Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC (TTEL), a leading member of the Hayleys Plantations Sector, obtained
the Gold status for all three steps of Measure, Reduce and Contribute under the Climate Neutral
Now (CNN) initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), setting another regional benchmark in the plantations industry.
One of several initiatives launched by the UNFCCC secretariat to increase climate action under the
Paris Agreement, the Climate Neutral Now initiative guides, supports, and encourages non-party
stakeholders such as organisations and individuals to work towards a Climate Neutral world by
2050.
“Hayleys Plantations has always championed sustainable innovation in Sri Lanka, and the Gold status
is a recognition of our commitment to the stringent guidelines issued for the CNN initiative. With
this achievement, we have surpassed one of the key milestones in our journey to be NetZero by
2050.
“Our pledge to the CNN initiative in 2019 provided us with the opportunity to leverage on the clear
framework, tools, best practices and sector-specific resources devised under this powerful global
initiative to reduce our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions significantly. We hope that our
achievement today contributes positively to the urgent global mobilisation against climate change,”
Hayleys Plantations Managing Director, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said.
The Gold status is issued to organisations fulfilling three major criteria for “Climate Neutrality”,
including the contribution of registered carbon credits under the Verified Carbon Standards (VCS)
to offset the current unavoidable emissions. Third-party verification of the comprehensive GHG
measured inventory and completing the targets set out for the Science-based Targets initiative to
reduce emissions complete the trio.
“To achieve the Gold status for the CNN initiative, a company has to complete all the requirements
provided under the three steps: measure, reduce and contribute. Since our pledge to the initiative,
we have worked towards achieving the Gold status in these steps individually, setting yet another
benchmark in the sector as one of the first companies to be Climate Neutral,” Talawakelle Tea
Estates PLC Director/CEO, Senaka Alawattegama said.
Since signing on to the initiative in 2019, TTEL has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in 2020/21
by 7.3% against the year 2019/20, which in turn was an 8.6% decrease compared to the base year
2018/19.
The initiative with over 400 global participants encourages and supports organisations and other
interested stakeholders to take immediate action on climate emergency, as enshrined by the Paris
Climate Agreement. Through its sustainability initiatives, TTEL has achieved immense progress under
its three main areas of Measure, Reduce and Contribute, in addition to reporting on its actions and
achievements annually to achieve the Climate Neutral and Gold status for climate action under its
sustainability journey.