The Hirdaramani Group has yet again taken bold strides towards energy accountability by being the first in Sri Lanka to receive International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) for its energy usage. With this robust tracking standard, the group hopes to add new layers of accountability and credibility to its operations, living up to the commitments outlined in the company’s own sustainability vision.
As Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), I-RECs serve to increase transparency in the energy sector and provide clarity about the use of renewable electricity among end-consumers. The I-REC Standard (www.irecstandard.org) ensures that issued certificates comply with major international sustainability and carbon accountability standards and adhere to stakeholder expectations of industry best practice for the avoidance of double counting, double certificate issuance, and double attribute claiming. The system also helps individual companies seeking to improve their environmental credentials, while raising awareness among consumers and industry players.
With I-RECs Hirdaramani hopes to both, back the country’s clean energy programmes, as well as offset its own electricity consumption-related emissions, and support its internal sustainability strategy. As a result, they are now able to accurately claim the energy they use from renewable sources.
More specifically, the new standard will register the rooftop solar power produced from the on-site PV plants across Hirdaramani’s manufacturing facilities. With I-RECs, these will then be available for use within the Group, providing a clear and accurate view of renewable energy usage by each facility. This direct generation and allocation also limits the company’s grid impact, in turn contributing towards a reduction in its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
“At Hirdaramani we are dedicated to constantly holding ourselves accountable for meeting our commitments, and for the validation of our sustainability goals,” said Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director, Hirdaramani Group. “The decision to invest in the I-REC Standard and framework stems from this dedication, allowing us to not only quantify our achievements but also more importantly, to collect reliable data which will help us to keep moving forward towards our energy and GHG reduction goals.”
The I-REC Standard is developed in accordance with major international standards including GHGP, CDP, RE100, ISO, and others, providing significant credibility to data reported by users. The certification project for Hirdaramani was carried out by The Carbon Consulting Company together with the UK-based Green Certification Company.
Based on current figures, Hirdaramani projects that I-RECs will be covering approximately 40% of the electricity demand of their Sri Lankan facilities. By using I-RECs, individual factories will be able to quantify their renewable energy usage at a facility level, with expected ranges between 40% and 100% depending on the facility. Overall, the company is projecting that they will be able to achieve approximately a 25% decrease in its Scope 1 and 2 related carbon footprint in 2021, primarily as a result of the reduction in GHG emissions via the implementation of the I-REC programme.
Over the years Hirdaramani has made many investments into renewable energy, ranging from direct investments into wind and hydro-power plants, to implementing on-site renewable energy generation projects at their manufacturing facilities (including solar power and biomass). The continued investment in third-party validation and certification by globally recognized standards is another of the company’s core commitments in its move towards becoming a more sustainable organization, with a future first approach to how they conduct their operations.
CarbonNeutral® certification
In 2012, the Hirdaramani Group achieved the milestone of having the First CarbonNeutral® Apparel Factory in Asia, driven by the phenomenal efficiencies achieved at its flagship green factory ‘Mihila’ in Agalawatta. The commitment of the company to sustainability has always gone beyond milestones, and this is reflected with the ongoing commitment to maintaining the rigorous standards needed to achieve this certification year on year as they announce that Mihila has been certified CarbonNeutral® for the 9th consecutive year.
“Although this is our 9th year as a CarbonNeutral® manufacturer, every year it means something to us and the teams that ensure we keep up our efforts and meet changing goals and standards. This year is especially meaningful as it comes after an extremely challenging 12 months due to the Global Pandemic,” said Nikhil Hirdaramani Director of the Hirdaramani Group. “Staying committed to our sustainability goals in the worst of times, and not using it as an excuse to fall back is a true testament to the values that drive everyone in our organisation and I hope it is an example for others to keep their focus on our shared responsibility to protect the planet for future generations”.
Mihila commenced operations in 2008 and is the world’s first custom-built eco-friendly apparel factory. Although built as an eco-friendly factory and showing incredible results in reducing energy, water consumption, and waste generation to name a few, Mihila has also continued to evolve adopting new technologies, operational processes, and meeting new global standards.
The factory is one of Sri Lanka’s most accredited, with certifications ranging from LEED (USGBC) Gold to WRAP, GSV, Fair Trade, HACCP, ISO 14001 & 45001, Ethical Trading & BSCI.
In addition, in 2018 the factory’s on-site renewable energy generation was vastly expanded, from the original 22,000 kWh per year to generating 1,292,500 kWh in 2020 as part of the group-wide rooftop solar project “Suryadhanavi”. In 2020, with the Group’s investment in IREC’s (International Renewable Energy Credits), Hirdaramani is also able to have more accountability of the renewable energy generated onsite. All of these continued improvements and the investment in external emission reduction projects, such as financing Wind power projects in the region had helped the factory maintain its CarbonNeutral® certification.
The CarbonNeutral® Protocol (www.carbonneutral.com) defines the emissions that must be measured to become a CarbonNeutral® Manufacturer. The calculation and the verification to award Hirdaramani Knit Mihila with this status were carried out respectively by the Carbon Consulting Company (Pvt) Ltd and the Sustainable Future Group.