GRI, a leading global industrial tire manufacturer, was recently recognized for its commitment to environmental efforts, awarded the “Presidential Award for Sustainability amongst the Export Industry” in Sri Lanka. According to a release from the company, there are some industry sectors are often considered ideal candidates for such recognition, many manufacturers are not included and are often criticized for their lack of policies to control pollution.

However, GRI strives to prove the dirty tire-manufacturer cliché wrong. The company is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2004 – an Environmental Management System (EMS) certification stating a set of processes and practices that enables an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.

Highlights of their efforts include:

• Making certain that all material used in the manufacturing process are contained and therefore do not affect soil or earthly matter.
• All avoidable material waste is recycled to produce an environmentally friendly, value-added product which is considered a green solution.
• Rejected tires and compounds are converted into ‘buffing dust’ also known as ‘rubber crumb’, or into reclaim rubber.
• GRI has taken the initiative to procure and utilize biomass boilers. (Biomass boilers ensure complete combustion of the biomass, hence significantly lowering the generation of carbon gases.)
• As GRI uses the renewable raw material produced by the wood industry in its manufacturing process, the company has conceptualized a tree planting project, both inside and outside factory premises.
• GRI has taken the responsibility of treating its waste water and sewerage via a treatment plant for all waste water generated, the treated waste water is then used for machine cooling and gardening purposes.

In January 2017, GRI laid the foundation for the construction of its second specialized tire factory in Badalgama, Sri Lanka, on 10 acres of land, adjacent to its current solid tire factory.

With a footprint of 100,000 square feet, the new GRI factory will be the largest in Sri Lanka dedicated to produce specialty tires, and the first to produce radial agriculture tires. The company says that their key objective is to contribute to the economy based on sustainability, which is why they were recognized with the award.