MAS Linea Aqua joins CCC in groundbreaking 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, Sinharaja 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.

Unamboowe said: “Linea Aqua has always been an environmentally conscious organisation 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,” said 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) and 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 neighbouring 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 its 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 maximise 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.