State Trading Organization (STO) is taking the initiative to go green.

STO's Managing Director Hussain Amru has disclosed the initiative taken by the company to prioritize making sustainable decisions that are more environmentally aware.

As such, speaking at the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Crossroads Maldives, Amru highlighted the importance of shifting priorities by using business intelligence to not only save on costs but to also become environmentally aware.

He stated that STO has started to slowly incorporate these changes into their business.

While cement industry is one of the main industries necessary for sustainable development and can be considered the backbone for development, Amru highlighted that this industry, represents a major pollution problem.

Stating that gas generated by cement industries contribute around 31 percent of air pollution, Amru highlighted that these companies involved in the production and distribution of cement are opting for more ecofriendly ways.

Amru shared that STO has adopted to provide its customer base with a more ecofriendly cement.

Additionally, Amru stated that taking into note that fuel is also something that helps in polluting the environment, as well as something that is hazardous for health, STO has made efforts to reduce these risks. As such he noted that, STO has reduced the amount of sulfur from 2.5 percent to 0.5 percent within the last four years.

He highlighted that the company has built a fuel lab to make sure that the fuel imported to Maldives, is of required standards.

Moreover, STO has also made their stand very clear with the initiative to ban plastic bags from STO Supermarket.

Even though there are obstacles in banning the use of plastic bags altogether, Amru sated that they have made it clear where they stand with this and that the management is ready to tackle this even if the cost is high.