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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
3.19.2007 - 12:54pm ET
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New Line of Ceylon Tea Promotes Global Compact, Benefits Workers
Sri Lankan Companies Leading the Way in Global Compact Advocacy and Implementation
(CSRwire) NEW YORK, NY - March 19, 2007 – Connecting branding, advocacy and
implementation, Sri Lankan Global Compact participants Kelani Valley
Plantations Ltd. and Mabroc Teas (Pvt) Ltd., both part of the Hayleys
Group, have announced plans to distribute information about the Global
Compact to consumers worldwide and to use profits from a new product line
of teas to improve the living environment of plantation workers in Sri
Lanka.
Leaflets with the 10 Global Compact principles will be added to each
package of Mabroc Kelani Valley Tea, a joint operation of Mabroc and
Kelani Valley Plantations launched under the companies’ commitment to
the Global Compact. Beginning in March, more than 18 million packs of tea
per annum will be shipped containing the leaflet, which has been
translated into Arabic, English, German, Japanese and Russian. The tea
will be marketed in 40 countries around the world.
The announcement was made at UN Headquarters in New York on 19 March, when
the first packs of the new tea range were presented to Georg Kell,
Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, by N.G. Wickremeratne,
Chairman of Hayleys Group.
The Kelani Valley Tea also links Global Compact advocacy with
implementation. Under the companies' new "Home for Every Plantation
Worker" programme, profits from the tea’s sale will contribute to
improving the living environment for roughly 10,000 families involved in
tea production in the Kelani Valley Plantations. The programme provides
land for housing to plantation workers, improves local infrastructure,
offers free medical services as well as community capacity-building
projects, and supports vocational training and recreational activities.
"This new line of teas effectively links the core business competencies of
both Hayleys and Mabroc with the mission and principles of the Global
Compact", said Georg Kell. "At the same time, it sends a strong message
about responsible business practices to consumers around the world".
"We are proud to be associated with the Global Compact as its principles
resonate with the high integrity and ethics that we have maintained at
Hayleys Group since its inception in 1878", said N.M. Wickremeratne.
"Today, we have taken another step on our journey as a global citizen with
the launch of the 'Mabroc Kelani Valley' range of ethical teas".
"The Mabroc Kelani Valley brand will set a new benchmark for responsible
business practice with its commitment to purity, support of the Global
Compact principles and its Home for Every Plantation Worker initiative",
said Bandula Jayasekera, Chairman of Mabroc Teas. "As we embark on this
journey we believe it is our responsibility to educate consumers of high
values entrenched in the UN Global Compact principles".
About the United Nations Global Compact
Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN
agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal
principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and
anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global
Compact seeks to mainstream these ten principles in business activities
around the world and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals.
With over 3000 participating companies and hundreds of other stakeholders
from more than 100 countries, it is the world's largest voluntary
corporate citizenship initiative. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.
About Hayleys
Mabroc Kelani Valley Teas is a strategic alliance between Mabroc Teas, a
leading brand marketer of Ceylon Teas and Kelani Valley Plantations, both
part of Hayleys Ltd.
Kelani Valley Plantations Limited (KVPL), a leading plantation company in
Sri Lanka, comprises 26 estates, extending over 13,000 hectares situated
in three climatic regions. The Company currently has over 15,200
employees.
Hayleys Ltd. is the first Sri Lankan multinational conglomerate and
accounts for 3.7 percent of the country’s export income, 2 percent of
GDP, and 3.5 percent of market capitalization on the Colombo Stock
Exchange. The Hayleys business portfolio ranges from global markets and
manufacturing, agriculture and agri-business, infrastructure and
transportation to consumer products and resorts. The company currently
employs more than 36,500 people in 11 countries. For more information
about Hayleys and KVPL, visit www.hayleys.com or www.hayleys.com/plantations.htm
About Mabroc Teas
One of the leading branded tea exporters in Sri Lanka, Mabroc Teas was
incorporated in 1988 and entered into a strategic alliance to market tea
with KVPL in August 2003. The company currently exports more than four
million kilograms of tea in bulk, packets, tea bags, cartons and boxes to
the USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, Italy,
Switzerland, New Zealand, Holland, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and
the CIS countries. For more information, visit www.mabrockvplethicaltea.com
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kapila viraj munasingha
2008-04-26 03:51:47
why you did not include about investors attitudes on corporate social responsibility
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