Through the ZeroPlastic pilot—conducted in partnership with the ZeroPlastic Movement and Control Union Sri Lanka—HNB will roll out a Single-Use Plastic Mitigation Plan, conduct employee awareness workshops, and third party verification on compliance with the ZeroPlastic Commitment Standards.
Additionally, having measured and offset its organizational emissions via verified renewable-energy projects, HNB has also achieved carbon neutral status, awarded by the Sri Lanka Climate Fund which is under the Ministry of Environment.
Finally, as Official Banking Partner and Platinum Sponsor of ICPIES 2025 (24–25 September), HNB aims to support a mainstreaming of sustainable reforms by facilitating dialogue between experts, policymakers and business leaders to explore practical solutions for reducing plastic pollution and advancing circular economy practices.
Organised by the Centre for Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development (CESSD) in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering Technology of the Open University of Sri Lanka and the University of Moratuwa, ICPIES 2025 aims to catalyse scientific dialogue, innovation, and policy alignment with the nation’s most critical environmental challenges.
Commenting on the initiative,
HNB Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Damith Pallewatte, said:
“At HNB, as a responsible corporate citizen, our objective is to ensure that we contribute to creating a sustainable world for our future generations.
Being responsible for our own actions and the impact we create through our value chain become critical as a result.
While we have been meticulously reviewing our loans, over the past decade, through a comprehensive Environmental and Social Management System developed with the assistance of foreign development financial institutions, to assess and manage the impact we create, we have been a pioneer in supporting sustainable projects contributing positively towards a greener economy.
We have surpassed many milestones in this journey. Launching ZeroPlastic initiatives and securing carbon neutral status reflect HNB’s unwavering commitment to systemic change—one that inspires businesses, policymakers, and communities to join us in protecting our nation's uniquely rich environment heritage.
These milestones build on HNB’s Green Pledge—first introduced in 2009—which has already fuelled high-impact projects such as the conversion of 95 branch rooftops to solar power, the adoption of a paperless-office policy, and the implementation of an Environmental and Social Management System for all lending activities.
A portion of the Bank’s CSR budget is also allocated to offset the unavoidable negative impacts of its lending activities and the Kanneliya Reforestation project and the Kottowa Thundola conservation project are examples for such efforts to offset the negative impacts created through financing for small hydropower projects in the past.
HNB Senior Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer, Priyanka Wijayaratne added:
"Environmental responsibility must begin at home. As we progress, we are committing our own head office to become free of single-use plastic.
By supporting national efforts to reduce plastic pollution, we aim to lead by example through measurable internal change and active industry engagement."