We achieved our mission to the moon. Let's look home from that lofty perch and reimagine our mission on Earth - that is what we need to do here. Together, we can upcycle everything. The world will be better for our positive visions and actions.
- William McDonough
What most people see in their garbage cans is just the tip of the material iceberg; the product itself contains on average only 5% of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.
- Michael Braungart
We see a world of abundance, not limits.
- Michael Braungart
The Stone Age did not end because humans ran out of stones. It ended because it was time for a re-think about how we live.
- William McDonough
Waste equals food, whether it's food for the earth, or for a closed industrial cycle. We manufacture products that go from cradle to grave. We want to manufacture them from cradle to cradle.
- William McDonough

Industry Career Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the illustrious career in building material and resource recovery industries both in Australia and overseas.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007
Conducted national-level waste market evaluation and formulated the initial business plan along with the strategic marketing and communications plans for Geocycle (now called INSEE Ecocyle to be the Sri Lanka’s first professional waste management/treatment solution provider)
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2008 – Mar 2009
Formulated a total solutions strategy for Geocycle and established a partner network to be a pathbreaking one-stop shop for solutions in waste management/treatment
Business Development Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Apr 2009 – Dec 2009
Strategized and implemented influencer district action plans at national level, a program to monitor and engage with influencers affecting buying decisions of cement business. Launched a pilot influencer loyalty program for revenue and value generation which was adopted nationally.
Coach – Customer Service Excellence – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Designed and developed all business processes of a start-up waste management and resource recovery business unit (Geocycle).
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Developed a common business blueprint for waste management businesses of companies in the Asia Pacific region of Holcim as the country representative for Sri Lanka
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Implementation of SAP (ERP system) for co-processing business units in the Asia Pacific business of Holcim as the country project manager for Sri Lanka and also as an Asia Pacific project team member.
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Country project manager for project “Connect AFR”– Implementation of SAP for the operations of a business unit in waste management and co-processing
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2008 – Mar 2009

Project manager – Concept design and development of proposal for a ship-based waste facility in the Colombo Harbor
Business Development Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2010 – Apr 2012

Project Manager – Business transformation and needs analysis to integrate the CRM application (Salesforce) in order to create visibility and transparency of sales and customer service processes across the organisation, to capture, communicate and fulfill customer requirements
Head – Customer Relationship Management – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Formulated and led the activities of a 5-year communications plan and campaign in order to lobby and obtain a generic permit for the country’s first hazardous waste co-processing facility. Led the communications campaigns over 5-years to gain acceptance for co-processing of waste in cement kilns among all stakeholders of the business.
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2008 – Mar 2009

Launched change management programs to obtain stakeholder input and reduce resistance to change during business process re-engineering efforts
Business Development Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2010 – Apr 2012

Designed an engaging communications strategy, plan along with communication materials to convey a message on perceptions and priority towards safety, driving behavioural change within the organisation.
Head – Customer Relationship Management – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Jan 2010 – Apr 2012

As head of CRM, established customer care and customer service units for a national level operation and integrated it with all support operations to establish service level implementation for customers.
Head – Customer Relationship Management – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Aug 2004 – Dec 2007

Responsible for formulating the value chain for business operations of Geocycle as a founding member.
Marketing and Communications Manager – Geocycle – Holcim Lanka Ltd.

Publications

Opportunities for a circular economy post COVID-19

Millions of face masks are being thrown away during COVID-19. Here’s how to choose the best one for the planet, The Conversation

“How do you play well when you are losing?”, Medium

Erasing babies’ environmental footprint ahead of their first steps, Medium

“Tackling Contamination in bins – Would knowing more help?” Inside Waste (Page 28-29)

Industrial ecology pays, Excellence in Leadership – CIMA Global (Page 32-36)

Chemical Leasing – A Performance-Based Business Model Towards A Circular Economy, Paint & Coatings Industry Magazine

Creating value through sustainability, Daily Financial Times

Billions of masks are thrown away during the coronavirus pandemic – where do they end up? ABC News Australia

Australian researchers say used face masks could be recycled to make roads, The Guardian

The dark side of the surge in disposable mask use, Straits Times

Putting purpose into action through sustainable models measurements, FM Magazine

Editorial: The pandemic let us imagine a world without waste, Los Angeles Times

Methodology for the integrated assessment on the use of recycled concrete aggregate replacing natural aggregate in structural concrete

Financial assessment of manufacturing recycled aggregate concrete in ready-mix concrete plants

Comparative assessment of embodied energy of recycled aggregate concrete

Comparative assessment of the benefits associated with the absorption of CO2 with the use of RCA in structural concrete

Net incremental indirect external benefit of manufacturing recycled aggregate concrete

Integrated assessment of the use of recycled concrete aggregate replacing natural aggregate in structural concrete

Uncovering corporate disclosure for a circular economy: An analysis of sustainability and integrated reporting by Sri Lankan companies

Relating building space to performance outcomes – A methodology to explore the relationship

Phosphorus circular economy of disposable baby nappy waste: Quantification, assessment of recycling technologies and plan for sustainability

International Conference on Resource Sustainability: The use of recycled aggregate concrete

49th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association

Mayuri Wijayasundara, Robert Crawford, Priyan Mendis
A framework for the integrated cost-benefit analysis of the use of recycled aggregate concrete in structural applications.

A chapter on Recycled Concrete: Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials

Associate Editor – Circular Economy – Frontiers in Sustainability Journal

Speaking

Women’s Global Leadership Summit – 2021

Hosted by: CIMA APAC

“Circular Economy – the role of management accounts and how to get prepared.”

Workshop : SustainCore – 2021

Hosted by: University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

“Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Green Procurement.”

Webinar : Green Building Council of Sri Lanka – 2021

Hosted by: Green Building Council of Sri Lanka

“Policy decision making in the construction industry – Evaluating alternatives towards a circular economy.”

Online CIMA APAC Webinar – 2021

Hosted by: CIMA APAC

“Circular economy, how it affects business and how it can influence managerial decision making.”

Online International Conference & Exhibition: India Construction week – 2020

Hosted by: Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) India, and Indian Society for Trenchless Technology (IndSTT).

“Strategies for the construction industry post-COVID-19.”

Virtual Conference: Circular Economy Symposium – 2020

Hosted by: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

“Opportunities for designing waste and pollution, increase in total value ration and designing distribution models to get product value back.”

Webinar: Resource Circulation and Industrial Ecology – 2020

Hosted by: Lanka Responsible Care Council in association with INSEE Ecocycle Lanka Pty Ltd.

“Global best practice case studies on implementing principles of a circular economy”

WasteQ Conference – Towoomba

“Understanding buyer needs and their behaviour in purchasing secondary products from recovered resources.”

Waste Expo – 2019

Hosted by: Waste360

“Understanding Buyer Behaviour to Encourage Purchase of Waste-Derived Products.”

Radio interviews on the environmental impact of face masks being heavily used during the pandemic after my article on the same was published on “the Conversation”.

Radio interview on the impact of mask waste as the pandemic continues to unfold – ABC News