OSC bestowed ‘Eco-Schools Green Flag Award’ by FEE

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The Overseas School of Colombo (OSC), true to its motto ‘Unity in Diversity’, is the oldest international education institution established in 1957 and the only IB World School in Sri Lanka.

The Overseas School of Colombo was the first ever school in Sri Lanka to receive the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award is bestowed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to schools having made measurable progress in environmental sustainability. OSC achieved this milestone award in December 2022.

In keeping with the school’s trajectory of addressing environmentally sustainable goals, OSC partnered with AGC Innovate (Pvt) Ltd., a pioneer and innovator to develop yet another sustainable solution that would benefit the school, its community and environment.

AGC Innovate (Pvt) Ltd. is the first eco-friendly company to espouse green technology to provide waste plastic solutions in the country. AGC Innovate has obtained all the necessary domestic certifications from the Central Environmental Authority and the Road Development Authority to facilitate solutions for roads, parking spaces and paving areas. PMAC technology is utilised by AGC Innovate having obtained patents from the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka.

In fact, AGC Innovate (Pvt) Ltd. triumphed, winning the award for Best Start-up in 2022 at the Innovate Lanka 2022 Competition organised by the Lankan Angel Network, SLASSCOM and the Council for Start-ups.

As part of their major endeavour in developing sustainable solutions for plastic waste is the introduction of the technology, Plastic Modified Asphalt Concrete (PMAC) for roads, parking and paving areas in developing infrastructure.

PMAC technology has been tried,tested and proven to be more durable than conventional asphalt, and is now used to pave roads, driveways, carparks,freight marshalling yards, and other paving areas.

AGC Innovate commenced their venture with a pilot project in 2018 paving a 500m stretch of the Ratmalana–Borupana road under the rigorous monitoring and testing by the Road Development Authority of Sri Lanka (RDA) for strength and durability. Apart from PMAC technology, utilising cutting-edge R&D systems, AGC Innovate hasalso managed to create other sustainable solutions such as bio-degradable fibre bagsand wrapping material. AGC Innovate is also in the process of developing durable plastic modified paving blocks to beused for paving projects.

The Overseas School of Colombo Head of Facilities and Maintenance Crishan Fernando stated; “OSC is the first school to achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. We have always been keen to adopt sustainable solutions within the school to inspire our own youngsters, our community and other schools. OSC is proud to have partnered with AGC Innovate as a revolutionary company having taken steps to offer innovative solutions utilising green technology to tackle the waste plastic issue in the country.”