Category: Daily Financial Times

Microimage, a pioneering force in digital innovation, marked its 30th anniversary on 20 September, celebrating a remarkable journey from humble beginnings to global impact.

What began in 1992 as the Microimage Hobbyists Club – comprising a group of passionate schoolboys from Ananda College – has today evolved into a cutting-edge technology company with a presence in over 20 countries.

The Microimage Board – comprising Group CEO Harsha Purasinghe, Director Suren Rupasinghe, and Director Damindu Jayaweera – joined teams from MiHCM and Futura on 20 September to celebrate this milestone, reflecting on a legacy built on integrity, innovation, and a passion for creation.

‘What a journey it has been. From a humble hobbyist club, we never imagined in our wildest dreams that one day it would grow into a global multinational, powering HR tech and digital solutions across markets. This transformation is a testament to the power of vision, resilience, and relentless innovation,’ said Purasinghe.

‘We are deeply grateful to all our past and present employees, our clients who believed in us and gave us opportunities from the very beginning, and our partners who helped us scale to where we are today,’ he added.

From its early days developing Sinhala fonts during the DOS-to-Windows transition, Microimage has consistently been at the forefront of innovation. Its first breakthrough, Helawadana, enabled Sri Lankans to type on Windows in Sinhala and became the company’s seed capital, funding its transformation into a business software provider.

Over the decades, Microimage has consistently aligned itself with major technological shifts: 1994-1998: Sinhala fonts and the DOS-to-Windows transition; 1998-2000: Time and Attendance and Payroll software during Sri Lanka’s apparel boom; 2000-2008: Web-based HRIS and Unicode Sinhala innovations; 2004: Birth of perhaps the first complete enterprise grade broadcast automation solution for radio stations – mStudio, which powers all the leading radio networks in Sri Lanka and some of the notable networks in Southeast Asia; 2004-2005: Local language SMS for feature phones, winning the GSMA Asia Innovation Award; 2005-2006: DEWN, the world’s first GSM-based Disaster and Emergency Warning System with global commendation at GSMA World Awards and 2008 onwards: Ventured into broadcast video solutions through its subsidiary, Futura Tech Labs.

In 2007, Microimage restructured into two focused entities: MiHCM, specialising in digital HR solutions, and Futura, driving innovation in broadcast and digital technologies.

MiHCM was born out of Microimage’s vision to help organisations transition from traditional HR systems to fully digital platforms. Following three years of dedicated platform engineering, MiHCM emerged as a pure cloud-native digital HR technology solution and now empowers over 1,000 companies across over 20 markets, supported by a robust network of strategic partners.

MiHCM is now a global Microsoft solutions partner for Data and AI and Digital App and Innovation and works closely with Microsoft offices across many regions. Futura Tech Labs, meanwhile, powers nearly all radio networks in Sri Lanka and has expanded its broadcast solutions to Malaysia, Brunei, and beyond.

Today, Microimage has global offices and ventures in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, with a strong partner network in over a dozen countries, and as it enters the AI era, Microimage continues to reimagine the future of work and technology.

Bringing wetland professionals, mental health experts and tourism leaders on a single platform, the ‘Wellness in Wetlands 2025 International Conference’ will be held in Colombo from 9-12 October.

The primary objective of the gathering is to explore the vital interconnections between wetland ecosystems, psychological well-being, and sustainable development. The timing of the conference is strategically aligned with World Mental Health Day (10 October), emphasising the global necessity of addressing human wellness alongside climate resilience and environmental conservation.

The conference will feature sessions designed for ambassadors, distinguished delegates, experts, policymakers, academics, scientists, indigenous leaders, and community representatives from Sri Lanka and abroad.

The core focus areas for discussion will include, Wetland ecosystems and biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and environmental psychology, the role of wetlands in sustainable tourism, nature-based approaches to mental health and well-being.

The inauguration ceremony will be held at the Ape Gama Conference Hall in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, at 3 p.m. on 9 October.

World’s leading environmental psychologist Prof. Susan Clayton from USA will share insights from her pioneering work on climate anxiety and eco-emotions, Vedda Chief Uruwarige Wannila Aththo will share traditional wisdom concerning human-nature relationships.

Additional keynote speakers include Prof. Piyanjali de Zoysa, Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, Prof. Pathirage Kamal Perera, Prof. D.A.C. Suranga Silva, and Dr. A. Radhakrishnan Nair (India/USA).

