WHO WE ARE
The Seal initiative is implemented by The Centre for Child Rights and Business in collaboration with the respective industry stakeholders, with the initial support of Save the Children.
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WHO WE ARE

The Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business links service providers with business entities to help drive systematic change in Sri Lanka’s tea and tourism industries for the benefit of families, children, and tea businesses. The initiative is implemented by the Centre for Child Rights and Business in collaboration with the respective industry stakeholders and with the initial support from Save the Children from 2022 - 2024.

Tea

The tea sector is a vital lifeline for Sri Lanka’s economy, employing about 230,000 workers (2022), 67% of whom are women. However, significant child rights challenges persist, including child labour, violence against women, and a lack of maternity protection. These issues are driven by high poverty rates in plantations, the impact of the pandemic, and insufficient awareness and collective action to tackle them. Together with our Seal initiative, Seal Allies, and advisory committee members, we are committed to transforming Sri Lanka’s tea industry into a sustainable, family-friendly, and child rights-focused sector.

Tourism

Tourism is the third largest sector contributing to Sri Lanka’s economy, with over 3 million arrivals expected in 2025. Our child rights risk mapping in the accommodation supply chain reveals that children in this sector face risks such as child sexual abuse and exploitation, child labour, and disruptions to education during peak tourism seasons. These risks stem from inadequate regulations for supplementary accommodations—particularly guesthouses and homestays—along with the absence of child safeguarding protocols among tourism service providers and a lack of formal young worker programs connecting youth to decent work opportunities. The Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business in Tourism collaborates with key stakeholders to address these challenges.

Our History

The Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business, an initiative aimed at encouraging family-friendly supply chains, was launched on June 15th 2022 in Colombo for Sri Lanka’s tea sector. The Initiative was developed by The Centre for Child Rights and Business, collaboratively with Save the Children and key tea industry stakeholders.

This initiative evolved in incremental phases from between 2017 to 2022. The initial idea was first conceptualised over a dinner discussion by a group seated at the same table at a gala event in 2014. The group comprised of the then heads of Save the Children Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Planters Association of Ceylon and media personnel. The seed idea was that a certification scheme originating from the Sri Lanka tea sector would enable Ceylon tea stakeholders to better communicate the investments that businesses in the tea sector make to improve the well-being of their employees and their families and create a value addition for Ceylon tea in the global tea market. The tea sector generates incomes for tens of thousands of families in Sri Lanka and contributes to 3% of GDP.

In 2017, Save the Children Sri Lanka launched a pilot initiative called the Mother and Child-Friendly Plantations programme, with funding from Save the Children Hong Kong. The pilot was implemented over the next 5 years in partnership with 8 plantation companies and the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, resulting in several key interventions such as the development of a child protection policy for companies to adopt, home-based early childhood education training for parents, and community-based nutritional promotional approaches. The pilot demonstrated positive results and impacts within the communities of the participating tea plantation companies. Children at risk were proactively identified and supported and referred to the corresponding government department for further support. Voices of children were included in community-based child protection mechanisms. Fathers’ engagement in their children’s early learning increased, whereas previously they were not involved. Community support groups working closely with public health midwives in villages demonstrated that there was an improvement in maternal health and nutritional intake of children and family involvement in that behavioural change.

With the learnings from the pilots and studies undertaken, Save the Children signed a strategic partnership agreement with The Centre for Child Rights and Business, a global social enterprise that works with businesses on identifying and mitigating risks to children in their business operations and supply chain, to develop, implement and manage the Seal initiative.

The Centre for Child Rights and Business opened their Sri Lanka office (C.C.R. C.S.R. Lanka Pvt Ltd) in Sri Lanka in 2022 and developed the framework, guidance and tools for the initiative, working closely with Save the Children and key tea sector stakeholders. An advisory committee to provide strategic guidance for the Seal Initiative was formed with representation from the Planters Association of Ceylon, Plantation Human Development Trust, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Save the Children and the Sri Lanka Tea Board participating as an observer. The committee has since expanded to include the Tea Exporters Association and the Ministry of Plantation Industries.

In 2024, The Centre for Child Rights and Business undertook a study on child rights risks in the tourism sector. Based on the findings and recommendations from the study, The Centre decided to expand the Seal Initiative for the tourism sector.

Our Mission
    The Seal initiative aims to improve the well-being of women and children in Sri Lanka’s tea and tourism sectors by:
  • Strengthening the commitment and capacity of business entities to create a family-friendly tea and tourism supply chain where children can enjoy their human rights.
  • Encouraging businesses in the tea and tourism supply chains to make sustainable and meaningful investments in well-being initiatives targeting children and women in plantation communities and tourism hotspots.
  • Enhancing public-private partnerships between government agencies and tea and tourism business entities to improve key services such as education, health, and social protection.
  • Creating added value and market differentiators for the Sri Lankan tea and tourism industries by demonstrating their transformation towards a family-friendly supply chain, thus promoting the long-term sustainability of the tea and tourism industry.
The Organisation

The Centre for Child Rights and Business (C.C.R. C.S.R. Lanka Pvt Ltd) is a private company registered in Sri Lanka to launch and implement the Mother and Child-friendly Seal for Responsible Business Initiative as well as to provide research and consultancy services in the area of human rights in business, focusing on women’s and child’s rights. The Centre in Sri Lanka is the Seal Unit, which works with business entities to guide them with the tools and processes of the Seal Initiative as well as carrying out assessments on the actions taken by the Seal members. A youth advisory group was established in 2023 and this group of youth volunteers from the tea and tourism communities supports the Seal Unit in carrying out assessments of the actions undertaken by Seal members.

The Seal Advisory Committee is established for each sector that the Seal is extended to. The Advisory Committee provides strategic guidance and inputs on the development and implementation of the Seal Initiative. Currently, there is an advisory committee for the tea sector and one for the tourism sector.

The CEO of The Centre for Child Rights and Business (C.C.R. C.S.R. HK Ltd) is the Seal Owner, who makes the decisions on the issuance and renewal of the Seal for members, based on the recommendations of the Seal Unit.