MAS Intimates Thurulie awarded building certification
MAS Intimates Thurulie, the 'iconic' eco-manufacturing facility of
MAS Holdings was awarded LEED (Platinum) certification established by
the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building
Certification Institute (GBCI).
LEED is the world's pre-eminent program for the design, construction
and operation of high performance green buildings. Built under the
auspices of Marks & Spencer's Plan A eco-initiative, MAS Intimates
Thurulie was the world's first purpose-built green factory for apparel
manufacturing. This unique departure from the traditional factory model
delivers 40% savings on energy and 50% savings on water compared to a
similar facility.
It also generates 10% of the electricity consumption from solar
panels set on its roof.
The factory carbon footprint was assessed to be 9 tonnes per year
probably one of the lowest in the world.
A key innovation at Thurulie is its adaptation of 'evaporative
cooling' for a hot/humid environment, providing thermal comfort with a
minimal energy use.
This innovation was validated by USGBC when they awarded, 16 out of a
total 17 points related to energy, as well as all the points related to
thermal comfort design.
A LEED Platinum building with an evaporatively cooled system in a
tropical climate has never been done before.
The Thurulie technical team created a new method to evaluate such a
system which will now be a basis for USGBC to evaluate and accredit
future buildings with similar approaches.
Thurulie also achieved 5 out of 5 points for water efficiency, 13 out
of 14 points for site sustainability and 4 out of 4 points for
innovation.
"The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to
respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global
climate change, dependence on nonsustainable and expensive sources of
energy and threats to human health," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO
& Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council.
The work of innovative building projects such as MAS Intimates
Thurulie is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.
Dian Gomes, Managing Director of MAS Intimates said, "We are proud of
this ground-breaking achievement.
With this project, we have shown again that in any area we put our
focus on, MAS and Sri Lanka are second to none."
This is another jewel in the crown for Thurulie.
In 2009, Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction selected
Thurulie as a Global Best Practice for sustainable construction, after
evaluating the project based on a broader metric (5 target areas).
The foundation published a book describing in detail the approach and
strategies used at Thurulie, disseminating it globally.
Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean, Chairman of MAS Holdings said, for MAS,
the sustainability of the planet is equally important as the
sustainability of our business. MAS Intimates Thurulie is an important
step in our journey towards making our business more sustainable. The
LEED Platinum rating is an encouragement for us to move forward with
focus and determination to make our business more and more sustainable.
With the certification, MAS Intimates Thurulie becomes the first
new-built factory in the world to achieve LEED Platinum status. It sits
in elite company of less than 150 buildings in the world, which hold a
LEED Platinum rating for a new construction.
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