The Jaffna branch of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been awarded a Platinum rating by the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL), according it the highest available award in Sri Lanka for Green Buildings.
The accolade was presented at the 2023 awards of the GBCSL, at which Commercial Bank also received an Honourable Mention in the Banking Sector for the Council’s Green Business Leadership Award 2023.
Jaffna is the third Commercial Bank branch to receive a GBCSL award. In 2022, the Bank’s Trincomalee branch received a Gold rating, and in 2020, the Commercial Bank building in the historic Galle Fort was rated Platinum by the Council.
The building housing Commercial Bank’s Jaffna branch at 474, Hospital Road, Jaffna, came into the Bank’s possession in 1973 when the Bank acquired three branches of the Mercantile Bank of India (MBI). It was rebuilt and designed and equipped for eco-friendly operations in 2020-21.
The building has been fitted with a grid-connected 100kW rooftop solar system that generates a major percentage of the electricity required; a rainwater harvesting facility, its own sewage treatment plant that recycles waste water into water to irrigate the gardens and a waste management system; and is designed to maximise use of natural light during daytime, further reducing energy consumption. It is also equipped with energy-efficient air-conditioning, and the accessories in the bathrooms are all water-efficient, enhancing the building’s ‘Green’ credentials. Additionally, Green-labelled materials were used during its construction.