Reap more benefits by switching to sustainable business practices: Malraj

Sixth International Conference on Business Management and Economics was held on 22 December at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. The conference was organised by Global Academic Research Institute (GARI), an international scientific research conference organiser in collaboration with international universities and institutions.

The conference was organised under the theme of ‘Management Practices for Sustainable Development’ which was attended by high profile academia and professionals from the globe including, India, Australia, Germany and Japan and Sri Lanka. Participants had opportunities for presenting new researches, exchanging information, and discussing current issues.

In his keynote speech, Chief Guest Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Director General Malraj B. Kiriella emphasised the importance of working smarter to move away from the traditional business model to a new model which follows sustainable business practices.

Kiriella stated that it is important to have a business strategy that reflects the organisation’s commitment to economic, environmental, social and cultural. He further said that it is the process that organisations have to change when developing sustainable business practices. According to him, making people at the centre of the business will help to create an environment where people feel valued and content. He further mentioned that increased demand for natural resources and raw materials has caused dramatic price increases and these costs have made businesses assess the way they use resources. According to Kiriella, finding alternatives and examining waste output has proved an excellent cost cutting exercise for many businesses.

“Recycling more materials, using alternative resources may even develop more economical ways of working. Your success depends on how efficiently and effectively you deliver to the consumer. Taking an environmental and sustainable stance, you can develop a cleaner product and a more professional business that makes better use of resources,” said Kiriella. 

Focusing on tourism, Kiriella stated that practicing sustainable business has become a trend in the World as well as in Sri Lanka. Bringing some international case studies from New Zealand and Indonesia, he described how organisations in tourism field have applied sustainable business practices successfully. 

Kiriella further mentioned that certain hotels in Sri Lanka also use cleaner production technologies to increase productivity and sustainability. These include the introduction of renewable alternative energy sources such as biomass and solar power for hot water. Furthermore, these hotels also have initiated projects to minimise solid waste, air pollution and other chemical pollution, maximise practices of reducing, recycling and maximise the use of environmentally-friendly materials, maximise indigenous flora in landscaping, conserve biodiversity and support local livelihoods.

“Begin with what works best for your business — this may mean starting with small steps at first, or maybe taking a giant leap and creating a brand-new strategy based on sustainable practices,” said Kiriella.