The conference is organised by the Emotional Intelligence and Life Skills Training Team (GTE) Ltd. in collaboration with several key national institutions, including the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme, the Urban Development Authority, the Divisional Secretariat of Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

This event is supported by the Sri Lanka Land Development Authority (Strategic Partner), SriLankan Airlines (Official Airline Partner), IUCN (Environmental Partner), WWT (UK) and Wetland Link International (Global Conservation Partners) and academic and wellness partners such as the Indian Association of Life Skills Education, Life Skills Education Nepal, Maldives Mental Health Association, and Maldives Life Skills Association.

The amendments to Sri Lanka’s Children and Young Persons Ordinance (CYPO) and the push for a new comprehensive ‘Compact Act’ are being hailed as long-overdue reforms, aligning the nation with international child rights conventions. Yet, beneath the veneer of progress lies a profound anxiety: will these rights-centric laws, particularly the outright ban on corporal punishment and the shift toward rehabilitation, inadvertently dismantle the traditional mechanisms of discipline that underpin Sri Lankan society?

A growing chorus of critics-from concerned parents and overburdened teachers to social conservatives-argues that these reforms are being enacted without adequate preparation, threatening to unleash a wave of juvenile indiscipline that the State is ill-equipped to manage.

The discipline deficit: When the rod is spared

The most immediate and controversial change is the explicit repeal of the section of the CYPO that permitted the use of corporal punishment by parents and teachers. For generations in Sri Lanka, as in many South Asian nations, the principle of ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ has been central to moral and academic instruction. Discipline, enforced through firm action, was seen not as abuse, but as a form of moral care (‘metta’ in Buddhist thought).

The negative ramification, according to sceptics, is the creation of a ‘license for indiscipline.’

Erosion of authority: The ban immediately undermines the authority of teachers and parents, replacing traditional respect with what is perceived as a permissive legal framework. Teachers already report feeling powerless against defiant students, with the law stripping away their only effective sanction in large, under-resourced classrooms.

Creating a culture of impunity: By raising the age of protection to 18 and emphasising rehabilitation over punitive justice, the law risks being interpreted by adolescents as a shield against consequences. In a society grappling with rising youth crime, critics fear the shift from punishment to ‘restorative justice’ will simply be seen as a slap on the wrist.

The ‘Western Model’ mismatch: While developed nations like the UK phased out corporal punishment over decades alongside massive investments in social workers, counsellors, and specialised educational psychologists, Sri Lanka’s adoption of the standard is instantaneous. The result is a Western legal standard layered onto an Eastern cultural reality, creating a vacuum where traditional controls have been removed, but modern support systems are non-existent.

The flip side: Excessive punishments and the impact on children and adolescents

Proponents of this piece of legislation and those initiators in the NPP Government argue that long enough have we had archaic child rights statutes and we must move with times and in tandem with ‘developed’ societies. Definition of development apart it is a fact that there have been and continue to be excessive punishment of children in schools, public humiliation and abuse Not only in schools but at home fronts as well. This requires stringent preventive laws and deterrent punishments. However are we jumping into a fire from a frying pan? Are we being too liberal?

Readiness: Are parents and teachers equipped?

The efficacy of the new laws hinges entirely on the readiness of the two most crucial groups: parents and teachers. Current data suggests they are dangerously unprepared for the cultural revolution mandated by the legislature.

Parental confusion and anxiety

For the average Sri Lankan parent, the sudden prohibition of physical discipline causes immense confusion. There has been a clear failure by the state to launch comprehensive, nationwide public education campaigns to teach alternative, positive parenting skills.

Instead of being empowered, many parents now face a triple dilemma:

1.Legal fear: Fear of being reported and prosecuted for disciplinary actions traditionally considered normal.

2.Disciplinary void: Lacking the skills to manage severe behavioural issues without firm measures.

3.Moral anxiety: Concern that their children will grow up lacking the discipline and obedience necessary to succeed in a highly competitive society.

The teacher’s dilemma in schools

The burden of maintaining order in overcrowded public schools falls squarely on teachers, who are already stretched thin due to administrative loads and insufficient resources. Research indicates that many teachers view the ‘form and severity’ of corporal punishment as the issue, not the act itself, suggesting a fundamental disconnect with the legislative intent.

Teachers argue that without the fear of sanction, student defiance will surge, leading to:

Deterioration of educational quality: More class time spent managing disorder rather than teaching the curriculum.

Stress and burnout: Increased psychological stress on teachers who feel their authority is constantly being tested and their professional judgment second-guessed by students and authorities.

Lack of alternatives: The promised investment in school counsellors, specialised training in positive reinforcement, and behavioural management teams remains largely unfulfilled, leaving educators with no tools to replace the discarded ‘rod.’

