional acclaim in 2014 for Watawala Plantations PLC, a subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC.

‘Triple bottom line’ focused strategies, served to yield rich dividends even at grass-root levels and resulted in the company being recognised with 13 national and two prestigious regional awards. The total tally of 15 awards received by Watawala included five gold awards.

Watawala Plantations received 13 awards within the last four months of the year alone, based on vastly different criteria, ranging from process improvements to leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility, energy efficiency and people management.

The company’s interventions reflected its unique vision "We will take a path no one has walked before and many will want to follow." Combined, these interventions made a significant impact. For example, substantial reduction in energy consumption by the company resulted in saving an estimated 12,700 trees, which otherwise would have been felled for fuel. In addition, job satisfaction and motivation of ‘associates’ were further improved, sustainable livelihoods were created and significant improvements were achieved by Watawala Plantations in productivity, quality and internal processes, among a host of other developments.

"Far more than the number of awards, which serve primarily as benchmarks of progress, we are extremely pleased that our targeted efforts to make a substantial positive impact on our business operations, environment and our associates continue to yield rich dividends," Director/CEO of Watawala Plantations, Dr. Dan Seevaratnam said. "We will continue to ‘raise the bar’, to achieve our goal of becoming a best in class entity in every aspect."

Pointing out that Watawala Plantations won a number of awards by overcoming competition from leading organisations from other industries, Dr. Seevaratnam noted that Watawala has gone beyond a leader in the plantation sector, to a leader in the corporate sector, with international recognition.

One of the regional Gold awards won by Watawala was awarded by the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the Best Presented Annual Report (agriculture sector). The award recognised Watawala’s strength in financial transparency, governance and accountability. The company’s annual report was the sole Sri Lankan winner in the agriculture category at the awards ceremony and the company won this award for the third successive time this year. Watawala’s annual report was honoured locally too, with a Gold Award for the seventh consecutive year, by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.