Sustainable lifestyles help reduce carbon footprint

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Sustainable lifestyles can help reduce the carbon footprint, Environmental Management Consultant Ravi De Silva said speaking on “Sustainable logistics” at a seminar organised by the Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) at the Organization of Professional Association recently.

He said that the use of eco techniques and eco designs is a good start at the concept and at the design stages of any operation every one should change their lifestyles to move away from destructive methods to more sustainable techniques in a simple way. “Our forefathers influences should be combined with whatever good practices we can draw from modern technologies to ensure sustainability,” he said.

Elaborating the importance of the focus on sustainability for survival he said that people should be sustainable in all aspects including economic, social, environmental and cultural, as there is a necessity in all their approaches to all aspects of life.

Referring to waste management he said that it is very simple if each one whether personally or as corporates do their part properly. Garbage was created by people and waste can be managed very easily by separating. If all waste is put into one bin, it becomes garbage and cannot be managed, unless expensive, high technology is employed. But when separated, waste can be turned into a resource. The ‘3R Principle’ is used all over the world.

Silva explained ‘7R Principle’ which he introduced to many hotels and other industries, and they ended up with zero dumping of waste. All these organizations earn substantial amounts of money by selling their waste. Instead of garbage which cannot be managed, waste can be managed by separating and converting into a resource.

Silva said that a simple change such as the ‘Switching Off Policy’ can save so much of electrical energy. A ‘Closing Tap Policy’ can save large amounts of water. All these are simple measures which can be implemented in any place at any time by anybody, resulting in the reduction of adverse impacts on the environment. To lead a healthy life is extremely essential and this can be achieved by eating a balanced meal which is also inexpensive. It is important to be sustainable and also improve productivity by reducing the food miles and localizing your purchases, in turn helping the neighboring community.

Ravi de Silva who started life as an engineer, said he moved into environmental management through almost natural compulsion after working as the Project Manager on the construction of the Kandalama hotel project living in the Kandalama village and faced all the controversies and helped Aitken Spence to emerge winners at the end.

ISMM President Danesha Perera said that the institute is committed to the development of their members and it has many activities planned in the calendar for members to develop their knowledge and a one day seminars on ‘Project management’ and ‘Best practices in purchasing’ will be held shortly to coincide with the forthcoming 40th anniversary of the ISMM.