‘Mathaka’ by SriLankan Airlines creates new trend in global sustainability efforts

SriLankan Airlines  Manager Operational Quality  Captain  Anushad Liyanagoda  briefing the media on ‘Mathaka’, while (left) SriLankan Airlines Manager Corporate Communications Deepal Perera, and (extreme right) HoL Chairperson Lonali Rodrigo look on 
- Pix by Kithsiri de Mel

As the world plunges into the crisis stemming from climate change, efforts are explored across diverse sectors to minimise the carbon footprint. And one such industry that is making a significant impact in this regard is the global aviation sector.

Leading airlines across the world have been successful bringing in sustainable practices into their operations, some of which are industry-first. While much of the aviation sustainability efforts are technology-driven, national carrier SriLankan Airlines came under fresh spotlight recently for its innovative efforts by way up upcycling, in contributing to the sustainable efforts with its groundbreaking project ‘Mathaka’.

Bringing Sri Lanka under int’l spotlight
Mathaka is SriLankan Airlines’ globally acclaimed signature upcycle project which emerged from a need to creatively minimize the island nation’s ecological footprint by repurposing the airline’s scrap material into a variety of lifestyle products. 

The project was initiated in 2019.
The efforts of the national carrier paid off when project Mathaka beat out 118 other submissions to win the Best Aviation Sustainability Program Award at the recent Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (SMBR) Global Aviation Awards. The final selection was made by an independent panel represented by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation; The General Civil Aviation Authority in the United Arab Emirates; and Airbus.

An effort towards creating memories
Memories often define a person, and the project’s name, ‘Mathaka,’ or memories in Sinhalese, is a nod to the significance of memories. As an airline, Srilankan plays an essential role in making memories for people who traverse the world for new experiences or loved ones, explained SriLankan Airlines Manager Operational Quality Captain Anushad Liyanagoda.
 “The idea behind ‘Mathaka,’ therefore, is to artfully fashion fragments of people’s memories of air travel into the tangible. Project Mathaka achieves this by transforming remnants of yesterday’s onboard product to brand new products, allowing SriLankan to take its planet-friendly corporate philosophy to another level,” said Liyanagoda, explaining the thought process behind the award-winning project.

From waste bin to the shelf
SriLankan Airlines has been binning waste material such as unusable aircraft seat covers, blankets, uniforms, and other items originating from the aircraft and the process of flying to the tune of 16 tons, each year. Prior to the launch of Mathaka, this waste would eventually end up in landfills costing the airline millions in expenses on disposal, and the environment significantly more in pollution.
Through Mathaka, SriLankan is able to avert discarded material from going to landfill and minimize the consequential long-term negative impact on the environment. Mathaka facilitates waste material to be upcycled to something new.
According to the airline, effective waste management from upcycling further offers a practical solution in this age of economic scarcity and shortage of raw materials by extending the use of waste material in a sustainable manner.
To drive this effort forward, SriLankan Airlines partnered with House of Lonali, a local, conscious lifestyle brand that designs, and manufactures upcycled lifestyle products, to bring project Mathaka to life. 
Jointly, an exclusive range of products and accessories will be developed under the ‘Mathaka’ brand including travel bags; wallets; books; key tags; photo frames; and jewellery — all assembled from aircraft discards.

Saving waste, saving money
Liyanagoda shared that the national carrier previously spent nearly Rs. 500,000 on the disposal of in-flight materials.
The airline also had to incur a cost of about Rs. 1 million per annum on the purchase of corporate gifts. With this project’s implementation, the entity can reduce the spending. While at present the expenses saved via this project is small, Captain Liyanagoda said being consistent with the effort would help to eventually make an impact on the company’s balance sheet.
 Empowering low-income communities along the way
There is a strong humanitarian aspect to Mathaka as well. SriLankan Airlines will be empowering women from low-income communities to earn a livelihood and support their families through its partner House of Lonali. 
The organization provides employment opportunities to disadvantaged women both directly and by working with non-profit foundations, namely Women in Need (WIN) that advocate for women’s causes. Women engaged with the production process of Project Mathaka by House of Lonali, directly or via WIN, can now present their talent to a global travel audience and make a living simultaneously. 
Further, environmental and social sustainability is at the heart of Mathaka, which fulfills several of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set up by the United Nations. These include reducing poverty; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life on land; and partnerships for the goals.

Keeping environment and sustainability at the core
Project Mathaka is one of several initiatives taken by the Environmental Affairs and Sustainability team of the airline toward supporting the environment in measured and impactful ways. 
SriLankan was the first airline in Asia to introduce ‘Planet Friendly Flights’ back in 2009 and was named the second lowest carbon emitting airline in the Asia-Pacific in 2016 by Business Traveller. 
“Collaboration with like-minded partners and being part of the solution is the only way to fight against climate change. As a pioneer in the region for aviation sustainability, the airline through its Environmental Affairs and Sustainability team, continuously strives to create an eco-friendly attitude among its people,” said Linayanagoda.
He added that as the community is often integrated into its projects, the airline is hopeful that small steps will lead to greater achievement in terms of sustainability in the long run.
Way forward
Going forward, Mathaka products will be introduced for sale onboard SriLankan Airlines flights and through the website and retail partners of House of Lonali. Customers who buy Mathaka products can take satisfaction from knowing that they are not just being environmentally conscious, but the money they have invested will entirely go toward funding other sustainability initiatives of the airline.