The event commenced with the welcome address by Mr. Gamini Gunasekara, Chairman of the NCPCSL, followed by brief opening statements from the project partners (Ms. Christiane Einfeldt, Country Director for GIZ Sri Lanka/Maldives; Dr. Carl Vadenbo, project manager at the ecoinvent Association, and Mr. Samantha Kumarasena, CEO of NCPCSL). The contributions to the event were provided by three distinguished speakers, representing the national government of Sri Lanka, the international LCA and broader sustainability community, and export-oriented domestic industry.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary for the Ministry of Environment in Sri Lanka, emphasized the necessity of life cycle thinking when addressing environmental problems, by drawing parallels to the health of the human body. In this vein, “restauration is a commitment that goes beyond protection of the environment”. Underscoring the importance of proactive approaches to promote circularity, Dr. Jasinghe expressed his generous endorsement for the project on national capacity and data infrastructure for LCA. Dr. Llorenç Milà i Canals from the Life Cycle Initiative/UNEP shared examples from around the world of how life cycle thinking and LCA help in shaping, actions, from the micro- to the macro-economic level, for more sustainable development. Sharing experiences from the position as Sustainable Product Lead at MAS Holdings, Mr. Pasindu Samarakkody provided insights to the drivers, opportunities, and challenges for LCA in the important export-oriented textile and apparel industry in Sri Lanka.
With more than 200 participants attending, this awareness raising event successfully reached a broad audience of national stakeholders. Further events and activities will follow throughout the year. Please visit the project website (under development) for more information.
- Chief Guest – Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment
- Dr. Llorenç Milà i Canals, Head of the Secretariat – Life Cycle Initiative Economy Division-UN Environment
- Mr. Pasindu Samarakkody, Sustainable Product Lead at MAS Holdings.
