CEAT Kelani Holdings recently launched a new tree-planting initiative with the engagement of employees and their families in the belief that commitment to sustainability must extend to every individual in an enterprise rather than being the mantra of a few.
Simultaneous tree-planting activities at the tyre manufacturer’s expansive production facilities in Kelaniya and Kalutara were accompanied by the distribution of more than 1,000 saplings to employees with the exhortation that they be planted and nurtured in their home gardens.
Participating in this initiative, were CEAT Kelani Managing Director Mr Ravi Dadlani, members of the Executive Committee, representatives of the employee unions and employees from the Company’s offices as well as factories.
“We have already invested substantially in initiatives that will reduce our environmental footprint, but these efforts are essentially the result of senior management decisions,” Mr Dadlani commented. “We believe, however, that going Green must permeate the psyche of every employee to generate maximum possible impact and hence this tree-planting programme.”
Among the major sustainability initiatives already under implementation at CEAT Kelani Holdings are a soon to be commissioned mega solar power generation project, significant strides towards establishing a paperless office aimed at reducing the consumption of paper in administrative and sales operations, and a number of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) practices encompassing end-to-end business processes.
Notably, sustainability perspectives extend to product design and development and manufacturing processes too at CEAT Kelani Holdings. The CEAT ‘Secura Drive’ series of tyres are designed for low rolling resistance leading to reduced fuel consumption and higher mileage, while the CEAT ‘Fuelsmarrt’ range of tyres, as the name suggests, is designed for fuel efficiency.
In the product design and development pipeline at CEAT Kelani are plans for tyres that offer higher retreadability and tyres of optimal weight for performance and environment credentials. In product manufacturing, the Company has already implemented processes that reduce water consumption, and is planning for an increased use of renewable energy and energy conservation mechanisms.
CEAT Kelani Holdings manufactures nearly half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements and exports about 20 per cent of its production to 16 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. The cumulative investment of CEAT Kelani Holdings in Sri Lanka exceeds Rs 8 billion in manufacturing operations that encompass tyres in the radial (passenger cars, vans and SUVs), commercial (nylon and radial), motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural vehicle segments.