Rockland Distilleries, being one of the first commercial distilleries in Sri Lanka, was established in 1924. It is one of the oldest companies in the country and was set up to produce high quality arrack for the first time in Ceylon’shistory. The family owned business has continued to serve as a pioneer, spearheading excellence in the beverage sector for more than nine decades. Rockland is in constant pursuit of best practices that enable it tooperate as a modern company, seeking distinction in all it does while caring for Sri Lanka and the environment.Furthermore, it aims to be on the cutting edge, behaving like a tech startup that truly values its people.

Q: What drives Rockland’s commitment to sustainability?
A: We truly believe in running Rockland sustainably across all aspects of the business. The value of sustainable thinking was passed down through four generations quite unknowingly to this day and age when such practices are outwardly prevalent on a global scale.

Moreover, we believe that today’s consumers are socially responsible and therefore, drawn to brands with offerings manufactured in a sustainable manner.

Given the limitations on how we as a company can interact with the community, our sustainability endeavours often go unnoticed.

Therefore, on a rare occasion such as this, we are proud to say that Rockland is the world’s first green distillery – and probably one of the first companies in Sri Lanka to obtain the Sustainable Future Group’s ZeroCarbon certification.

Q: Could you outline how corporate reputation can enable businesses to be more competitive?
A: Corporates with strong reputations have the opportunity to outperform their competitors in the long term. A significant benefit is the trust that’s created, inevitably breeding social contracts with customers and employees alike.

Q: What do you consider to be the main attributes of Rockland’s image – and how have they contributed to the company’s recognition?
A: As a company, we have always led with our brands, allowing them to shine locally and internationally. Many who have travelled here and abroad would’ve undoubtedly found our brands in some of the finest restaurants and bars across the world.

The intricacy and charm of our brands serve as a calling card for curiosity, prompting many to learn more about the origin that is Rockland. Furthermore, we are among the greenest companies in Sri Lanka while our flagship brands are the recipients of global accolades and awards.

Those who are familiar with the family and people behind the brands know that Rockland operates with utmost integrity. We are one of the largest taxpayers in Sri Lanka and every cent that is due is diligently paid to the state.

Our commitment to corporate ethics and social responsibility together with our brands – which have been highlighted for their craftsmanship – are key attributes that have been recognised and valued by our peers.

Q: In what way can the quality of products and services garner respect for corporates over the long term? And how do Rockland’s diversification efforts contribute to this?
A: Apart from our stringent quality processes, each blend and batch of distilled spirits is tasted by a member of the family prior to its bottling run; and once again, before being released to the market.

Customers can consume our drinks, assured that these products have been manufactured with the best ingredients while staying true to the family’s original recipes.

We believe that product quality is the most important facet of a brand. Seeking perfection in our craft is inherent to how we operate at Rockland. This has been our mantra for almost a century and applies not only to our spirits portfolio but to our range of non-alcoholic drinks as well.

Olu Tropical Water, for example, was created to be the best in its category as will all new non-alcoholic beverages that are in the pipeline.

Over time, customers habitually associate quality with the Rockland name – the two go hand in hand. With this recognition came the motivation and opportunity to diversify.

Our first diversification effort was Olu Tropical Water, which was positioned as the first premium brand of still water introduced in Sri Lanka. Olu is a natural mineral water stemming from the rare cloud forests deep in the central highlands, filtered only through sand and carbon.

Following suit was Olu Tropical Sparkling, launched in 2019 and positioned as Sri Lanka’s first brand of sparkling water.

Q: How does respect within the workplace help nurture admiration for an organisation – and what measures does the company take to foster a culture of mutual respect?
A: We have fostered a culture of trust, transparency, equality and collaboration where all employees are treated with respect. This has helped nurture strong bonds and admiration within the business and beyond, enabling us to attract, retain and leverage talent.

Our people are the company’s ambassadors; they advocate and champion what Rockland stands for – i.e. a passion for our craft and excellence in everything we do.

We strive to build a culture where everyone is treated equally throughout their employee life cycle. From a comprehensive induction programme encompassing the group’s functions, buddy and mentor programmes, and a transparent performance management system, to training and development plans, we focus on building our people’s careers as we respect their aspirations.

Within our offices, workspaces have been designed to garner mutual respect and equality. Every employee has the same style of workspace allocated to them irrespective of their standing within the company. There are no private offices or cubicles isolating us from one another.

We embrace the differences between people – be it race, religion, gender, working styles, age or personality. We believe that greater diversity means greater vibrancy. This enables us to foster an effervescent culture that is constantly bubbling with new ideas and perspectives.

Diverse viewpoints are encouraged through inclusive debates that enable team members’ voices to be heard. The result is mutual understanding and respect that facilitates the exchange of new ideas.

We believe that this culture has enhanced the business’ creativity and innovative spirit, nurturing admiration for Rockland in turn.

Q: And finally, given Rockland’s views on social responsibility and its commitment, what are the ways in which it looks to serve the nation?
A: As a company, we are acutely conscious of the need to contribute towards making Sri Lanka ‘greener.’ Therefore, we have made our operations and the way we work as sustainable as possible.

We never doubted the necessity of these efforts as being environmentally conscious has always been part of Rockland’s DNA. In fact, getting our distillery LEED certified stands as testimony to our commitment to the cause.

Moreover, in a bold environmental effort, Olu Tropical Water halted the production of Olu water packed in PET bottles as part of the contribution towards the national green effort. In doing so, we lost 80 percent of our turnover overnight.

Given the scale of our operations, these initiatives are an invaluable contribution to making Sri Lanka greener. Our latest project involves an initiative to power the entire Rockland distillery and bottling operation with solar power.

At Rockland, we look inwards first, ensuring our staff members are happy and taken care of. In our 97 year history, we have not instituted salary cuts even during the most difficult periods – employee wellbeing has always been at the centre of everything we do. Every employee is part of the greater Rockland family; and by uplifting their lives, we hope that the lives of their immediate families are uplifted as well.

In addition to this, whenever there is an opportunity to help our fellow Sri Lankans, we do so.

During the first pandemic induced lockdown, we produced hand sanitisers that were provided to the National Institute of Infectious Disease (IDH), Ministry of Health and National Cancer Institute, as well as many other hospitals across the island. Safeguarding these valuable front line workers became our priority.

However, our greatest contribution to the nation is the taxes we pay to the government. Rockland pays more in taxes than some of the largest listed corporates in Sri Lanka.

A company like this in the wrong hands can easily deprive the economy of so much national wealth. We see Rockland as a guardian of this great responsibility as this is our commitment to being a socially responsible company.

Rockland says that its vision is to be Asia’s most admired drinks company. While it acknowledges that this entails a long and challenging journey,which calls for a great deal of effort and fortitude, the organisationbelieves that the trust and admiration it has garnered thus far serveas the cornerstones that will propel it towards achieving this vision.

INTERVIEWEE INFORMATION

Amal de Silva Wijeyeratne
Group Managing Director

Devinda de Silva Wijeyeratne
Group Operations Director

Kanchana Bamunuarachchi
Group CEO

www.rockland.lk

www.liquidisland.com