Hayleys Fabric commits to reducing greenhouse gases

Textile manufacturer, Hayleys Fabric PLC, has become the first textile manufacturer in Sri Lanka and the fourth local manufacturer to add its name to a growing list of major global corporations committing to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and limiting global warming at 1.5°C. 

Launched in collaboration with CDP Worldwide, World Resources Institute (WRI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the SBTi is a globally recognised commitment that companies make as part of the “We Mean Business Coalition's” ‘Take Action' platform on climate change, the local manufacturer said in a media release. 

The SBTi specifies how much and how quickly a company needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement goals to limit global warming keeping it at 1.5°C and well-below 2°C and is also part of a broader effort to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. 

"While it is essential that each of us takes steps to reduce our carbon footprint, the most urgent concern in the battle against climate change is for corporate entities to take meaningful action. With our commitments to the SBTi, we are proud to officially join together with leading organisations from across the world in mobilising against climate change, and commit ourselves to achieving zero-carbon emissions within the next three decades, if not sooner. As a trusted leader in textile production, we view this as an opportunity to enhance our competitive advantage to assist consumers to move towards sustainable brands and help to establish new benchmarks for environmental sustainability among Sri Lankan corporates,” Hayleys Fabric Managing Director/CEO, Rohan Goonetilleke said.

As part of its commitments, the company is also developing polyester yarn from PET bottle waste collected from the shores of Sri Lanka, vastly reducing the production of virgin polyester which has a life span of 20- 200 years. Hayleys Fabric is also collaborating with partners to find innovative solutions to reduce the negative environmental impact of polyester further. 

The company also advocates in support of the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ framework and actively encourages employees to collect PET bottles for recycling. In addition to setting up collection bins within factory premises, the company has also conducted awareness programmes to educate employees on plastic pollution. 

Employees and customers are also provided with plastic alternatives such as reusable glass water bottles, while reusing plastic tubes for fabric rolls, and switching to cardboard tubes when delivering fabric rolls for export customers. The company also switched to eco-friendly taffeta instead of polythene to protect raw fabric. 

In this manner, Hayleys Fabric has recycled and reused 109 metric tonnes of polythene over the year, saving US$18,069 and reusing 77 per cent of plastic tubes in fabric rolls, to save 88 metric tonnes in plastic waste. 
 
Earlier this year, Hayleys Fabric commissioned the largest rooftop solar power project, to offset 13 per cent of its carbon footprint. Electricity generated from the project will be supplied to the National Grid under the Net Plus Scheme, while energy saving LED bulbs have been installed in all of its premises.