AFC’s sustainability efforts shine in the international limelight again!

Internationally endorsed once again for its genuine Social and Environmental Sustainability orientation, Alliance Finance Company PLC – Sri Lanka (AFC) has been recognized with a merit award at the ADFIAP Outstanding Development Projects Awards 2019, organized by the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), headquartered in the Philippines.  It was awarded under the category of Local Economic Development for AFC’s contribution towards developing Social Entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka by partnering with the Ath Pavura reality TV program.

ADFIAP is the industry body representing the development banks and other financial institutions engaged in the financing of development in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to advance sustainable development through its members. Founded in 1976, ADFIAP has currently 131 member-institutions in 45 countries including the Asian Development Bank as a Special Member.

In July 2018, the Deputy Chairman/Managing Director Mr. Romani de Silva received the merit award for the Sustainability Leader of the year at the Karlsruhe Sustainability Finance Awards, held in Karlsruhe, Germany, organized by the European Organization for Sustainable Development; adding to the list of international awards received for the sustainability efforts of the company.

Upon receiving the ADFIAP award, Director Sustainability Mr. Mahinda Gunasekara, dedicated the award to the highly committed AFC team which has made possible these achievements and stated that, “AFC believes that true triple bottom line value creation is a process that identifies significant social and environmental issues that are prevailing and finds innovative as well as effective business solutions that ensure a positive outcome for society and the environment in a holistic manner. This process is key to sustainable development.”

AFC’s sustainability mandate in the context of its core business is largely focused on battling the climate change and developing sustainable communities using finance as a catalyst. In 2017, AFC has pledged its commitment to this goal as a signatory to the Karlsruhe Resolution at the Global Sustainable Finance Conference held in Germany; organized by the European Organization for Sustainable Development. This is a declaration of institutional support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement (COP21), collectively referred to as “Agenda 2030”.

AFC Thuru Mithuru was the biggest project AFC conducted in the year 2018, planting 214,000++ plants by the year end of which 176,518 were planted on World Environment Day, with the participation of over 370,000 school children from 991 schools in all districts of Sri Lanka. This is a program scheduled for three years with the objective of compensating the Carbon Dioxide emitted by the Motor Vehicles leased by customers of the company. Accordingly, Approx. 50 trees for every motor car lease will be planted, totaling to 600,000 trees by the end of 2021.