ComBank awarded Greenhouse Gas verification statement
View(s):The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been awarded a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) verification statement by Sri Lanka Climate Fund (Pvt) Ltd. under the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, after verifying that the bank’s total Greenhouse Gas emissions for 2017 in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2006 were at a “reasonable level of assurance.”
This certification was awarded following an organisational level GHG inventory prepared by Climate Smart Initiatives (Pvt) Ltd based on historical data submitted by the bank.
The GHG inventory is a comprehensive inventory as it includes all three scopes (scope 1, 2, 3) encompassing most of the direct and indirect emission sources covered by ISO 14064-1:2006, the bank said in a media release.
Commercial Bank is the first Sri Lankan bank to include the GHG emissions not only at its domestic branches, but also in some of its overseas branches. The bank said this demonstrates its willingness to promote sustainability efforts beyond the country’s borders.
Commercial Bank’s Assistant General Manager Services Chinthaka Dharmasena praised the dedication and commitment of the bank’s management and staff engaging in energy saving activities such as the installation of Solar PV, modern low-emission chillers, low-emission lighting and low emission computers, which made this achievement possible.
He said these initiatives have led the Bank to relatively low per capita emissions in the banking sector. “Collecting the activity data from 11 GHG sources covering the head office and all 266 branches demonstrates the Bank’s readiness to manage its footprint while enhancing the accuracy of the GHG inventory,” the release said.