Four companies were honoured by ACCA Sri Lanka for the detailed description given by said organisations on practices connected to sustainable development, its impacts, including GRI guidelines, posted key performance indicators accompanied by measured results and external benchmarks.
Holcim Lanka was the top winner in the large-scale category, while Union Assurance won in the medium-scale category. Two commendation awards were presented to Ceylon Tobacco Co and Sampath Bank.
Prof G L Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade, who was chief guest at the gala ceremony, lauded ACCA Sri Lanka, but opined that “Sustainable development and responsible action need to be a public-private sector partnership. It is the business community that has to play a key role in ensuring that sustainable development takes place responsibly, transparently, and ethically.”
Dilshan Rodrigo, President, ACCA Sri Lanka, reiterated, “Environmental issues have taken over as the number one priority in sustainability reporting overtaking corporate social responsibility and ethical reporting, the key issues of the past. ACCA’s globally recognised sustainability awards were launched for the purpose of making triple bottom line reporting an imperative, where environment, social and financial reporting are given equal prominence by business around the world. We are proud of pioneering sustainability reporting in Sri Lanka.”
The panel of judges comprised of Franklyn G Amarasinghe, Consultant, Chanaka Wickramasuriya, CEO, Fitch Ratings Lanka, and Deva de Silva, Financial Market Specialist IFC-SEDF Sri Lanka Maldives World Bank Group judged the contenders on already established reporting criteria implemented by ACCA UK and based on clearly defined GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines.
