Dilmah Sustainability - SustainabilityTracker.com

Sustainability Summary

Verified

Carbon-neutral tea — emissions independently offset through the Sri Lanka Climate Fund.
Funds the Endane Corridor — 40 hectares of restored Sri Lankan tropical rainforest.
Greening Batticaloa program is planting 1 million cashew trees to restore habitat.

Carbon Neutral

Certified by Sri Lanka Climate Fund

What do our labels mean?

We want to grow our business as a company but not at the cost of the planet.

On our journey of sustainability, we have not compromised. Through world-class research, innovation, resources and technology, Dilmah remains committed to a sustainable product line.

- Vajira Karunathilake
  Head of Quality Assurance, Dilmah Tea

Our Mission:
To develop and implement conservation initiatives that are novel and timely, to cater to national and global needs that will benefit communities and our core business.

About Dilmah

Status

Website
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Industry
Food & Beverages

Country
Australia

Dilmah Sustainability Actions

One Earth Climate Change Research Centre, Nawalapitiya

The One Earth Climate Change Research Center – Nawalapitiya is the first-ever Climate Change Research Station by the private sector in Sri Lanka, established at Dilmah Tea’s Queensbury Estate in Nawalapitiya. • Recent collaboration with renowned experts across the South Asian region, South Asia Nitrogen Hub (SANH) in a groundbreaking international research study to find a solution for the global nitrogen waste crisis. • Since opening in 2017 the center has facilitated 3 global, and 17 local research and 3 international workshops. • The centre is also the main research hub for the Bee A Keeper project. • Introduction of camera traps to monitor the biodiversity of fauna. Highlights for FY 24/25 - - 5 workshops with local universities - 250 beneficiaries - 4 school workshops - 200 beneficiaries - 4 other workshops - 155 beneficiaries - 13 ongoing research studies with local stakeholders Focus areas of research - Climate studies, bee and honey production, and ecology

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Endane Biodiversity Corridor

In 2018, Merrill J. Fernando, the founder of Dilmah, took a groundbreaking step by initiating a rainforest corridor project. This endeavor was initiated with the symbolic removal of tea plants in a land strip at the Dilmah's Endane Tea Estate, which had segregated two rainforest patches for over a century due to continuous tea monoculture. The Endane Biodiversity Corridor establishes a 3km long biodiversity corridor, connecting two fragmented forest patches adjacent to the Sinharaja Rainforest. • 40 ha of degraded tea lands converted to tropical lowland rainforests. • 545 tree species georeferenced for in-situ conservation. • 13,804 seedlings from 173 species, 85 are globally threatened. • 7000+ seedlings planted in Endane Biodiversity Corridor for ex-situ conservation. • 100+ globally threatened tree species planted in Endane Biodiversity Corridor and Seethawaka Botanical Garden. • 01 rain forest tree species extinct in the Wild (EW) (Shorea ovalifolia) was rediscovered and georeferenced outside the protected area network and propagated for ex-situ conservation. • 6180 seedlings planted in Endane Biodiversity Corridor (In-situ) and 1120 distributed to 05 ex-situ restoration sites with the supervision of Endane Biodiversity Corridor. • 5 ha of long-term restoration monitoring plots established across Endane Biodiversity Corridor • New species such as Gastrodia Pushparaga discovered during research activities. Highlights during FY 24/25 - - Rediscovering Memecylon elegantulum plant species.

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Agroforestry

Launched an agroforestry model in Rilhena in collaboration with Kahawatte Plantations, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and Agriculture Innovation Nucleus, complementing existing green restoration projects similar to the Endane Biodiversity Corridor. 1000 hectares of abandoned land have been identified within Kahawatte Plantations as being suitable for agroforestry. Commercial crops such as Garcinia, Pepper, Durian and Rambutan are among the species being planted. Dilmah’s green restoration endeavours are aligned with Sri Lanka’s commitment to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of increasing green cover by 32% by 2030.

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Organic Farming

The Dilmah Conservation One Earth Centres located in Moratuwa, Endana, Nawalapitiya, Kalkudah and Paasikudah, house organic farms as educational sites. These organic farms contain plots with vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc. that are relevant to and suitable for the region, to cater to the needs of the surrounding communities. Highlights in FY 24/25 - 1. Practical sessions held on organic farming for the Department of Urban Bio resources, University of Sri Jayewardenepura for 02 Batches, including 36 and 44 undergraduates, covering 70 practical hours at our One Earth Centre, Moratuwa. 2. Collaboration with Empower Culinary and Hospitality School of MJF Charitable Foundation, the Agriculture Innovation Nucleus of Dilmah offers a comprehensive curriculum on key principles of organic and urban gardening covering crop systems, greenhouse and soilless farming and techniques such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics. Students also gain hands-on experience with organic fertiliser production and explore various crops, spices, herbs, and edible flowers. Conducted 49 sessions for 02 batches with 16 students from each batch covering a total of 448 practical hours.

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Evidence

Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL)

Dilmah, together with IUCN and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, formed Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) in 2012 to build a coalition for environmental conservation among the corporate sectors. Life to Our Mangroves - Collaboration to restore up to 25 acres of degraded mangrove forest patches in the Anawilundawa Wetland Sanctuary. Life to Our Forests - Restoration of a degraded fern land in the Kanneliya Forest Reserve in collaboration with the Forest Department and IUCN. This project has been awarded Preferred by Nature’s prestigious “Ecosystem Restoration Standard” certificate - a globally recognised Standard that meticulously assesses ecosystem restoration performance at the field level across diverse biomes . Life to Our Corals - Conserving the Kayankerni Coral Reef in partnership with Biodiversity Sri Lanka. Other collaborations with BSL - The traditional two-month Pada Yathra pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama generates significant waste, including clothes, plastics, and aluminum, which harms forests, wildlife, and waterways. In 2022 and 2023, large amounts of waste were collected along the route. To reduce pollution, Dilmah and other private organizations organisations donated eco-friendly bags to pilgrims to minimize minimise plastic and polythene waste during the pilgrimage. Highlights in FY 24/25 - Bio credit Accrual System - Dilmah Conservation together with BSL is working together to establish and work with a technical committee for the development of a bio-credit Accrual System tailored to Sri Lanka's unique requirements.

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