Hirdaramani Group has launched its Sustainability Roadmap, ‘Future First’ – a unified and holistic sustainability plan with ambitious targets for 2025.
The Group’s ‘Future First’ roadmap collates and builds on several years of sustainability efforts and investments by the company. It takes stock of existing sustainability mechanisms, outlines the Group’s ethos and sets new goals for the company to achieve globally across all its facilities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Ethiopia. The roadmap has been developed on years of experience and inputs from experienced consultants. It is designed across four pillars of sustainability: conserving the environment, empowering associates, supporting communities and trusting in good choices. The roadmap takes into account local and international contexts, global apparel programs on sustainability and is guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Future First initiatives are also aimed at supporting the Government’s climate change commitments made at the recently completed COP26 summit.
“Hirdaramani has always been a leader in sustainability, holding itself accountable to rigorous standards while championing better business practices. ‘Future first’ is a unified, global approach and sets new targets for our sustainability efforts. What sets it apart is that it takes on sustainability through a nuanced, multi-dimensional approach and was designed through extensive consultation with multiple stakeholders. Conservation is a key part of it but so is the empowerment of our employees, the supporting of communities and building trust throughout the supply chain,” said Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director – Hirdaramani Group.
For Hirdaramani, sustainability is a key tenet that has underscored all aspects in its operations for the 100+ years of its existence. In 2006, the Group moved into a more focused approach, investing considerably in holistic and meaningful sustainability efforts which have driven change throughout the organization. The ‘Future First’ roadmap expands its scale and unifies independent sustainability endeavours internationally into a cohesive, amalgamated approach. The Group is also investing in new technology and reporting standards for greater transparency and accountability, setting the sustainability bar higher for itself.
“It is clear that existing ways of doing business must change. There is a growing call for organizations to hold themselves accountable in issues of sustainability and we are proud to have always led the way. ‘Future First’ is a unified roadmap that builds on and is developed from decades-long sustainability efforts at Hirdaramani and is cognizant of changing local and global conditions, especially given the pandemic and environmental and social developments in recent years,” commented Demith Gooneratne – Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability.
In the past years, the Group has achieved net–zero for greenhouse gas emissions from energy across all its manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka and launched rooftop solar projects in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It has received Fair Trade USA certification in five facilities, achieved LEED Gold/Platinum ratings in 11 facilities and also significantly reduced water and electricity consumption and waste in all its facilities.
Further, over 21,000 employees have been trained in Wonders of Wellbeing and Her+ programmes which have been internationally recognized.
By 2025, Hirdaramani Group hopes to achieve conservation goals in building, energy, water, waste, product and more, guided by the SDGs. There will also be an even stronger focus on its Wonders of Wellbeing program which takes a multi-dimensional approach to wellbeing with the simple yet meaningful goal of a ‘Life Well Lived’ for all employees. Hirdaramani also seeks to build on global collaborations with partners who work in spheres such as environmental impact, social and community, traceability, design and industry while connecting with industry movements spearheading innovation and sustainable change.