The first such initiative in Sri Lanka’s plantation sector to be registered under the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra Project ID 5571), the pilot phase has already restored 55 hectares across Gouravilla and Mahanilu Estates.
“T-SHADE represents a powerful new model for sustainable value creation in the plantation sector.
By integrating shade tree restoration with carbon credit generation, we are demonstrating how Sri Lanka’s tea estates can deliver both commercial and environmental value.
Our goal is to create estates that are more resilient, productive, and globally competitive, while re-positioning Sri Lanka as a global leader on impactful, sustainable climate action.”
Hayleys Plantations Managing Director, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said.
With 7,094 shade trees having already been planted, the project lays the foundation for a 40-year programme that is expected to sequester more than 22 million tonnes of CO₂ while at the same time, enhancing tea quality, soil fertility, and community livelihoods.
Shade cover is essential to protect tea leaves from sun scorch, reduce soil erosion, and improve soil health, creating better conditions for higher quality and more resilient crops.
The project also opens the door for Sri Lanka’s plantation sector to access international carbon markets.
Through the initiative, every tonne of carbon dioxide captured by the project can be certified and sold as a carbon credit, generating new revenue streams that can be reinvested into estate communities while also contributing to foreign exchange earnings for the country.
The initiative was formally registered under Verra earlier this year, providing international credibility and ensuring that project impacts are transparently measured.
Over its 40-year crediting period, T-SHADE is projected to cover up to 100,000 hectares across the tea sector.
For the first five years alone, the pilot areas are expected to generate 342 tonnes of carbon offsets, demonstrating early climate gains while the project scales.
Alongside its environmental objectives, T-SHADE brings important social and economic benefits.
The project has already created jobs in nurseries, planting, monitoring, and carbon auditing, with women and youth also being trained to take on new roles in ecological monitoring and data-driven decision-making.
By involving workers and smallholders through the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority, the project ensures that benefits are broadly shared across the value chain.
Technology also plays a central role in the model, with barcode-based monitoring and real-time data tracking applied to both planting and plucking.
These innovations will enable more efficient resource use, accurate harvest cycles, and long-term improvements in productivity.
As the project is currently in its baseline year, yield and tea quality impacts will be tracked and published transparently in the years ahead, ensuring accountability and credibility.
“We are proud to be the first Sri Lankan RPC to engage with the T-Shade programme.
Each shade tree planted through this programme is a step toward healthier soils, stronger communities, and more resilient tea.
With our sister companies, we are striving to make Pure Ceylon Tea a model for sustainable growth and shared value across the plantation sector.”
Horana Plantations PLC to Director / Chief Executive Officer, Johann Rodrigo said.
T-SHADE has been developed in partnership with Earth Systems, which provided project design, registration, and carbon accounting.
The Tea Research Institute is contributing agronomic expertise, while the National Institute of Plantation Management supports training and capacity building.
The Tea Smallholdings Development Authority is working to integrate smallholder growers into the initiative.
By linking ecological restoration with carbon finance and global sustainability frameworks, Hayleys Plantations aims to create a model of climate-smart plantation management that can be scaled across Sri Lanka’s estate sector.
T-SHADE positions the country’s tea industry as a producer of high-quality Ceylon Tea and a global leader in regenerative agriculture.