A promise by every HNB employee to factor in environmental standards and

consciousness into their day’s work

HNB, Sri Lanka’s premier private sector bank, will mark United Nation’s World Environment Day by recommitting to the HNB Green Pledge – a promise by every HNB employee to factor in environmental standards and consciousness into their day’s work and office environment. HNB encourages teams to take ‘one green step’ by pledging to make environmentally friendly change and record their progress. Having first committed to the Green Pledge 10 years ago, the Bank has evolved in its eco-conscious journey, within the office and branches as well as in communities that they operate in.

From the Bank’s award winning green buildings, symbols of the future of built-in technology to creating renewable energy at branches; from reducing carbon footprint through paperless operations to taking head-on the pollution issue at Sri Pada (Adams Peak), HNB’s Green Pledge has become the pivotal focus of corporate governance. Part of the environmental consciousness is the endeavor of financing select projects that fit within this mantra.

HNB’s Head of HR, Chiranthi Cooray said “As Sri Lankans, we have had the privilege of being heirs to a priceless cultural and environmental legacy and we are pleased to be associated with positive initiatives which serve to preserve and enhance this legacy for future generations”.

“One such initiative, taken up by our staff, is to create awareness for a cleaner environment. HNB has been in the forefront of clean-up projects over the past few years, like beach cleaning and cleaning of the sacred peak, Sri Pada”, she noted.

Having funded renovations for the Indikatupahana Ambalama rest room, at the highest point along the path towards Adam’s Peak, to providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to the pilgrims a few years ago, HNB employees realized that garbage pollution on the peak, travelled by millions of worshippers each season, was not only an eyesore but an environmental hazard.

Using their historic legacy of a Bank that started business in Hatton in 1888, this year, HNB commenced their ‘clean Sri Pada’ project from that very location. Under their CSR pillar, ‘Care for Nature’, employees joined hands with the Central Environmental Authority, Leo Club of Colombo Knights and each other to collect the choking bio-degradable and non bio degradable garbage – such as polythene, pet bottles, plastic wrapping of food along the route starting from the top of the mountain.

Throughout the campaign, staff had the opportunity to observe and appreciate nature, participated in some wild life photography and took time to study the various fauna and flora along the route. During the event banners were strung to remind pilgrims of the hazards of polythene while waste collection bags were distributed to them, reminding them again the negative consequences of littering.

The young and energetic team of 120 including staff of HNB collected and bagged the garbage. The volunteers were assisted by many hundreds of pilgrims who helped carry the bags to the recycling point, once again demonstrating the value of initiating a good deed.

“We at HNB are proud to do our bit in a range of initiatives that will help reduce the impact on the environment and help preserve natural resources. The actions and decisions of colleagues help achieve these aims and World Environment Day highlights this shared responsibility”, summed up Cooray.

About HNB

Hatton National Bank is a premier private sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka, operating across 252 branches island-wide. The bank has been internationally recognized as Bank of the Year 2017 by the prestigious British financial magazine The Banker, in recognition of its performance as the most profitable banking group and for introducing unprecedented innovations to the domestic banking industry. HNB was also adjudged ‘Best Retail Bank 2018 in Sri Lanka’ for the 10th time.

HNB’s leadership in technology was also recognized with the Bank’s ATM network being awarded the ‘Best ATM Network of the Year’ at the Lanka Pay Technovation Awards 2017. Furthermore, HNB moved up the ranks to be No. 3 in the LMD Top 100 Companies and to the No. 2 position in Business Today top 30 rankings, which places HNB as the highest ranked bank in both these rankings. Similarly the bank has consistently established a reputation for advancing the highest standards in sustainability, having implemented numerous initiatives aimed at promoting renewable energy projects through clients and through an extensive roof-top solar power covering HNB’s head office and several of its branches across the island.

The bank has also won the Gold Award in the Banking Category in addition to being awarded first runner-up in the overall category at the 12th Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards.

HNB also stands as the first local Bank in Sri Lanka to receive an international rating on par with the sovereign from Moody’s Investor Services while maintaining a national long term rating of AA – (lka) from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. HNB is also ranked amongst the top 1,000 banks in the world by the prestigious Banker Magazine.