Ceylinco Life has broken new ground in the sphere of eco-friendly operations with the installation of the biggest solar electricity system in the city of Colombo to date.

The life insurance leader has announced it is converting its head office building in Colombo 5 to solar power, with a system capacity of 63.18kW.

To be completed in August 2016, the project will result in an annual reduction of 65 tons of CO2 emitted to the environment as a result of consumption of power from the national grid and thermal power generators, the company said.

The solar power plant at the company’s head office is expected to generate a saving of 7,200 units of electricity per month.
“Even though we do not consume as much electricity as a manufacturing company, we have made a firm commitment to maximise the use of renewable energy as part of our obligations to the principle of sustainability,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO R. Renganathan said.

“Already, all new branches constructed on company-owned land are designed to be Green buildings, and are powered by solar energy, significantly reducing their carbon footprint.”
Among the Ceylinco Life branches already using solar power are Kurunegala, Batticaloa, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Bandarawela and Wennappuwa. Together, they contribute to a reduction of 52.5 tons of CO2 per year. These buildings are designed for optimal use of natural light and also have facilities for rainwater harvesting.

In January this year, Ceylinco Life launched a series of environment-related initiatives across the 250 plus countrywide branch network of the company as part of a year-long sustainability drive comprising of three elements – ‘Reuse’, ‘Reduce’ and ‘Encourage.’ Among the initiatives was the planting of 4,000 trees in branch premises and the homes of staff.

Under this campaign Ceylinco Life employees are expected to reuse as many resources as possible, reduce use of resources where feasible and engage in similar activities in their homes. A dedicated portal has been created to track participation and progress of the tree planting campaign and branches have been given a comprehensive checklist to assist their efforts to reuse and reduce consumption of resources.

The market leader in Sri Lanka’s life insurance sector since 2004, Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies. The company is acknowledged as the benchmark for innovation in the local insurance industry for its work in product research and development, customer service, professional development and corporate social responsibility.