Make the world a better tea

This is a sponsored article from SustainabilityTracker.com member Dilmah.

Our company has the heart of a tea grower. And it would break our heart to do anything to compromise the quality of the tea. We’d rather make a good cup of tea, than a fortune. And real tea lovers can taste the difference!

We’re the original disruptor. In the 1950s we fought colonisation of the tea industry. Now we’re fighting commoditisation. We care about the issues that really matter — the planet, workers’ rights, human rights, and the right to a good cup of tea. But we fight politely. We just do the right thing ourselves, making tea of the highest quality with kindness to people and nature. We do this with sincerity and commitment, and the hope that we will inspire others to join us in our mission.

To make the world a better cup of tea means growing it ourselves, hand-picking each leaf, and packing it super-fresh — so it tastes better and is better for you.  It also means being sustainable in every way, going beyond carbon neutral.

“Dilmah has an enduring connection with nature. Our tea is perfected by Nature, accented by the soils, the sunshine, winds, rainfall and every element of our natural environment. We are Teamakers but it is Nature that crafts our teas!” says Tea Grower and Dilmah CEO, Dilhan C. Fernando.

This understanding and mutual respect for people and our environment is what guides our business. The road we’re taking on our sustainability journey is built on major conservation work, like our Net Zero project, which will be taking our tea from being carbon neutral to carbon negative in 2030.

Awarded through the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change and Sri Lanka Climate Fund, our carbon neutral certification recognizes our commitment to offset our carbon footprint. It accounts for the carbon dioxide emissions (cradle to gate) starting at the point where the tea leaves are grown, plucked, processed, transported and packed, until it leaves the company’s premises, in accordance with GreenHouse Gas Protocol, developed by the World Resource Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

We make the world a better tea by paying a living wage and treating our workers well. 100% of our earnings benefit the economy of Sri Lanka and 15% of our pre-tax profits is used by our MJF Foundation to serve humanity — children with different abilities, women, men and less fortunate communities.

The tea gardens and their people lie at the heart of our Purpose. Together with the MJF Foundation & Dilmah Conservation, we recognise the need to adapt; to ensure that we are renewed in our commitment to work through the current and future challenges of the tea industry. The solution lies in the people of the estates and the development of their community: healthcare, education, skills training, diversification, new technology, gender-based initiatives, updated infrastructure and providing eco-livelihood opportunities are some of the on-going initiatives geared towards the estate workers, their families and the communities that revolve around them.

Every time you drink a cup of Dilmah tea, you are being good to yourself for fine Ceylon Tea is rich in flavour, and also in natural plant antioxidants. That’s not all because while being kind to yourself you also help us in touching the lives of thousands of small entrepreneurs and their families, helping farmers adapt to climate change, and myriad other initiatives in the work of Dilmah Conservation and the MJF Charitable Foundation. Let’s make the world (and you) a better tea!

This is an article from a SustainabilityTracker.com Member. The views and opinions we express here don’t necessarily reflect our organisation.