MAS Group unveils world’s first chemical leasing project for waste water treatment
View(s):The MAS Group, as part of a long term commitment to environmental sustainability, recently unveiled its latest sustainability innovation with the signing of the world’s first chemical leasing agreement on waste water treatment.
Signing of the agreement: From left - Dr. Reinhard Joas – International Consultant, UNIDO, Sena Pieris - CEO, National Cleaner Production Centre, Chelan Goonetilleke –CEO, MAS Active Trading (Pvt) Ltd – Linea Intimo, Chandana Muhandiram – MD, WaterCare Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, Prof. Ajith De Alwis – Director- COSTI (Coordinating Secretariat of Science Technology & Innovation) and K.H. Muthukudaarachchi - Director General, Central Environmental Authority.
This milestone is one of several stories to spring out of the growing pipeline of sustainability projects currently underway at MAS. It is also part of an internal goal by the apparel giant to make its products free of toxic chemicals by 2020, according to a company media release. MAS Active Linea Intimo executed the project in partnership with Watercare Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, UNIDO and the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) of Sri Lanka. The move to rethink chemical management within Linea Intimo is simply a beginning, said CEO of Linea Intimo Chelan Goonetilleke.
“MAS has always been raising the bar in environmental sustainability. And this is a project that just marks the start of more great innovations from our sustainability teams. We will stay humble and we don’t like talking about what we do but there is always something going on behind the scenes and our sustainability journey continues from when it began 10 years ago”.
At an internal event to share lessons learnt, MAS Active Linea Intimo was joined by several global and national authorities on chemical leasing including UNIDO, the Central Environmental Authority and the National Cleaner Production Centre of Sri Lanka.Sharing his views on the concept of Chemical Leasing, Prof. Ajith De Alwis, Project Director of the Coordinating Secretariat for Science Technology and Innovation, praised MAS for creating a brand new business model innovation by applying the concept to waste water treatment. “You need innovation and what you are doing today is an interesting Business Model Innovation. You have to innovate across the board and how innovative you are as an organisation differentiates you on the world stage. When you are a leading organization in innovation you are not compromising the future for the sake of the market, in that context you have to make a bolder decision.”
The new chemical management business model will see the complete revamping of the existing waste water management system implemented at Linea Intimo – moving it forward into an even more environmentally responsible, proactive era of waste water treatment and management.
The results of the programme have been ground-breaking. Linea Intimo achieved 20 – 30 per cent of overall chemical savings while substituting one chemical with one with a lower environmental impact. The only hazardous chemical used in the process was reduced by more than 50 per cent.
As part of the tri-party agreement Linea Intimo will compensate Watercare for each cubic metre of waste water treated and the entire system will be monitored and calculated by the NCPC independently – ensuring that the project continues smoothly and adheres to all chemical leasing principles.
Dr. Reinhard Joas – International Consultant to UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) explained what this means for business in general “I think this is very promising and the world will look on it. Because this is the UNIDO concept, where we help with a lighthouse project. We cannot go to hundreds of companies and convince them. We can only go to a few and convince a few and then help them. And then others need to follow. The industry needs to follow.”