Paradigm shift for CSR in Sri Lanka
View(s):CSR Lanka (Guarantee) Ltd was launched last week with a charter signed by the Chairman and Board of Directors of the company.
“The charter pledged to practise and spearhead their mission of providing strategic guidance and necessary resources to create long term sustainable value in CSR efforts of the corporate sector including small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” a media statement from the organisation said. An entity formed with a mission to improve quality of life for Sri Lankan society by providing people with a better future through public and corporate sector engagement, CSR Lanka believes that businesses need to have a more strategic approach to their CSR.
Chairman of CSR Lanka Chandula Abeywickrema, speaking at the launch which concluded last week, said that CSR Lanka has two objectives — looking at CSR from macro as well as micro levels.
“On a micro level are the individual companies, where CSR Lanka as the apex body will support initiatives in awareness, advocacy, networking, training, knowledge exchange, bench marking etc. On the macro level CSR Lanka will take the driving seat and look at national issues that need to be addressed on behalf of corporates. The micro and macro factors are like two sides to a coin; one cannot exist without the other. Whilst companies on an individual level, must be sustainable to support the macro, these very companies have to realise that they cannot exist on a larger canvass if there is no stable environment to do business in”. He said “making CSR part of a corporate’s DNA should not be just a feather in their cap. There is more to Triple Bottom Line reporting than a single balance sheet every year, and it is CSR Lanka’s mission to encourage our business sector to move towards working on 3 to 4 year corporate balance sheets. So the challenge for corporates in Sri Lanka today, is adopting a more meaningful form of triple bottom line reporting.”