‘Are we on the right track for transformative CSR’: Banking sector forum tomorrow

With an objective of initiating a dialogue on stakeholder transformation through ‘Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility’, CSR Sri Lanka will host its first ‘Banking Sector Forum’ on 20 October. 

CSR Sri Lanka, the first national apex body and catalyst of the concept of ‘transformative CSR’, now takes the ownership in driving and aligning the private sector towards more nationally important, impactful and relevant CSR engagement as part of their business practices. 

Following the successful launch of CSR Sri Lanka in October 2014, in April 2015, three sessions were conducted for heads of private sector companies, senior Government officials and CSR practitioners to drive the concept of ‘Transformative CSR’ and to emphasise the importance of public and private sector collaboration. 

Stemming from those initiatives, a strong dialogue has been built up between the private sector, Government sector and CSR Sri Lanka on different CSR initiatives. 

The next step of this collaboration is to bring the country’s CSR efforts onto a common sustainable platform. As part of this exercise, CSR Sri Lanka is now taking the initiative to focus on different business sectors that contribute to the country’s economic growth. Each industry sector in Sri Lanka currently spends a considerable amount on various project-based CSR activities.  

The first sector focused forum will be organised exclusively for the banking sector as the contribution of the banking sector to CSR activities of the country is quite significant. CSR Sri Lanka has embarked upon an important direction in the Banking Sector Forum to discuss the path that banks should take towards ‘Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility’. 

Since the banking sector has a higher capacity in the light of the wider stakeholder group that they are engaged with, it is timely that the opportunities the banking sector has to be engaged in stakeholder transformation are discussed.

This will be an ideal forum to review the insights of CSR practices and experiences within the sector. The forum will capture the perspectives of international practices, government relations and private sector practices in CSR done by the banking sector through actual industry case studies. 

Eminent personality Deepal Sooriyaarachchi will then discuss the cases presented and how these could be transformed to incorporate stakeholder transformation and will provide insights for the sustainable way forward. 

The event will be held on 20 October at Hilton Colombo Residences from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. as a breakfast forum, with exclusive participation over 45 of CSR practitioners from the private and state banking sector by invitation. 

The forum is organised in collaboration with MillenniumIT as the strategic event partner and Sampath Bank as event sponsor.