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Leading hotelier stresses on sustainability and the 4Ps — people, planet, profit and ‘peace’
View(s):By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Dilushi Wijesinghe
He and his wife had “seen stars”! No, hotelier Hiran Cooray was not commenting on the idiom but in the literal sense having seen Colombo’s night sky during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a time when air pollution, mainly due to human and industrial activity, was at a minimum.
The Chairman of Jetwing Symphony PLC, Hiran Cooray, delivering the keynote address
Delivering the keynote speech at the 8th Annual General Meeting and CEO Forum of Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) on the theme ‘Shaping the Future: Revolutionizing Sustainability Practices in Global Business’ held in Colombo on September 27, the Chairman of Jetwing Symphony PLC quoted St. Mother Teresa who said that “you cannot change the world by doing great things, but whatever the little things you do, do it with a lot of love”.
Mr. Cooray said that in the 1980s when there were no words like sustainability, responsible tourism, sustainable destinations, responsible destinations or eco-tourism, it was his father who told him not to hurt the people around where they built hotels.
Various governments trot out statistics and ambitious plans for the future but the industry does not question these until there is no gas, no petrol. “One day my son told him: ‘You’re responsible for this.’ When I asked him how, he said, ‘You were in the Chamber of Commerce, you were in the Hotels’ Association. None of you said anything’,” Mr. Cooray explained.
He said company balance sheets only talk of corporate social responsibility (CSR), but not of what we do for the environment and for the communities. “We talk of people, the planet and profit. I am not shy to say this – if you don’t make a profit in a business or in whatever you do, you can’t look at the people and the planet. You don’t have money. We have to make money responsibly.”
“Thankfully, I didn’t have a huge board, it’s only now that some of our companies are publicly listed. So we could do things (then). We were the first in Sri Lanka to have absorption chillers in a hotel. If I were running a public company, no way would I have got approval to get them. At that time, Sri Lanka didn’t have engineers to help work these chillers and we had to get them from India,” said Mr. Cooray, reiterating: “When we talk of sustainability, there’s another very important element – the 4th ‘P’ in addition to people, planet and profit. It is ‘peace’ as nothing sustainable can be achieved if there is no peace globally, peace locally, peace in our small communities.”
Referring to a rise in tourism numbers, he said that Sri Lanka should be cautious with regard to over-visitation and that there was no visitor management, leading to serious sustainable issues in iconic places such as the Yala National Park and Sigiriya. “These are the greatest assets we have. If they collapse, we are dead. We need to protect these assets as otherwise, future generations would be the losers.”
The Chairman’s Discussion with Chairman Dilhan Fernando flanked by the Deputy Chairman/Group Finance Director of John Keells Holdings PLC, Gihan Cooray (on the right), and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Supun Weerasinghe (on the left).
Following Mr. Cooray’s riveting address, it was the Chairman’s Discussion that was held, moving away from the traditional CEO Forum. BSL Chairman Dilhan Fernando chatted with the Deputy Chairman/Group Finance Director John Keells Holdings PLC, Gihan Cooray, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Supun Weerasinghe, on sustainability strategies and practices.
During the function, tribute was paid to Ceylon Tea giant the late Merrill J. Fernando for being one of the first members to offer BSL a grant.
Scientist Prof. Devaka K. Weerakoon was felicitated for his major contributions to BSL projects.
A highlight was the launch by BSL Chairman Dilhan Fernando of ‘Life to Our Coral Reefs’, a collaborative public-private-people’s project, with an Expression of Interest being signed with DIMO Lanka’s Chairman Ranjtih Pandithage.
The behind-the-scenes doers at BSL are Advisor Shiranee Yasaratne and Outreach Coordinator M.M. Hanan.
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