Corporates should look more seriously towards reconciliation (of ethnic harmony) and fostering gender equality, said Chairman of the evaluators panel for ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2017’ and marketer, Eardley Perera.
Speaking at the awards ceremony last Tuesday, he said that it was sad to note that none of the corporates had given attention nor made any initiatives towards this key area. He also said that out of the Ceylon Chamber corporate membership only around 15% of companies have applied for Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award and this too is disappointing. “When I meet them they (corporate) say there is no time. But I don’t buy this since there is one full year to apply for this award.”
He also blamed corporates for not paying too much attention towards customers and suppliers. “We hardly see a WOW factor for customers.” Perera was also critical of participants of the last year’s awards ceremony and said that none of the participants even bothered to get a copy of the speech made by the keynote speaker.
Meanwhile Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka, Kenichi Suganuma, who was the Chief Guest said that he was happy with the CSR practices undertaken by the Lankan corporate sector.
He also said that with the change of government and improved relations more Japanese companies are keen to invest in Sri Lanka. “This can be mainly attributed to Sri Lanka’s unique geographical location and the fact that the region is now growing at around 6% which is a faster pace than some of the other countries,” he said.
Suganuma said that tourist arrivals from Japans too are increasing.
He also said that today there are more than 300 companies in Japan which are over 100 years old.
David Bent, a global expert on corporate sustainability who delivered the keynote address predicted that the future power generation would be mainly based on solar and wind energy.
Aitken Spence PLC won the top place in the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2017 while Hatton National Bank PLC and Cargills (Ceylon) PLC became the first and second runner up, respectively.
The awards ceremony, organized by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, was held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo amidst a gathering of 350 top corporate executives. (SS)
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