ATLAS’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS RECOGNIZED AT NATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION AWARDS 2020

Achieving yet another significant milestone, Atlas Axillia Co. (Private) Limited has been recognized as
the sector winner for Large Scale Manufacturing (Other Category) at the National Cleaner Production
Awards 2020. This award recognizes Atlas for its cost competitiveness and social responsibility,
demonstrated by its conservative, effective and efficient usage of resources and reduction of waste.
The National Cleaner Production Award is awarded by the National Cleaner Production Centre of Sri
Lanka (Sri Lanka NCPC), which is the country’s foremost cleaner production solutions provider in Sri
Lanka. The award was received on behalf of Atlas Axilla Co. by Asitha Samaraweera and Viraj
Jayasooriya, Managing Director and Director of Operations, respectively.
Discussing Atlas Axillia’s overall approach to Cleaner Production, Asitha Samaraweera said, “Many
years ago, we understood the importance of efficiency and embarked on the Lean journey. Today,
we are the benchmark for Lean and Kaizen in Sri Lanka. Through these efforts we have reduced our
waste significantly and now more efficiently use resources. We’ve implemented waste reduction
programmes, pushed forward with innovation in product design and re-engineering processes and
enhanced the lives of our own people through various programmes and many other efforts. We
have achieved all this whilst consistently continuing to provide world class tools for learning to Sri
Lanka’s future leaders. Therefore, we are grateful and proud to have had our efforts recognized on
this national platform. We take this opportunity to thank our teams, our loyal customers and the
awarding body for this recognition and honour.”
Emphasizing on the stringent guidelines and criteria demanded by this award, Viraj Jayasooriya –
Director of Operations added, “The eligibility requirements for the National Cleaner Production
Awards are rigorous and tough. Atlas has won this award as a result of our commitment to
sustainability and our effective use of resources with minimal waste. We have streamlined our
processes to ensure that we always use as little as possible to produce as much as possible. This is
critical in today’s environment where resources are scarce and we need to be responsible to ensure
a healthy and prosperous world both now and for future generations. This is why we are so focused
on “cleaner production”, which is a step beyond even our highly acclaimed lean programme, to
achieve the best possible levels of sustainability and minimize any negative impact on the
environment. As a company that equips Sri Lanka’s future leaders with the tools for success, we are
thoroughly committed to creating a sustainable world where everyone can thrive. We are striving
for this by ensuring that we use only what we need, use it responsibly and minimize our waste.”
The highly demanding selection criteria for the National Cleaner Production Awards cover many
areas including Resource Efficient Cleaner Production, Waste Management Methods, Use of
Advanced Environment Management Tools, Resource Flow Management and Systems
Implementation and Compliance with international standards including ISO14001, ISO 50001,
ISO45000/OHSAS18000, ISO9001 and ISO14064-1.
Atlas Axillia Co. (Private) Limited, formerly known as Ceylon Pencil Company (Private) Limited, was
founded in 1959 and has since grown to become Sri Lanka’s market leader in school stationary
manufacturing. Fuelled by a passion for providing school children with essential tools for success,
“Atlas” has created a strong connection with Sri Lankan consumers, being voted Sri Lanka’s most
loved brand in 2017 and has also recently won many national and international awards for
excellence including the Global Performance Excellence Award 2019, the National Quality Award
2018, the National Productivity Award 2018, the Nagaaki Yamamoto KAIZEN Gold Award 2018.
Company has also been recognized for the most systematic safety approach at the National
Occupational Safety and Health Excellence Awards 2018.