MAS Linea Aqua joins CCC in ground breaking Rainforest Project
MAS Linea Aqua joined hands with sustainability partner the Carbon
Consulting Company (CCC) to inaugurate the company’s latest Corporate
Environmental Responsibility initiative.
Commemorating World Environment Day 2013, Managing Director of the
company, Sarinda Unamboowe, ceremoniously planted the first of over
1,000 rainforest trees that will be planted by the company to expand the
Hiniduma Bio Link project in the presence of team members from both MAS
Linea Aqua and the Carbon Consulting Company.
The Hiniduma Biolink Project is a reforesting project that will
establish a biodiversity corridor in between the two large remnant
rainforest patches, Singharaja and Kenneliya, in Sri Lanka and is
managed by the Conservation Carbon Company in partnership with
Rainforest Rescue International. This project will use the analog
forestry concept to conserve buffer zones around the forest edges.
The uniqueness of the project is that it addresses the three pillars
of sustainability; people, planet and profit, as the rural low income
farmers gain financially and have a financial incentive to protect the
surrounding forests. The CO2 sequestered through this project (the newly
planted trees) will generate carbon credits that can be sold as
Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) credits in the local and international
carbon markets. As such, this project will be partly financed through
the money generated from the sale of these carbon credits and also
through the involvement of corporate partners such as Linea Aqua.
Speaking on the occasion, Unamboowe said, “Linea Aqua has always been
an environmentally conscious organization that has been involved in
landmark conservation projects since its inception. It’s great to be a
part of this revolutionary concept that we hope would help rejuvenate
our threatened rainforest eco-systems and would help set a trend that
other corporations would follow. We’re very excited about working with
CCC towards protecting our valuable natural environment for future
generation.
“Fostering the engagement of the Corporate Sector in mitigating the
impacts of climate change is one of our prime directives,” says Sanith
de Silva Wijeyaratne, Chief Operating Officer of the Carbon Consulting
Company. “This project is the first of its kind in Asia to be certified
by Plan Vivo and is intended for value-added carbon capture and
sequestration through sustainable forestry projects. We empower and make
partners of traditional communities living in close proximity to tracts
of natural forest where biodiversity is high, but under threat.
Community members work with us to protect and extend forest coverage
while preserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems under expert
supervision. We are greatly encouraged by Linea Aqua’ s decision to
partner us in this project, and it demonstrates the company’s strong
emphasis on being an Environmentally Responsible Corporate Citizen”.
Linea Aqua is a joint venture between MAS Holdings, Speedo
International (UK) and Brandot International (USA) has earned a global
reputation for being a leading swimwear solutions provider.
Established in 2001, Linea Aqua’s contemporary 200,000 sq. ft.
manufacturing facility houses a full spectrum of services ranging from
design to delivery.
LA’s CSR projects cover a variety of critical social issues from
environmental conservation to improving the facilities in neighboring
rural schools and elders’ homes. In 2011, Linea Aqua was given the ‘Best
Corporate Citizen Award in the Special Projects Category’ by the Ceylon
Chamber of Commerce for our restoration work that is currently underway
at the Bundala National Park.
The Carbon Consulting Company 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 an official certifier of
the Carbon Neutral Company of the UK.
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