DFCC Bank recognized for Sustainable Development Financing and Reporting
27 May 2015 07:19 am
DFCC Bank won three awards at the Outstanding Development Project Awards 2015, organized by the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).
Besides being a founder member of the Association, DFCC has been winning awards every year for its outstanding project work.
This year the Bank received a special award for the Best Sustainability Report, and was presented a Plaque of Merit for the developmental impact of projects carried out under the Environmental Development and Local Economic Development categories.
DFCC has been constantly pushing the boundaries of reporting. Titled ‘Game on’, the Annual Report for 2013/14 provided a holistic view of the economic, social and environmental impact of its operations, drawing on the concepts and principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Guidelines G4, the International Integrated Reporting Framework and the Smart Media Methodology for Integrated Reporting. This report was also recognized locally by the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka when it won Gold at the awards ceremony held last year. Noteworthy also is that DFCC’s Annual Report for 2011/12 titled ‘Multiple Strands of Business Lend Strength’ was recognized at the ADFIAP Awards in 2013, when it won the overall award for Best Annual Report.
The award of merit for Environment Development was conferred to the Bank, for financing Sri Lanka’s first commercial scale grid-connected solar power project. The Bank guided and financed the venture and is now on record for being the pioneer financier in all renewable energy projects (hydro, wind and solar) undertaken by the private sector in Sri Lanka. This project, located in Hambantota, will cover 45 acres for the generation of 10MW of energy and will boost the role of renewable energy in the power supply to the national grid.
The Bank also won a merit award in the Local Economic Development category, for financing Sri Lanka’s first and only rice bran oil manufacturing facility. This operation uses rice bran which is a by-product of the milling industry to manufacture an edible oil, which is healthier than other similar products, and has cholesterol reducing properties.
It is also used in the cosmetic industry as a skin moisturizer. Currently rice bran is exported to India for use as an animal feed and in the production of rice bran oil. The project utilizes state-of-the-art machinery, from Veltech Masters India; a leading manufacturer of equipment for rice bran production. Located in Polonnaruwa this operation provides employment to more than 50 direct and 50 indirect persons, mainly to the people in the locality.