* MAS Contourline set to launch the next stage of its conservationism strategy 

The MAS Active (Pvt) Ltd Contourline Division, a leading garment manufacturer within MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd recently reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing the sustainability of its environment conservation activities while reducing the overall carbon footprint of the facility. Set to further its conservationism goals, the factory is set to move forward with its strategy to reduce and eventually eliminate waste and its carbon footprint.

Speaking on the initiative and its impact on the business process, Eranthi Premaratne General Manager -Sustainability, Corporate, MAS said, “Doing the right thing by our stakeholders and the environment has always been a major part of the MAS way of life. Motivated by a growing understanding of our impact on the environment and the dedication of our team to furthering our environment conservation goals, the reaffirming of our commitment stands as a step in the right direction – helping us adopt a more structured approach to driving environment sustainability within the organization”.

The Contourline factory sustainability Long Range Plan includes a focus on the ‘planet project’; dedicated to reducing the waste and minimizing the consumption of energy, water and electricity, while reducing emission intensities. The plant plans to become a pioneer green plant – standing out among other sustainable apparel plants for its tireless efforts with regard to conservationism.

The efforts undertaken by the group have not gone un-noticed both locally and internationally. With awards from the Department of Labor and the Sri Lanka apparel organization, in addition to a Platinum Certificate of Compliance by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, a Best Sustainability Project Award by the Ceylon chamber of commerce and re-certification of ISO 16064, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001, the Contourline efforts have received wide acclaim – further motivating the team to take on the new challenges surrounding the next phase of the strategy.

Speaking on the re-certifications and how they affect the conservationism goals of Contourline, Venura Attanayaka , General Manager, MAS Active Contourline, explained, “Our goals and the recognition we have received for them ultimately fall within our triple bottom line – Planet, People and Profit. MAS Contourline has been working aggressively to identify and minimize the environmental impact of our operations and products. Our commitment to certifying under ISO 14001 illustrates out ability to maintain a positive relationship with the environment while providing employees with Occupational Safety & Health covered by the OHSAS 18001 certification. The Contourline team is dedicated to this goal and look forward to the next phase of its deployment.”

The factory has already implemented a range of environment friendly activities targeted at reducing emissions and waste while recycling, re-planting and conserving on all levels of operations. Initiatives such as partnering with the Agriculture Department of the Peradeniya University to lower the carbon footprint of the industry, the ‘Green Contourline’ tree planting project, upgrading the factory tree coverage, water catchment and reduced energy consumptions through the implementation of cutting edge environment friendly technology were simply the first steps in a long road to a zero carbon footprint goal.

MAS Contourline also partnered the National Cleaner Production Centre to reduce waste and save resources through conducting detailed cleaner production assessments. And went beyond the norm with the implementation of rain water collection systems and recycling of waste water for non-consumption purposes. By achieving a cleaner production process, the company hopes to apply the next phase of conservationism strategy while identifying, addressing and eliminating waste completely.

Photo captions: (Above) The MAS Contourline factory entranceThe green inspired MAS Contourline factory and  (below)

1. The green inspired MAS Contourline factory

2. The environment friendly MAS Contourline factory

3. The environment conscious MAS Contourline factory