Hirdaramani Group’s GHG emissions from energy secure ‘net-zero status’

Hirdaramani Group Director Nikhil Hirdaramani (left) receives the ISO 14064 certification from Sustainable Future Group Assistant Manager – Sustainability Assurance and Advisory Services Sajeewa Ranasinghe while CCC Project Lead – Carbon Management and Mitigation Sachini Jayakody, Hirdaramani Group Director Siddarth Hirdaramani, CCC Director Sanith De Silva Wijeyaratne and Asst. Manager – Client Relationship Management Ruwanthi Halwala look on

• Latest achievement yet another milestone in sustainability by the Group
  
   

The Hirdaramani Group has announced that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy use of its Sri Lankan apparel vertical has reached a net-zero status. 

This quantification using ISO 14064 standards was externally validated; considering overall emission reductions stemming from investments in renewable energy, and the actual emissions from energy use in their apparel manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka.

ISO 14064 1 & 2 standards specify principles and requirements at organisation and project levels for quantification and reporting of (GHG) emissions and removals.

As the first stage of this processes, Hirdaramani engaged the Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) – Southeast Asia’s leading provider of carbon management services – to conduct a GHG assessment of the groups’ Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as they apply to the Apparel Sector and Renewable Energy Sector respectively. 

CCC calculated the overall environmental impact of the group’s 19 factories spread across Sri Lanka at an individual factory level. Separately, they conducted an assessment of three Wind Power Plants located in the Puttalam district generating 29.7 MW of energy. The projects are jointly owned by the Hirdaramani Group and the Akbar Brothers Group under the JV Company WindForce Ltd. Following the detailed assessment by CCC, the Hirdaramani Group submitted both the factory emissions and renewable energy projects for verification and validation by The Sustainable Future Group (SFG), who specialise in verification and certification services for ISO 14064.

The group’s 19 factories were assessed under the ISO 14064 – 1 standard quantifying the emissions from sources owned and operated by each of the factories. SFG also assessed the group’s wind power projects (Seguwantivu – 9.6 MW, Vidatamunai – 9.6 MW and Daily Life Renewable Energy – 10.5 MW) under the ISO 14064 – 2 standard by verifying the GHG emission reductions created by these.  

Based on the detailed calculations conducted by CCC and these quantified figures being verified by SFG, the Hirdaramani Group can conclusively state that they have reached a Net-Zero status for emissions from energy. 

“At Hirdaramani we have a very ambitious sustainability strategy, linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that has a clear, effective and actionable framework to deliver real results. Climate change is a major global challenge that we all need to address and thus we are proud to have achieved this milestone in our on-going sustainable journey,” said Hirdaramani Group Director Nikhil Hirdaramani. 

He further acknowledged the associates of Hirdaramani stating that this achievement was a result of their passion and keen interest to protect the planet for future generations, reducing emissions and waste being one of the primary targets that drive them.

Hirdaramani will stay focused on continuing to build on this success and making strides in its commitment to a future-focused sustainable approach to manufacturing. 

CCC CEO Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne said: “For the first time we are seeing a large scale group take measures to substantially, independently and impartially calculate, validate and certify their carbon footprint against the internationally recognised ISO 14064-1 standard while at the same time being able to positively compare this against the quantified and validated emissions reductions that have arisen from the group’s investments in renewable energy, once again using the global ISO 14064 – 2 standard. We are proud to have been part of this singularly unique achievement in the region, in conclusively showing that the group’s overall emission reductions exceed its actual emissions thus creating a net zero status for emissions from energy.”