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

United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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