From Left:  Shayne Choksy – Director Quick Tea, Razzali Noordeen – Operations Manager Quick Tea, Lakmini Senadheera – Manager Sustainability Assurance & Advisory Services SFG, Kanishka Jayasinghe – CCC, Sajeewa Ranasinghe – Snr. Sustainability Associate SFG, Sachini Jayakody – Carbon Associate CCC.

Quick Tea Private Limited, a subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s largest Tea Exporter for over two decades – Akbar Brothers Limited, became the recipient of yet another accolade for the diversified group of companies by being certified as a “CarbonConscious® Company”. The certification was awarded to Quick Tea by The Sustainable Future Group (SFG), committing the company to a three-year journey of measuring, managing, and mitigating their overall Carbon Footprint.

Certified CarbonConscious® is part of a proprietary, diverse range of certifications developed by SFG following internationally accepted standards and protocols that overlook key environmental impact areas such as carbon, water, waste and biodiversity. Taking their standard of excellence one step further to ensure the company’s environmental impact is managed as best as possible, Quick Tea partnered with the country’s foremost environmental consulting firm, The Carbon Consulting Company (CCC), to conduct detailed audits of the Company’s operations to determine its current impact status and to identify areas for improvement. Recommendations were brainstormed with the newly introduced Green Team of Quick Tea and ideas were evaluated according to feasibility and alignment with the Company’s corporate and sustainability goals and objectives, which were then incorporated into a comprehensive Carbon Management Plan with department-wise targets.

On receiving the certification, Shiraz Akbarally, Director at Akbar Brothers, commented, “As a company that prides itself in innovative approaches and places high priority on ethical practices, we are always looking at ways to further expand our efforts in a more sustainable manner. Environmental performance is increasingly becoming a vital part of any business operation, and obtaining a green certification enables us to implement and maintain high standards in this area. Akbar Brothers are constantly beating the status quo, and this new accreditation reinforces our message to our clients and stakeholders that we are committed to a sustainable future. We would like to thank the CCC team for helping us embark on this exciting new journey that would no doubt prove beneficial in the long run”.

“We are encouraged to see Quick Tea join the ranks of responsible businesses taking the steps necessary towards growing sustainability in the corporate sector of Sri Lanka”, remarked Sanith De S Wijeyeratne, CEO of CCC. “It is truly admirable when a company not only understands the importance of protecting the environment, but takes action to reduce its impact. We hope other companies follow in their footsteps and join the global fight against Climate Change.”

Incorporated in 1969, Akbar Brothers Limited have systematically diversified their business portfolio into Power Generation, Healthcare, Packaging, Banking, Insurance, Property Development and Environmental Services over the years, with Tea as the core business. Boasting a claim that over 75 million cups of Akbar Tea are consumed daily around the world, the company owes its success to maintaining the highest standards of quality and keeping to founding traditions such as ensuring that every consignment of Akbar Tea is personally approved by a family member before it is shipped.