Energy efficiency is not achieved by the installation of new equipment, but by educating the staff on how much energy is used by the equipment and how much could be saved, according to Sarath Fernando, CEO of Sri Lankan Catering.
The company won a Gold award presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the National Energy Efficiency awards in Colombo last week.Mr Fernando, according to a press release issued by the company, said the award was a tribute to precise planning, hard work and brilliant execution on the part of the employees of SriLankan Catering, spearheaded by its Environmental Excellence Committee.
SriLankan Catering successfully reduced its electricity consumption by 10 % and fuel usage by 40 % last year. This was achieved by savings made on the use of the lifts, by the staff unless when carrying loads and also the kitchen equipment used to its maximum efficiency.
Speaking on the issue of environmental protection, Mr Fernando said that the usual practice was to dispose the offloaded food from airlines for incineration. The cost of incineration alone was around Rs. 1 million per month. With the use of a locally turned out Autoclave food waste sterilization machine, this waste is converted to animal fodder, saving the cost of incineration.
Proceeds from the sale of animal fodder are used on staff welfare projects. In addition to waste food, all other types of waste such as paper, plastic, polythene, tin, aluminum and glass, are also recycled and the revenue generated is used for a new community upliftment project.
The main benefit of this whole process is that the message of recycling and conservation is also carried out by all the employees to their homes. “Thus the benefit to the environment is actually greater than the one we have achieved at SriLankan Catering,” he said. |
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