The path to becoming environmentally friendly

By Rashika Fazali

Since Holcim GeoCycle’s inception in 2003, it has disposed of 300,000 MT of waste, due to which it won the Gold award in the Waste Management Category at the 2012 National Green Awards.

Known as the makers of the Geo Responsibility Awards (GRA), GeoCycle held the GRA 2014 Readiness and Awareness Program recently on how companies can dispose of waste materials, which in turn will make their company highly efficient and enable them to compete in the next GRA scheduled for 2014.

Secretary of the Ministry of Environment B.M.U.D. Basnayake, delivering the opening remarks, stated: “Compliance is a must and there is no option for anyone, other than complying to rules and regulations stipulated by the regulatory bodies. But beyond compliance there is something that should be recognised and encouraged. We should develop a mechanism to encourage industries to comply with the standard by appreciating them. Thereby organisations are motivated to change their visions from a solely profit-oriented nature to enjoy profit while protecting the environment.”

He added that in order to protect the environment, everyone should work together to contribute for a sustainable future.

Pointing out the key lessons from the GRA Awards, Independent Selections Committee (ISC) Chairman and University of Moratuwa Department of Chemical and Process Engineering Senior Lecturer Professor Ajith De Alwis asserted: “Awards are given for excellence, not for compliance.” However, he added that there are international agreements that must be followed. For instance, he mentioned that new legislation was being added, procedures are conducted to have waste management, hazard communication, replacement, environmental releases and contribution from import and export.

He also noted the points that were looked at this year’s Geo Responsibility awards stating that pollution is inefficiency. “Pollution is what we have when we don’t convert them into products,” said De Alwis, adding, “You have to truly believe that doing something good is truly good for you and the environment. You may serve the world, but you have to understand the local needs. And we need to do better; even for those who did win the gold they have chances to be better.”

He also noted that in order to reduce wastage, it’s important to have an organised leadership structure. He stated that employees should understand and know who to report to as reporting can have a huge impact on the businesses growth.

De Alwis outlined certain pointers that businesses should avoid. He stated that companies should avoid greenwashing. Greenwashing is when institutions promote going ‘green’ or environmental friendly resources, products, etc., but do very less to implement good business practices to reduce environmental impact.  He also mentioned that companies shouldn’t only think about the money value, but also about the kilograms, litres, etc.

Once you get rid of your waste from your company successfully, De Alwis asserted that companies should also check what and where the third party releases the waste materials. “Are you monitoring how the third party is using this waste? You need proper equipment, vehicles and records,” stated De Alwis.

He noted that companies should also look at container management carefully since most empty containers may still have residue which is hazardous to health.

Another bad practice is incinerating waste. Burning waste will only make the environmental more unstable. “Your outcome can be even worse that the input,” explained De Alwis.

He further noted that going green should also be done decently as we are going from a normal environment to a green environment. Furthermore, he revealed that certain green activities made can change the environment drastically. “Changing over to CFL bulbs isn’t going to incur energy efficiency. This is more like greenwashing,” stated De Alwis. Other green activities include harvesting rain water and practicing valuing water.

In conclusion, he stated companies should maintain their standard from front to back adding, “What looks good is not always right. Not only should the front office look good, but every other facility in the building should be good.”

National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) Director V.R. Sena Peiris stated that without resources, quality of life cannot be achieved, but with resources used the way it is done today, it could destroy many things.

On the subject of ‘application of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) solutions to achieve economic benefits,’ he noted that RECP looks at the economic, environmental and social aspects. He mentioned that companies can achieve cleaner productions through optimisation of resources utilising efficiency. “To zero the waste, you have to close the loops,” explained Peiris.

There are three Cleaner Production (CP) techniques; source reduction, recycling and product modification once used can minimise the risk to humans and the environment, save money and increase profits in return.

“How many companies have spillage? If you can count it, it will run up to millions,” said Peris. For example, an electric cable company that lost around Rs. 12 million per annum due to spillage, wastage, etc., can save up to Rs. 30 million over a year, stated Peiris.  

He further mentioned that by reducing the amount of spillage, there will be economic benefits to enterprises, environmental damages will be reduced and employees will get better working conditions.  

However, in order to go green and support sustainability, there should be a regulatory framework administered by the Government of Sri Lanka. Central Environmental Authority (CEA) Deputy Director Sarojini Jayasekara, she mentioned that Article 27 and 28 of the Constitution have spelled out the concerns on the environment as the duty of the Government and responsibility of the general public.

She stated that the National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980 was the first piece of legislation dealing exclusively with environmental protection and management.

CEA today acts as a regulatory and a coordinating and advisory agency which conducts pollution control from point and non-point sources and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The CEA hands over environmental protection licenses and additional permits for all industries that generate hazardous waste for generation, transportation, storage and final disposal. Jayasekara revealed that over 300 companies in Sri Lanka generate hazardous waste.

Some of the responsibilities undertaken by CEA are hazardous characteristic and waste identification, separation, quantification, onsite storage and pre-transport requirements, declaration, record-keeping and reporting, fire precaution, occupational health and safety considerations, emergency preparedness plan and administrative guidelines.

Yet, having a valid environmental license is not the end of caring for the environment. The process goes on after the license has been obtained. Jayasekara explained that they there should be in-house management systems, practices and monitoring and appointment of capable managers to manage these systems.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara