Sampath Bank recognised at International CSR Excellence Awards 2016 in London

Standing from left: Sampath Bank Senior DGM – Consumer Banking Tharaka Ranwala, Eco Action Games Chief Officer Dr. Paula Owen and Sampath Bank Managing Director Aravinda Perera 

Sampath Bank has remained a forerunner in its commitment to create a positive impact towards the country, its citizens, the environment as well as the bank’s employees and other stakeholders. 

Along with the strong evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sampath Bank has marked yet another milestone; the achievement as a winner at the prestigious International CSR Excellence Awards 2016 ceremony organised by ‘The Green Organization’ on 8 August at The Crystal, London Docklands. 

Over the years, Corporate Social Responsibility has been etched as an integral part of Sampath Bank’s DNA; with unwavering dedication, Sampath Bank has made resilient headway in launching significant CSR initiatives based on their ‘5E CSR Model’. The particular model draws upon the pillars namely Entrepreneurship Development; Education for Development; Empowerment of Community; Environment Protection and Conservation and Ethics and Values.

Speaking on this achievement, Sampath Bank PLC Senior Deputy General Manager – Consumer Banking and Pillar Head of CSR Tharaka Ranwala said: “To be recognised as a ‘company that cares’ amongst over 200 nominees in the International CSR Excellence Awards is truly satisfying. This indeed symbolises Sampath Bank’s vision, belief and efforts to present a promising future to the citizens of Sri Lanka and to create a meaningful development that advocates a much wider context of change for the nation.”

Whilst focusing on the 5E CSR Model, Sampath Bank has significantly delivered to its Triple Bottom Line through transformative CSR model which concentrates on sustainable economic, social and environmental advancements. Accordingly, ‘Sampath Saviya – empowering budding entrepreneurs’, ‘Sampath Pasala – uplifting education in rural Sri Lanka’, ‘Bolgoda wetland conservation project – protecting and conserving Sri Lanka’s largest natural freshwater lake’, ‘Water purification project at Poonewa – combating chronic kidney diseases’ and ‘Vision 2020 – combating avoidable blindness’, are among the number of key initiatives carried out by the bank. 

The Green Organization based in England was established in the year 1994 as an international, independent and a non-profit environmental group. With the prominent International CSR Excellence Awards Ceremony, the Green Organization is dedicated to recognise, reward and promote institutions that carry out the best practices around the globe. 

In addition to many accolades awarded by renowned international awarding bodies namely ‘Asia Best CSR Practices Awards’ by CMO Asia, ‘The Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards’ by Enterprise Asia Sampath Bank has also earned honorary recognition as the ‘Overall Best Corporate Citizen 2015’ by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce due to its continuous commitment in addressing and resolving pressing national issues. 

With initiatives ranging from empowering new entrepreneurs to support the evolving lifestyles of individuals along with the conservation of the environment, Sampath Bank continues to pursue innovative ideas for the purpose of meeting the emerging needs of the people, businesses and the communities. This facilitates the bank to achieve its corporate goals in sync with national priorities and adhering to the bank’s core values.