Clothing factory in Sri Lanka - Holcim Lanka Ltd

Sustainable factory design is important because industrial manufacturing
not only consumes substantial energy and material resources, but directly
or indirectly accounts for significant emissions of pollutants and greenhouse
gases. The factory as a building type has emerged over the last two centuries
as a machine for mass production, with little concern for environmental or
social effects. Factory owners and designers who wish to advance beyond
this model must dismiss all preconceptions of what a factory is.
The designers of MAS Intimates Thurulie attained a fresh perspective by
concentrating on environmental and social criteria. They created a building
in which every occupant enjoys fresh air, natural light, comfortable
surroundings, and beautiful outdoor views of intact nature. Operation of
the building is not only energy efficient but carbon neutral. Seventy five
percent of the factory’s land area is left to nature, covered with greenery
or water, and managed as a habitat for plants and animals. The approach
led to an extraordinary factory that is not a sweatshop, but a workplace
in unison with nature; not a sprawling footprint in its rural setting, but a
preserver of habitat; not a carefree consumer of energy, but a miser.
How did this noteworthy achievement come about? Although the factory
is in Sri Lanka, the story begins in the United Kingdom. Marks & Spencer
learned that its customers demanded even greater ethical and environmental
responsibility. Management responded by devising Plan A, a five-year “eco”
program for worldwide improvement, including the company’s suppliers,
one of which is MAS Intimates. The new plant that MAS Intimates planned
at Thulhiriya and built with the support of Marks & Spencer is one of the
flagship “Eco Factory” projects under Plan A. Everyone in this story is a
winner. Marks & Spencer further bolstered its image with concrete proof
of its commitment to people and to the environment; the workers at MAS
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