Jiffy Products wins inaugural ‘Best Ethically Trading Exporter’ award at NCE Awards 2021
Jiffy Products Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. (JPSL), a leading manufacturer and exporter of coconut and coir-based plant propagation grow media,won two awards including the title of ‘Best Ethically Trading Exporter’ at the annual Export Awards of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE), a flagship event in Sri Lanka’s business calendar.
JPSLonce again took the Silver award in the ‘Extra-Large’ category of the ‘Coconut and Coconut Products’ Sector in addition to the award for Ethical Trading in the same category. The latter is the newest addition to the NCE awards scheme and was introduced to recognise ethically-governed, export-oriented organisations and encourage Sri Lankan exporters to conduct ethical practices and sustain business enhancement.
“We are delighted to win the inaugural Best Ethically Trading Exporter award in our category because it reaffirms our steadfast commitment to best practices in ethics and sustainability,” said Mr Ruwan Rajapakse, Managing Director of Jiffy Products Sri Lanka. “This award will strengthen our global presence whileenhancing the outlook for Sri Lanka as a global exporting hub. Jiffy Products strongly believes in ethical business operations and our strategiesare developed with the vision to be the innovation and service leader in sustainable plant growing solutions that feed and beautify the world.”
“We contribute over Rs2 billion to the rural economy annually through raw material purchases and employee wages and have persisted with continuous improvement initiatives despite the challenges of the times.We are therefore most encouraged by the honours bestowed on us by the National Chamber of Exporters,” Mr Rajapakse added.
The NCE challenge trophy for ethical trading was awarded to Jiffy Products according to evaluation criteria that covered the Company’s trading practices, payment of statutory wages, policy on child labour and forced labour, practices on non-discrimination, gender equity and freedom of association, working conditions, capacity-building efforts, promotion of good values, and environmental consciousness. Jiffy Products submitted detail explanations and declarations to support the criteria and affirmed that it continuously engages in environment-friendly practices.
The Silver award for export performance recognises Jiffy Productsfor demonstrated excellence in business with emphasis on People, Profit and Planet. The Company’s financial performance, export performance, efforts in value addition, nett foreign exchange earnings, effective management, impact on the triple bottom line, significant contributions to the national economy, implementation of certified management systems and product certifications, implementations of ethical business practices and good governance for the sustainability of the enterprise, were among the contributory factorsfor this award.
The highest value-added product exporter in Sri Lanka’s Coconut Substrate industry, Jiffy Products offers innovative products such as Jiffy-7C pellets, grow blocks, grow bags, coco discs and coco trays and plates for young plant propagation in the horticulture industry. In 2020, the Company introduced new products including drone seed squares, 42 types of grow bags, 18 types of pellets, two types of grow plates, six types of grow blocks, and one new type of tray as customer and crop specific growing solutions.
Jiffy Products exports to over 40 countries including Mexico, France, Canada, England, USA, Germany, Japan,Australia and South Korea.
The Company’s manufacturing plants in Pannala and Kobeigane comply with, and in some instances exceed global best practices in minimal use of water and plastics and practice comprehensive recycling of waste materials and resource recirculation.
Jiffy Products also collaborates with many local institutions such as universities, government research institutes such as the Tea Research Institute (TRI), Coconut Research Institute (CRI) and Department of Agriculture as well as agriculture-based private sector companies, to share its technical knowhow with the local farmer community through these organisations.
A multiaward-winning company, Jiffy Products won the Best Exporter Award for the 3rd consecutive yearin the Coconut Substrates sector at the Presidential Export Awards of 2019,and wonthe Sri Lanka National Quality Award (SLNQA) of theSri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), the National Business Excellence Award and the Appreciation of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka in the same year.
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