Star Garments Group is one of the largest manufacturers in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector. As a result of its drive for innovation, Star Komar Sri Lanka introduced South Asia’s first passive house as its Innovation Center in 2017.

Sustainable manufacturing is the creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community, and product safety.

This process promotes minimizing or eliminating production and processing waste through eco-efficient practices and encourages adopting new environmental technologies.

The Star Komar passive house is a building with thermal comfort guaranteed through reheating fresh air flow responsible for sufficient air quality without additional recirculation. Special insulation materials have been used to prevent heat gain within the building.

The concept has resulted in a 70% reduction in energy consumption compared to a traditional building of its size. The building which is utilized as a center for innovation and product development uses electrical energy generated through solar power as its energy source.

Equipped to utilize solar energy, the building generates 3,600 kWh of energy per day while only consuming 432 kWh energy per day. With its 30kW solar power generation plant, Star Komar Sri Lanka is able to provide 43.2 MWh annually, back to the national grid of Sri Lanka as a responsible manufacturer. In addition, the natural lighting design and LED usage have led to an energy-saving of 303 kWh per day. The natural ventilation design has also resulted in a 25% reduction in total energy usage. Additionally, the building’s rainwater harvesting system collects 50,000L of rainwater for gardening and maintenance purposes, with a saving of 8,000L per day.

At the end of the day, sustainable manufacturing is the way of the future, and Star Komar Sri Lanka is making a concerted effort to take the lead in the charge for businesses to continue growing whilst taking into account how the manufacturing process impacts the environment and society.

Among its many sustainability-focused initiatives, the group is taking the bold leap towards being carbon neutral by the first quarter of 2020. Star’s sustainability measures extend to the utilization of natural and organic raw material such as tea-based dyes for fabric, taking control of waste disposal throughout the supply chain through efforts to recycle plastic waste, and constant innovation to improve manufacturing efficiency.