Hirdaramani, first to receive I-REC Standard in energy use

The Hirdaramani Group has taken steps towards energy accountability by being the first in Sri Lanka to receive International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) for its energy usage.

With this tracking standard, the group hopes to add new layers of accountability and credibility to its operations, living up to the commitments outlined in the company’s own sustainability vision, it said in a media release.

“As Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), I-RECs serve to increase transparency in the energy sector and provide clarity about the use of renewable electricity among end-consumers. The I-REC Standard (www.irecstandard.org) ensures that issued certificates comply with major international sustainability and carbon accountability standards and adhere to stakeholder expectations of industry-best practice for the avoidance of double counting, double certificate issuance and double attribute claiming. The system also helps individual companies seeking to improve their environmental credentials, while raising awareness among consumers and industry players,” it said.

With I-RECs Hirdaramani hopes to both, back the country’s clean energy programmes as well as offset its own electricity consumption-related emissions, and support its internal sustainability strategy. As a result, they are now able to accurately claim the energy they use from renewable sources.

Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director, Hirdaramani Group, was quoted as saying: “The decision to invest in the I-REC Standard and framework stems from this dedication of allowing us to not only quantify our achievements, but also more importantly, to collect reliable data which will help us to keep moving forward towards our energy and GHG reduction goals.”

Based on current figures, Hirdaramani projects that I-RECs will be covering approximately 40% of the electricity demand of their Sri Lankan facilities. By using I-RECs, individual factories will be able to quantify their renewable energy usage at a facility level, with expected ranges between 40% and 100% depending on the facility. Overall, the company is projecting that they will be able to achieve approximately 25% decrease in its Scope 1 and 2 related carbon footprint in 2021, primarily as a result of the reduction in GHG emissions via the implementation of the I-REC programme.