Agenda

Day 01

10/27/2021 9:00 am

Live Stream via Zoom 9:00am - 6:00pm (IST)
Day 02

10/28/2021 10:00 am

Live Stream via Zoom 10:00am - 6:15pm (IST)

Opening Plenary

Understand the current progress of Agenda 2030 in Sri Lanka and elaborate on actions to meet the targets by 2030 - The Session will feature keynotes from highlevel UN, Government and Private Sector Representatives.

09:00am- 10:00am Time - IST

Rathika de Silva

Executive Director - UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka

Sanda Ojiambo

Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact

Hanaa Singer

UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka

Dilhan C. Fernando

CEO - Dilmah Tea / Chairman - UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka

Robert Juhkam

UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka

Anusha Palpita

Secretary - Ministry of Economic Policies and Plan Implementation

What does a 1.5-degree future mean to business?

Understand what the code red for humanity (climate emergency) means for business.
Learn about business mitigation efforts done by setting a net zero target in line with the latest science.

The Session will be moderated by Dr. Ravi Fernando.

10.30am -11.45am Time - IST

Arjun Bhargava

Consultant – Climate Change, UN Global Compact

Roshan Rajadurai

Managing Director - Hayleys Plantations

Shiranee Yasaratne

Advisor - Biodiversity Sri Lanka Secretariat

Bhathiya Bulumulla

Director/CEO, Elpitiya Plantations PLC - Aitken Spence Plantation Managements PLC

Dr. Ravi Fernando

Chairman/CEO - Global Strategic Corporate Sustainability (Pvt) Ltd. Board Member - UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka

Breaking Gender Barriers in the Boardroom

The Session Objectives are:

How to influence the largest shareholders in the board to advocate for gender equality.
Locating/having access to women that are qualified to be on the board.
Identifying barriers for women to enter the boardroom and practical solutions to overcome those barriers.
Managing work and life at the board level
Strategies used by boardmembers to drive active sponsorship of gender equality at the board level.

The Session will be moderated by Dinali Peiris

2.00pm - 3.00pm Time - IST

Sheamalee Wickramasingha

Group Managing Director of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) Group

Thothathri Vaikuntam

Resident Director and Center Head - HCL Technologies

Pavithra Samarasinghe

Director Finance, A. Baur & Company (Private) Limited

Hiran Cooray

Chairman, Jetwing Symphony PLC

Sarah Knibbs

The Office in Charge and Deputy Regional Director, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Dinali Peiris

Director Organizational Development - Group Human Resources at MAS Holdings

Business Innovation in Accelerating the SDGs

Identify and demonstrate, through examples, the business case of unlocking the potential of disruptive innovation in operations and supply chain to accelerate progress towards the global goals.
Illustrate the importance of the context in which technology, design, and innovation is applied, and the direct and indirect benefits to business processes and market shares that stem from innovation.
Acknowledge and emphasize the systemic approach that is required if businesses are to contribute positively to the global goals, while also retaining their competitive advantages in their respective fields.
Explore the role and importance of people-centric solutions when working on business innovation processes.
Explore innovation approaches, such as human centred design and design thinking, and their potential contributions from a business perspective, as well as its potential in furthering the organization’s contribution towards the global goals.

The Session will be moderated by Fadhil Bakeer Markar

3.30pm - 4.30pm Time - IST

Joseph Ogutu

Chief Special Projects Officer, Safaricom PLC

Sandra De Zoysa

Group Chief Customer Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC and Chairperson at SLASSCOM

Pilar Diaz

Global Head of Femtech at MAS Holdings

Irfan Ahmed

Chief Digital Officer, EFL

Fadhil Bakeer Markar

Team Leader, Policy and Engagement UNDP and Lead, Citra innovation Lab

Leadership Forum (By invitation only)

Outlining the strategies to be implemented to build a resilient sustainable global brand.
Provide C-Suite audience an opportunity to gain thought leadership on aligning business strategies to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the SDGs’.
Highlight the importance of implementing future-focused people centric sustainable business strategies.

The session will be moderated by Dilhan C. Fernando

5.00pm - 6.00pm Time - IST

Kanni Wignaraja

Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro

Chair, UWC International; Former President and CEO, Global Fund for Women

David Nai Pek Lau

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dialog Axiata PLC

Dilhan C. Fernando

CEO - Dilmah Tea / Chairman - UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka

Financing for the SDGs - the next big opportunity

To identify opportunities and mechanisms to direct corporate finance and investments toward the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
How banks can support businesses to tap into financing options available to invest towards the SDGs
How can impactful corporate investments be financed? How can such investments access low-cost financing solutions?
The case for businesses to invest in SDGs that are country priority – i.e. the need to scale up investment in green finance and climate resilience

The session will be moderated by Nilanthi Sivapragasam

10.00am - 11.00am Time - IST

Louise Scott

Director, Global Sustainability, PwC United Kingdom

S. Renganathan

Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer at the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC

Malin Herwig

Deputy Resident Representative - UNDP in Sri Lanka

Darshana Gunasekera

Group Finance Director - Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC

Nilanthi Sivapragasam

Director & Managing Director at Aitken Spence Corporate Finance (Pvt) Ltd

The Future of Work and Skills

Decent Work and UN Global Compact Labor Principles.
Diversity and Inclusion in the workforce .
Essential Future skills for employability.
Challenges to the Future of work in business (Work from home, remote working, flexible work and freelancing).
Business and Human Rights and the Future of work.
Business Continuity and resilience.

The session will be moderated by Supun Weerasinghe

11.30 am - 12.30pm Time - IST

Prof. Ajith De Alwis

Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Moratuwa

Dagmar Walter

Director, Decent Work Team South Asia and India - ILO

Mangala Yapa

Director General & Chief Executive Officer at The Employers Federation of Ceylon

Dilrukshi Kurukulasuriya

Chief Human Resources Officer - Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC

Supun Weerasinghe

Director & Group Chief Executive Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC

MSMEs as a Boon: Surviving COVID-19

To understand the current condition of SMEs globally during these unprecedented times, and the compounded challenges they face now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures they have taken to overcome these obstacles.
To hear from local representatives in the SME sector in Sri Lanka about the many challenges faced by SMEs and the steps they have taken to overcome these hurdles. To recognize the various support mechanisms that are in place to assist the development of SMEs and understand what more needs to be done to help SMEs continue to play a pivotal role in driving economic growth in Sri Lanka.

The Session will be moderated by Denver De Zylva (TBC).

2.00pm - 3.00pm Time - IST

Selyna Pieris

Director-Business Development - Selyn

Randhula De Silva

Founder CEO - Good Life X

Ana Lagon

CEO Bayo Clothing

Suresh D de Mel

Chairman & Chief Executive - Export Development Board

Denver De Zylva

Senior Vice President - Facilities and Sustainability · Virtusa

Building Supply Chain Resilience

Justify the importance of integrating sustainability across an organisation’s value chain to ensure long-term value creation.
Propose business strategies to de-risk your supply chain and create resilience (e.g sourcing strategies, managing suppliers, digitalization, transparency, decentralization).

The session will be moderated by Aruna Mawilmada

4.00pm - 5.00pm Time - IST