NCCSL becomes country’s first ‘Green Chamber’
The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) was recently
awarded the Certificate for Carbon Neutral by becoming the first ‘Green
Chamber’ in the country to offset its carbon footprint.
Here, Asoka Hettigoda, President NCCSL (second from left)
receiving the Certificate from Subramaniam Eassuwaren, Director,
Carbon Consulting Co. (Far left) Mr Sujeiva Samaraweera, Hony
Secy, NCCSL and (far right) Sanith de S Wijeyeratne, Chief
Operating
Officer, Carbon Consulting Co. look on |
“In today's business context the role of sustainability has risen to
a pre-eminent position” said Asoka Hettigoda, President of NCCSL.
“Companies across the globe are now taking cognizance of the fact that
corporates have an undeniable role in helping mitigate climate change
and carbon pollution. The world's leading brands and corporates have
declared outright their intention to cut their carbon footprint to
demonstrate their commitment towards a sustainable modality of business.
Our vision is to help the local business enterprises compete better in
markets across the globe. Hence we are leading by example in becoming
the country's first Chamber to be certified as Carbon Neutral. We want
to show our members that Sri Lankan companies can be on the forefront of
the world trends”
Expanding further on the subject, President of NCCSL said, “ Cutting
our carbon footprint means that the NCCSL has calculated our entire
carbon emissions and reduced them to net zero through a process of
offsetting. To carry out this process we have retained the services of
The Carbon Consulting Company, who have been able to carry out this
calculation according to the internationally accepted norms.”
The Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) which helped NCCSL in its
certification process has been created with the purpose of helping
organizations reduce their environmental impact and maximize the CSR and
marketing opportunities arising from these efforts. The CCC's 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 CCC is a Carbon Footprint certified company,
and is accredited by the Carbon Trust, the UK Government's carbon
standards body. It is also an official certifier of the CarbonNeutral
Company of the UK.
“The calculation of the carbon footprint for the NCCSL was carried
out in accordance with international standards,” said CCC Director
Subramaniam Eassuwaren. “An organizational greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
assessment quantifies the total greenhouse gases produced directly and
indirectly from a business organization’s activities. Also known as a
Carbon Footprint, it is an essential tool, for understanding and
managing its climate change impacts. GHG assessments are carried in
accordance to the internationally recognized standards for accounting
and reporting corporate greenhouse gas emissions.
The best known and most widely accepted is the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol - Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol)
developed in a partnership with the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute. This standard
provides guidelines regarding organizational and operational boundaries,
quantification and standard reporting practices.
An emissions inventory is an essential first step in assessing the
carbon footprint. This involves deciding what needs to be measured, how
to measure it and how to manage the data. Measurement enables an
organization to access their risks and opportunities, follow their
progress and create a strategy to reduce emissions by quantifiable
amounts. |