Ceylon Chamber conducts BCCS Awards briefing seminar

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce launched the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability (BCCS) Awards 2023 seminar to brief prospective applicants on the Award process for the year 2023.

Held this year for the twentieth consecutive year, the BCCS Awards, which champion corporate sustainability in an increasingly environmentally vulnerable world, are one of the most anticipated events in the corporate calendar.

Against a backdrop of a challenging year in terms of the global and national socio-economic environment, the Awards seek to highlight proactive initiatives that sought to ensure sustainable and resilient practices over the past year.

The briefing webinar was led by the Chairman of the Panel of Evaluators and a veteran in the field of sustainability Rathika de Silva. Drawing attention to the urgency of supporting and achieving the United National 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he highlighted the ten pathways for every business to shape its own contribution towards achieving the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) goals. Stressing the urgency in mainstreaming ESG practices in core business processes and corporate strategies, de Silva called upon companies to continue to raise the bar on incorporating ESG practices into their operations.

The introduction of two new awards, a sector award for the retail industry, and a new category relating to supplier relations, will highlight the sustainability efforts undertaken by the retail industry, as well as the importance of holistic operations of corporations extending to maintaining and enhancing relationships with suppliers.

He was joined by Ravi De Silva, Dr. Asanga Ranasinghe, Dr. Sashika Manoratne, Daniel Dissanayaka and Imalka Iddamalgoda.The panel took participants through the application process, highlighting key areas in terms of presentation and submission, with regard to the broad areas the Awards consider, including Environment, Customer Relations, Community Relations, Employee Relations and Governance, Financial Performance and Economic Contribution.

Taking into account feedback on a perception survey conducted by the Ceylon Chamber, this year the application process has been enhanced and simplified to offer applicants a more seamless application process.

Azam Bakeer Markar briefed participants on the Best Projects Sustainability Awards application. These awards highlight the efforts of the private and public sectors to develop and implement projects that promote a specific aspect one or more aspects of sustainability, and which demonstrate a contribution to the well-being of the people or the planet.

Applications for the BCCS Awards are now open, with the application forms, brochures and other relevant documents accessible at www.chamber.lk

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