Resource shortfall: The ultimate policy failure

Beyond cultural resistance, the proposed reforms suffer from a crippling resource deficiency. Moving the juvenile justice system from a punitive model to a rehabilitative one is extraordinarily expensive.

The new law promises that minors will be placed in specialised institutions focusing on rehabilitation. However, Sri Lanka currently lacks the required specialised facilities, trained social workers, and psychological experts to handle the influx of 16-to-18-year-olds removed from the adult prison system. The practical risk is that these young people may simply be shuffled into understaffed, ill-equipped remand homes, or worse, released into communities without necessary support, creating a public safety risk.

This failure to provide the social scaffolding necessary for the law to succeed makes the entire exercise vulnerable to criticism that it prioritises international optics over domestic reality.

Credibility: A child rights compact or a political gimmick?

Given the immense challenges, the critical question remains: is the push for this rapid, sweeping child rights reform driven by genuine national interest, or is it a calculated political manoeuvre?

While child protection activists have long championed these changes, the timing-often coinciding with governments seeking international legitimacy, as evidenced by the IMF push-invites scepticism. The NPP (National People’s Power) or any incumbent government, stands to gain significant political capital from championing a popular, internationally supported human rights agenda.

The most cynical interpretation suggests this is a calculated political gimmick designed for future electoral benefit. The children currently being empowered by this legislation will be the voting block of tomorrow. By positioning themselves as the saviours of child rights, the current political establishment is potentially cultivating the loyalty of a new generation of voters who will hold a favourable view of the party that abolished corporal punishment and granted them greater autonomy.

If the ‘Compact Act’ is enacted but fails to receive the necessary funding for implementation-if teachers remain unsupported, and rehabilitation centres remain empty promises-it will confirm that the reform was less about securing the child’s future and more about securing the politician’s vote. The true measure of the Government’s sincerity will not be the law passed in Parliament, but the Budget allocated to the child protection and social welfare departments in the years to come.

When analysts point out that Sri Lanka has only a handful of listed companies valued over a billion dollars compared to Singapore’s 77 or Vietnam’s 44, the instinctive response is often: ‘We need more billion-dollar companies.’ But this misses a more fundamental question that communications professionals should be asking: Is corporate gigantism really the goal?

Perhaps the more revealing statistic isn’t how few billion-dollar companies we have, but how many mid-sized businesses are stuck, unable to access capital, expand sustainably, or tell their stories effectively. Perhaps the problem isn’t that we lack corporate giants, but that we’ve failed to build an ecosystem where diverse businesses across multiple scales can thrive, innovate, and create meaningful value.

This is where the narrative needs to shift, and where PR and communications professionals have a critical strategic role to play.

The real gap: From growth capital to growth stories

When the Asian Development Bank projects Sri Lanka’s growth slowing from 3.9pct in 2025 to 3.3pct in 2026 and with US tariffs threatening $634 million in exports and 16,000 jobs, mostly female apparel workers, the communication failure isn’t about celebrating big companies. It’s about the silence around adaptation, resilience, and alternative pathways.

Where are the stories of medium-sized exporters who’ve successfully pivoted to non-traditional markets? Where are the narratives about companies choosing sustainable growth over extractive expansion? Where are the case studies of businesses that prioritised worker welfare and innovation over quarterly revenue targets, and succeeded because of it, not despite it?

The fixation on billion-dollar valuations obscures a more important conversation: How do we build an economy where businesses of all sizes, from artisan cooperatives to tech startups to family enterprises, can access the resources, markets, and credibility they need to create value?

Sri Lanka’s capital markets don’t just lack depth and liquidity; they lack diversity of thought. Venture capital remains underdeveloped not because we don’t have capital, but because we haven’t communicated alternative models of success convincingly enough. When every ‘success story’ looks like corporate consolidation and market domination, we shouldn’t be surprised when investors can’t imagine other possibilities.

The innovation paradox: Small can be significant

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: few Sri Lankan corporates are genuinely innovation-driven, and the ecosystem for research, startups, and technology remains shallow. But the solution isn’t to copy Silicon Valley’s ‘grow fast or die’ model. It’s to communicate what innovation actually looks like in the Sri Lankan context.

Take the upcoming Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit in December, exploring opportunities in cinnamon, seafood, electronics, minerals, and advanced manufacturing. These sectors don’t need billion-dollar corporations to succeed. They need well-capitalised, efficiently-run, technology-enabled businesses that can compete on quality, sustainability, and specialisation.

