There is no choice. Development and conservation of the environment have to go hand in hand Minister of Export Development and International Trade G. L. Peiris said at the awards ceremony for Sustainability Reporting organised by ACCA Sri Lanka recently. "The per capita income of our country has increased to US$ 1,650 but economic development should not be at the expense, degradation of the environment. It’s not a question of deciding which is more important. There is no choice to be made between economic development and conserving the environment. We need to do both," he said. Peiris said that development should not take place at the expense of the environment and that the country should have a properly structured, step by step approach to development which will ensure that environment is not over run by the engines of growth. "When public spirited people took the industrialists of Agra, in India, to courts because their factories emitted gases which made the white marbled structure of the Taj Mahal turn yellow, the industrialists argued that if they were to cease functioning retrenchment and unemployment will follow close behind because investment on conservation was too costly. "But the court rejected the industrialists’ argument and ruled that they had to take a step by step approach by applying structured investments and adopting sustainable policies over a period of seven years," Peiris related. He said the government of Sri Lanka was in the process of compiling a list of the country’s flora and fauna in an effort to amalgamate economic development and conservation through eco tourism. "The government is taking steps to develop whale watching into a major tourist attraction," Peiris said while pointing out that the country has so much to preserve in terms of its rich bio-diversity. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards was launched four years ago to promote triple bottom line reporting in the country and reward businesses who had given equal importance to environment, social and financial reporting. Holcim Lanka and Union Assurance won the ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Award in the large and medium scale categories respectively while Sampath Bank won a commendation award for Innovative Projects while Ceylon Tobacco Company Ltd received a commendation award for Continuous and Consistent Focus on Sustainability. The awards received endorsement from the Ministry of Environment. "Environmental issues have taken over as the number one priority in Sustainability Reporting overtaking CSR and ethical reporting," Dilshan Rodrigo, President ACCA Sri Lanka, said. The annual reports of 22 companies were judged on criteria implemented by ACCA UK based on Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. While the number of companies participating increased by about 50 percent the SME sector, which has a category slotted for it, failed to participate, with many of the initiatives been taken by the bigger companies, Rodrigo said. "Sustainable initiatives will assist in slashing energy costs, reducing waste, improving quality and productivity all of which positively impacts bottomline irrespective of size of business. "Sustainability Initiatives is not about giving away money to charities," he said, "The Challenge is to identify the biggest environmental and social challenges of today and turn them into viable and profitable business opportunities." Rodrigo said that companies should find new approaches to develop products and services with minimal environmental pollution and optimal efficiency. "Toyota did this with the Toyota Prius, the first car to run on hydrogen and water. Opportunities exist for new paths to be developed in organic farming, cleaner water, vaccinations, electrical appliances powered by alternative fuel sources such as solar and wind. "Today there are amazing incentives for companies that adopt these approaches. "I was surprised to learn recently from a consultant friend that many manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka are not even aware of the Carbon Credit programme where multilateral agencies financially reward companies for low carbon emissions," Rodrigo said. |
