In our “In Conservation” segment this month, we were happy to chat with Kshanika Goonesekera, Ph.D., Manager, Environmental Sustainability, MAS Intimates. Our Member Focal Points are the backbone of BSL.
BSL: Give us a brief introduction about your company and yourself
A: MAS Intimates is the largest subsidiary of South Asia’s largest apparel manufacturer, MAS Holdings. MAS Intimates is responsible for designing, developing, and manufacturing for some of the world’s leading lingerie brands. Over the last three and a half decades, MAS Intimates has differentiated itself in the global fashion industry through its innovation mindset, strong technical competency, and making sustainability a foundation of the product creation process. It has design and development offices in Hong Kong and Sri Lanka with a presence in New York and London. MAS Intimates is also home to 17 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Kenya with a rapidly growing global footprint.
I am a molecular biologist by training with a background in ecology, microbiology, and phylogenetics, working as the Manager, Environmental Sustainability at MAS Intimates. This may not be the conventional combination of qualifications that are needed for working in environmental sustainability for an apparel manufacturer. However, I have been pleasantly surprised at how useful these skills have been when overseeing the different areas that come under my purview at MAS Intimates.
Board at Udawalawe describing the invasive removal project
BSL: What drives your Company’s sustainability agenda and what are its key focus areas?
A: MAS Intimates’ efforts to drive a positive impact on the environment are outlined in the MAS Plan for Change, a commitment to creating sustainable change under three areas of focus: products, lives, and the planet.
My role in environmental sustainability broadly focuses on both the product and planet pillars with more attention to emissions & energy, waste, chemicals, water, and biodiversity which fall under the planet pillar of the MAS Plan for Change. The key focus areas include analyzing the manufacturing footprint and ensuring that we have a minimum environmental impact, working towards reducing our absolute emissions and aligning to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), ensuring that all our facilities follow stringent chemical management guidelines so that our products and processes are free of toxic chemicals, adhering to international standards and restricted substances lists (RSLs), guaranteeing that all waste is diverted from landfill and value-enhancing all non-hazardous waste.
We also safeguard the natural ecosystem in the locality of our facilities and work to conserve and restore biodiversity. At MAS Intimates we have a team of technical experts and specialized teams located at each of our plants that ensure that these standards are maintained.
BSL: Give us an outline of your company’s current sustainability initiatives/projects
A: Sustainability became a focus over a decade ago and has been steadily growing in momentum. It is not simply a business decision anymore but a lifestyle choice.
Our commitment to renewable energy is displayed through rooftop solar installations at Vidiyal, Kilinochchi
As a global organization, our commitment to renewable energy is high and two of our facilities are already running on 100% renewable electricity, through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Another facility is in the pipeline to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and we are also researching the possibility of offsite renewable energy generation. Installing all our facilities with energy-efficient fixtures, machines and equipment was something we did right at the start of our sustainability journey in the early part of the 2010 decade and we are striving for continuous improvements through regular maintenance and upgrades.
An elephant is seen enjoying the vegetation in a cleared area at Udawalawe National Park
MAS Intimates is passionate about Biodiversity. We started our conservation work in Sri Lanka and as a division completed the restoration of 834 acres in 2021. A few examples of our work include removing invasive species at Udawalwe National Park, Lunugamwehera National Park and Minneriya National Park, restoring mangrove habitats in Koggala, reforestation campaigns at Rakwana, Ella and Foxhill as well as turtle conservation at Panama. Our first international conservation project was initiated in 2022 close to our facility in Kenya. This is a different project to what we have done so far and involves the Masai community in conservation through allowing wildlife to freely graze on their community land, instead of fencing these areas and inhibiting the movement of the wildlife.
Gathering of all the landowners who are partnered with us in the Kenya conservancy project
In the product space, circularity is a key driver for us as well as our customers. Creating a circular business model by bringing back products into the value chain at the end of life is important to us. As the first step, we are looking to close the loop on our waste by upcycling fabric waste back to the fabric we can use in our products. One of the biggest drawbacks is the slow pace of scaling up of available technology, due to the pandemic and now the impending economic crisis.
Apart from these focus areas, we are of course continuing to improve our standing with water consumption, chemical management, and reducing our waste. We also make it a point to take our best practices and sustainability messages to our communities. Every facility in all our global locations engages with their communities to recycle waste and establish sustainable entrepreneurs, educate the next generations on the necessity to live a sustainable lifestyle, increase green cover, and come together to clean up the community and public lands for the benefit of the community, the environment and much more.
BSL: What are your company’s key achievements in the sustainability domain and the reasons behind the success?
A: Three awards that we have won in the recent past must be highlighted here.
- Winner of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2020 for the MAS Mangroves project.
This project initiated in 2017 focuses on improving Lagoon based habitats through replantation and plant cover enrichment. Our work in mangroves also focuses on the long-term autonomy of the restored habitats by engaging and educating the local communities.
- Presidential Export Awards 2020/21
- Exporter of the Year
- Best Exporter in Product Diversification
- Contributor to Sustainable Development in Exports
Our commitment to converting our products to sustainable alternatives and pursuing new developments in sustainable categories was highlighted with this award.
- The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2018. Category of Ten Best Corporate Citizens.
- Triple Bottomline Award: Environmental Sustainability (Planet).
- Category Award Winners (in 3 categories): Community Relations, Environmental Integration and Environmental Commitment.
BSL: What are the challenges you see in driving your sustainability agenda forward in the current, extremely volatile business context?
A: The impending global recession may cause the focus on sustainability to be deprioritized, even though it had been picking up momentum in the international markets. We witnessed most of our planned projects being impacted during COVID due to the lockdown. Locally the prevailing situation in the country does bring up some challenges when implementing some initiatives, however, we are unwavering in our commitment to our sustainability goals. Despite these challenges, we will continue to push forward to reach our targets as set out in the MAS Plan for Change.
BSL: Any interesting future plans
A: In an ideal world we would be able to collect post-consumer waste, and recycle it into a high-quality product which can then be re-introduced back into manufacturing streams. There are many hurdles to cross but circularity at scale is an interesting future focus. Another is expanding our commitment to renewable energy. The global energy crisis is making exploring new renewable energy avenues a non-negotiable. Sri Lanka is not geared for many renewable energy mechanisms available globally. There is a lot of potential for us in this space, therefore we have highlighted this as one of our focus areas.
On the biodiversity front, we are looking to expand our conservation work to our global production sites. How they implement projects are different to how we carry out projects locally, making this a learning curve for us. The conservation project in Kenya is a good example. We did not think that a community would readily leave their lands open to grazing wildlife and in turn predators. However, the NGO we are partnering with and the results they showed us after more than a decade of experience convinced us of the benefits to wildlife, the community as well as the ecosystem as a whole.
We have a presence in Indonesia and they are very keen on their commitment to the mangroves their approach to restoration is fueled by their passion to conserve the environment. It is truly inspirational to work with such passionate individuals.
BSL: Any message/s/ recommendation/s to BSL Members aspiring to be leaders in Corporate Sustainability?
I believe you need to be passionate about sustainability to be working in this field because it goes beyond a traditional job role. What you do from 9-5 amalgamates to your lifestyle and your set of values. If you want to make a difference in the world by conserving and creating a sustainable future and you believe that you can make that difference even though your contribution may seem modest, then let your passion drive you, and remember as the poet Julia Carney stated: “little drops of water make the mighty ocean.”
