SWITCH-Asia

The Challenge

The food and beverage (F&B) industry is an important sector of the Sri Lankan economy. However, F&B producers, in particular the SMEs, are experiencing increasing diffi culties in maintaining their market shares due to the increasing costs of production, largely resulting from the extensive use of materials, energy and water. Reasons for the inefficient and unsustainable production practices include poor awareness of the issues on the part of SMEs and a lack of necessary expertise and resources to address them.

The Objectives

The main objective of the project is to improve the performance of the Food and Beverage sector in Sri Lanka through promotion of cost effective production techniques and best practices of sustainable production among Small and Medium Enterprises. The activities:

• Integrate Environmental Sustainability with Economic Growth and Welfare by promoting best practices of SCP among SMEs;
• Assist SMEs to comply with International Food Safety Standards and Regulations;
• Improve the Enabling Conditions for successful implementation of Sustainable Policies in Sri Lanka;
• Conduct environmental assessments for collection of base line information for optimisation of resource utilisation and benchmarking;
• Networking among businesses through formation of Green Business Clubs.

The Way Forward

The project aims to have an impact on the environment by producing more with less natural resources. This will reduce the consumption of energy, water and raw materials and also will result in reduction of solid waste, pollutants and gas emissions. The goals:

• To achieve success stories on SCP from 500 SMEs within 4 years
• To make 150 SMEs comply with international food safety standards
• To build local capacity for effective delivery of services on SCP
• To improve the enabling environment for effective enforcement of national policies and regulations including food safety standards