A cinnamon exporter that uses blockchain for supply chain transparency, pays fair wages, and commands premium pricing in niche markets might never be ‘worth a billion dollars.’ But it creates more sustainable value-economic, social, environmental-than a bloated conglomerate optimising for market cap.

The communications challenge is to make these stories as compelling as the unicorn narratives that dominate global business media. We need to shift the conversation from ‘How big can you get?’ to ‘How much value can you create, and for whom?’

The policy communication disconnect

When the government underspends on poverty alleviation-failing to meet even the IMF’s modest target of 0.7% of GDP on social safety nets-while a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, the communication failure is profound.

This isn’t just bad policy; it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what creates a healthy business environment. Child malnutrition increased from 12.2% to 17% between 2021 and 2024. Over half of households use coping mechanisms like skipping meals. These aren’t just humanitarian crises, they’re market failures and demand destruction in real time.

Smart communications professionals should be making the business case for inclusive growth, not as corporate social responsibility window-dressing, but as economic necessity. You cannot build a thriving economy, of any scale, on widespread poverty and food insecurity.

Yet the narrative around ‘business-friendly policy’ rarely includes wealth taxes, progressive taxation, or strengthened social safety nets. When the World Bank reports that focusing on high-earning individuals could increase Personal Income Tax revenue by 169%, and when direct taxes primarily impact the richest 10% of Sri Lankans, why isn’t the business community communicating support for these measures?

Because too often, ‘business interests’ are defined narrowly as ‘what helps large corporations and wealthy individuals pay less tax’ rather than ‘what creates stable, inclusive conditions for diverse businesses to flourish.’

Reimagining corporate success: A communications framework

So what would a reimagined communications strategy look like? One that moves beyond billion-dollar ambitions to sustainable value creation? Here are five principles:

1. Value creation over valuation

Instead of celebrating market capitalisation, communicate impact metrics: jobs created (and their quality), innovation deployed, sustainability practices, worker welfare, community investment, and long-term resilience.

This isn’t greenwashing. It’s a fundamental reframing of what ‘success’ means. When the Construction PMI hits 61.1 in August with project availability increasing, the story shouldn’t just be about growth. It should be about whether that growth includes decent work, environmental standards, and local procurement.

2. Diversification as strategy, not weakness

The focus on billion-dollar companies often comes with an implicit assumption that ‘focus’ and ‘specialisation’ mean doing one thing at massive scale. But in a small, vulnerable economy like Sri Lanka’s, diversification isn’t a weakness, it’s survival.

Communications teams should be telling stories about businesses that successfully operate across multiple sectors, serve different market segments, or maintain portfolio approaches that provide resilience against shocks. The economy expanded 4.8pct year-on-year in Q1 2025 not because of corporate giants, but because of diversified activity across manufacturing, construction, and services.

3. Sustainable internationalisation

Yes, too many Sri Lankan companies remain dependent on local markets. But the solution isn’t just ‘go global at any cost.’ It’s strategic internationalisation that builds capabilities, transfers knowledge, and creates sustainable competitive advantages.

When Japan’s JETRO highlights Sri Lanka’s potential in graphite for lithium-ion batteries, the opportunity isn’t to create a billion-dollar mining conglomerate. It’s to build a cluster of specialised, technologically sophisticated businesses that compete on quality and sustainability, and to communicate that positioning effectively in international markets.

4. Transparent trade-offs

Every business decision involves trade-offs. Growing fast often means cutting corners. Maximising shareholder returns can mean squeezing workers or suppliers. Expanding market share might require practices that aren’t sustainable long-term.

What if communications professionals led conversations about these trade-offs honestly? What if, instead of spinning every decision as win-win, we acknowledged that building sustainable businesses means sometimes choosing stakeholders over shareholders, or choosing long-term resilience over short-term growth?

This kind of transparency would be radical and credibility-building in Sri Lanka’s current environment.

5. Redefining ‘Competitiveness’

When private credit grew 19.6pct in July, driven partly by vehicle imports, is that a sign of healthy economic activity or unsustainable consumption? When worker remittances rise 19.3pct and the current account surplus grows 30.2pct, is that economic strength or dependence on labor export?

Communications professionals should be helping stakeholders think critically about what ‘competitive’ actually means. A competitive economy isn’t necessarily one with the biggest companies. It’s one where businesses can operate efficiently, fairly, and sustainably across different scales and sectors.

From narrative deficit to narrative diversity

The real problem isn’t that Sri Lanka has only three billion-dollar companies. It’s that we have one dominant narrative about what business success looks like-and it’s imported, ill-fitting, and ultimately harmful.

