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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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).

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