National Chamber, Sri Lanka's first 'Green Chamber'

The National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL) was recently awarded the certificate for Carbon Neutral by becoming the first ‘green Chamber’ in the country to offset it's carbon footprint.

President NCCSL Asoka Hettigoda receives the certificate from Director, Carbon Consulting Company Subramaniam Eassuwaren

“In today's business context the role of sustainability has risen to a pre-eminent position” said President NCCSL Asoka Hettigoda. “Companies across the globe are now taking cognizance of the fact that corporates have an undeniable role to help mitigate climate change and carbon pollution.

The world's leading brands and corporates have declared their intention to cut the carbon footprint to demonstrate their commitment towards a sustainable modality of business. Our vision is to help the local business enterprises compete better in markets across the globe.

Hence we are leading by example in becoming the country's first Chamber to be certified as Carbon Neutral.

We want to show our members that Sri Lankan companies can be on the forefront of the world trends” Hettigoda said. He said, “Cutting our carbon footprint means that the NCCSL has calculated our entire carbon emissions and reduced them to net zero through a process of offsetting.

To carry out this process we have retained the services of The Carbon Consulting Company, who did the calculation according to the internationally accepted norms. “The calculation of the carbon footprint for the NCCSL was carried out in accordance with international standards,” said Director, Carbon Consulting Company Subramaniam Eassuwaren.

“ An organisational greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) assessment quantifies the total greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly from a business organisation’s activities. Also known as a Carbon Footprint, it is an essential tool, for understanding and managing its climate change impacts,” he said.