American Apparel and Footwear Association Awards A&E Lanka with Excellence Award for CSR
 The American Apparel and Footwear Association [AAFA] has awarded A&E [American & Efird] Lanka, the Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility in the ‘Preservation of the Environment’ category. This award was given at the AAFA 2006 Annual Meeting held 23-25 February in Florida, USA.
AAFA is the national trade association of the United States representing apparel, footwear and other sewn product companies and their suppliers.
Having flown half way across the globe to accept this prestigious award, Inthikab Muhajireen – Director/General Manager A&E Lanka said “While the entire A&E Lanka team is very proud and honored to receive this recognition from the American Apparel and Footwear Association, we are equally proud to have achieved this distinction on behalf of our island nation”. He further added, “throughout our history, the country’s reputation as an ethical supplier has been paramount and we are very proud to uphold this value.”
The obligation to preserve the environment arises not only from the country’s commitment but also through the commitment of A&E Lanka’s joint venture partners. The parent company, Brandix Lanka Ltd, Sri Lanka’s single largest exporter, is firmly committed to environmental protection, investing heavily in eco-friendly strategies to minimize any harmful effects our manufacturing processes may have on the environment. American & Efird USA, one of the world’s largest thread manufacturers with operations in over 50 countries, ensures that all their global operations demonstrate environmental leadership through a strict adherence to global compliance and environmental standards. Brandot International, led by Martin Trust, often known as the Guru of speed sourcing, has also had a tremendous influence in these efforts.
A Code of Conduct which defines A&E Lanka’s values on several social responsibility issues on child labor, the environmental, health & safety (EHS), wages, employee harassment & hiring practices, provided the basis for its selection for this award.
At A&E Lanka, international EHS Policies and Standards define ten objectives providing the basis for achieving environmental excellence. It also establishes wastewater effluent standards for direct and indirect discharges which parallel U.S. standards. Recycling Programs are conscientiously practiced where the Company carries out 100% recycling of used plastic cones and paper based products. A&E Lanka is also an Oeko-Tex certified company and hence only Oeko-Tex labeled dyes and chemicals are used. “This certification has been issued by TESTEX, Institute of the International Association for Research and Testing In the field of Textile Ecology, in Zurich”, said Priyantha Alutwatta – GM Operations of A&E Lanka.
A & E is annually certified for environmental excellence by SGS of the United Kingdom Ltd Systems & Services Certification and accredited by UKAS Environmental Management.
“At A&E we are committed to conducting our operations in such a manner as to protect the environment. This commitment means that the Company continuously strives to seek ways in which to achieve environmental excellence and we have succeeded in accomplishing this by adopting a rigorous set of procedures which are stringently adhered to” added Muhajireen.
A state of the art waste water treatment plant with ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis [this project was set up in 2004, the total project cost was US$ 1 million] exemplifies A&E Lanka’s commitment to environmental excellence which recycles and reuse 70% of wastewater for the dyeing process, while the balance water is used for gardening and spraying of the dye house roof for cooling purposes.
The reduction of noise levels as per the Environmental Authority standards in Sri Lanka have been achieved by introducing attenuators for the generators. Energy conservation programmes, recycling solid wastes, training relevant associates in the safe handling and storage of materials, reducing the in-house average temperature of the dye house, improving the working environment, conducting bi-annual environmental audits by impartial and objective persons, carrying out of periodic environmental site assessments by certified professionals, periodically determining if the Environmental Management Systems conform to the documented processes given in ISO 14001, management reviews, treatment of waste water, and instituting the Reverse Osmosis process are all standard day to day procedure at A & E Sri Lanka.
“We demonstrate continual improvement of our environmental operations. Our management and staff are committed to preserving the environment by following the guidelines of the ISO 14001 environmental standards. All of our environmental goals have been established in order that we may conserve our natural resources for the benefit of future generations” Aluthwatte added.
“The thought that all this is simply the ‘Right thing to do’ have driven our social responsibility initiatives and this same thought will continue to drive our efforts in the future” concluded Muhajireen.
CONTACT:
Nilmini Jayasinghe
Head of Corporate Development & Communications
Brandix Lanka Ltd
Phone Number: +94-11-4727000 ext 7027
email address: nilminij@brandix.com
26th February, 2006 |
