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John Elkington, considered the father of the world-famous Triple Bottom Line, will visit Sri Lanka next month thanks to an initiative by premier telecom service provider, Dialog Axiata PLC.
A world authority on and a dean of sustainability and corporate responsibility, Elkington originated the term ‘Triple Bottom Line,’ which is today synonymous with sustainable development agendas the world over.
Elkington is due on 1 September.
He has written and co-authored over 17 books, which include The Green Consumer Guide, Cannibals With Forks, The Power of Unreasonable People, The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier and The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business – the book which brought the Triple Bottom Line concept to a much-wider audience.
Elkington will address a public forum on 1 September in Colombo, whilst on the same day he will also meet with CEOs and top executives from Sri Lankan corporates at an exclusive session hosted in collaboration with the Global Compact Network of Ceylon – the Sri Lankan chapter of the United Nations Global Compact.
Endorsed by chief executives, the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability network, is a practical framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of sustainability policies and practices.
Dialog Axiata, which has topped Sri Lanka’s Corporate Accountability Ratings since the inception of the ratings in 2009, is committed to the digital inclusion of citizens and to being a responsible corporate citizen.
Dialog’s Digital Inclusion agenda is driven by its ‘4As’ philosophy of Affordability, Availability, Applicability and Affinity. The company’s community investment strategy is characterised by a partnership approach which prioritises business-adjacent and aligned activities that fit a theory of change focusing on education; technology-driven or early interventions in health; disaster-preparedness and response; and other marginalised issues.
Dialog has delivered significant advancements in bridging gaps in the delivery of, and access to, education, audiological testing and therapy, trade, and information tools. The company invited Elkington to Sri Lanka to share his sustainability vision with Dialog, in addition to sharing his ‘disruptive thinking’ with thought leaders and top executives from corporate Sri Lanka.
Elkington is a Visiting Professor at the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at the Cranfield School of Management, at Imperial College London and at University College London, and sits on various strategic advisory boards, including large multinationals, media, human rights and environment groups, as well as the advisory board of The Social Stock Exchange launched in June 2013 by the Prime Minister of the UK.
John has served as a juror for the first Gigaton Awards, developed by Sir Richard Branson’s non-profit Carbon War Room – dubbed the ‘Oscars of Sustainability’ – and until recently he was also on the advisory boards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Integrated Reporting Council.
A 2009 CSR International survey of the Top 100 CSR Leaders placed Elkington fourth after Al Gore, Barack Obama, the late Anita Roddick and alongside Mohammed Yunus. Elkington is currently the Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working.
In 2013, John was inducted into the Sustainability Hall of Fame by The International Society of Sustainability Professionals in honour of his extraordinary contribution to the field through research, publication, teaching and innovation.
John’s latest book, The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways To Connect With Tomorrow’s Bottom Line, co-authored with former PUMA CEO, Jochen Zeitz, will be released in September 2014.
