Managed by Aitken Spence Plantation Management PLC since 1997, Elpitiya Plantations owns 13 estates and 17 factories producing tea and other diversified crops. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (https://island.lk/elpitiya-plantations-recognised-for-best-sustainability-project-go-green-and-beyond/)recognised the efforts of this organisation to reduce the environmental and water footprint of the ‘Go Green and Beyond’ initiative by awarding the prestigious Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2021.
This Project Go Green and Beyond include increasing reliance on renewable energy through solar PV rooftop systems and sustainable biomass for thermal energy demand, expanding rainwater harvesting, developing stream reservation, watersheds land extent in the estates and enriching the quality of soil by increasing soil carbon level and preserving biodiversity by reducing the application of chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals like weedicides and pesticides.
This initiative aims to simultaneously reduce the company’s vulnerability to accelerating climate change while reducing its environmental footprint and preserving natural resources for future generations. The CEO of Elpitiya Plantations Mr. M.I Izzardeen presented Elpitiya Plantation experience in rainwater harvesting at the 10th webinar of SARNET held on the 31st of May on the theme “Investments in rainwater harvesting is an investment on the planet.” He stated that Elpitiya Plantations is adopting roof water harvesting, reservoirs, recharge into soil, manmade ponds and improvements to catchment areas, and as a result improved the catchment areas in the hill country. He further stated that Elpitiya Plantations have constructed 77 ponds with 254Mn Liter capacity and 2 reservoirs of 15 acres to meet the daily demand of 4.08Million Liters per day for the estate community. The organisation is also 89% reliant on rainwater for their water use, significantly reducing the extraction of fresh water.