We need narrative diversity to match the diverse economy we should be building. Stories about:

Family businesses that have sustained themselves across generations through prudent management, not aggressive expansion

Cooperatives that create value for members rather than distant shareholders

Social enterprises that balance profit with purpose

Tech startups that prioritise solving local problems over chasing venture capital valuations

Exporters that compete on quality and ethics, not just price

Manufacturers that invest in worker skills and environmental practices

These stories exist. They’re just not being told with the sophistication, consistency, and strategic intent they deserve.

The communicator›s challenge

For PR and communications professionals, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to resist the easy narrative of ‘bigger is better’ and instead craft more nuanced, evidence-based stories about sustainable value creation. The opportunity is to help reshape how success is defined and measured in Sri Lankan business.

This means advising clients and organisations to think beyond traditional metrics. It means pushing back when ‘growth at all costs’ is presented as the only strategy. It means making the case that in a resource-constrained, climate-vulnerable, socially diverse nation like Sri Lanka, resilience and sustainability aren’t optional extras. They’re core business imperatives.

Most importantly, it means recognising that in an era of heightened inequality, climate crisis, and social instability, the old narratives about corporate success are not just inadequate-they’re actively harmful. The world doesn’t need more billion-dollar companies built on exploitation and extraction. It needs businesses of all scales that create genuine value for multiple stakeholders over the long term.

Sri Lanka has an opportunity to communicate a different model, one that other small, vulnerable economies might actually want to learn from. But it requires communications professionals willing to challenge conventional wisdom, tell more complex stories, and ultimately, reimagine what success looks like.

The question isn’t whether we can create more billion-dollar companies. It’s whether we can create an economy where diverse businesses thrive, workers flourish, communities benefit, and the environment is respected, regardless of anyone’s market capitalisation.

That’s a narrative worth building. And it starts with communicators brave enough to tell it.

The author welcomes responses and debate on these ideas. Sri Lanka’s economic future depends not on mimicking other countries’ models of success, but on defining our own, and communicating it compellingly.

Sri Lanka conducted a special business promotion forum at Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan with the support of Japan External Trade Organisation. Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Embassy in Japan, and Sri Lanka-Japan Business Council organised the event.

Apart from highlighting investment and sourcing opportunities in Sri Lanka, the event included several one-on-one buyer-seller meetings.

Separately, President Anura Kumara Disanayake inaugurated the Sri Lanka Pavilion at the Expo 2025 Osaka in addition to officiating at the Sri Lanka Day at Expo 2025. Japan’s Minister in charge of the World Expo 2025 Ito Yoshitaka accompanied President Disanayake’s visit to the Sri Lanka Pavilion.

The Sri Lanka Pavilion located at Common Hall A showcased culture, tradition, gems, tea, spices, and tourism, among others. It has drawn thousands of visitors daily, mainly Japanese. He inspected the pavilion which was located at a hall featuring several other countries.

Sri Lanka Day at Expo 2025 included performances by Sri Lankan dancers and musicians.

A 20-member delegation organised by the Sri Lanka-Japan Business Council, several Osaka and Tokyo-based Sri Lankan entrepreneurs attended the events.

Sustainability has emerged as one of the most critical strategic imperatives of our era, particularly in nations acutely exposed, with economies closely tied to delicate natural and social ecosystems. Sri Lanka, with its rich agricultural exports and thriving apparel sector, finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. As we approach tangible evidence of sustainability progress from both nations and corporates, Sri Lankan enterprises must recognise that the foundations they lay today will determine their ability to respond credibly to these demands.

If organisations wait until the last minute and rely solely on a compliance-centric approach rather than embedding a purpose-driven sustainability dimension into their business strategy, Sri Lankan corporates face a critical turning point. These robust reporting requirements establish a new baseline and align local practices with evolving global expectations. However, there is a real risk that organisations may revert to a box-ticking, compliance-focused mindset, merely meeting minimum standards rather than driving meaningful transformation.

For Sri Lankan companies to truly future-proof themselves, sustainability must be recognised as a core business imperative, one that goes beyond compliance and includes the active inclusion of sustainability professionals in strategic decision-making roles.

Investing in resilience

Sri Lanka’s economy is anchored in climate-exposed sectors, including tea, rubber, coconuts, cinnamon, essential oils, fruits, apparel, gemstones, and tourism. These industries are central to foreign exchange and employment, yet they face mounting disruption from erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, flooding, and shifting pest and disease patterns. The risks extend well beyond production: agriculture and mining depend on healthy rural labour, while extreme heat and flooding compromise factory productivity, worker health, and community well-being in general. Heavy rainfall can paralyse logistics, making climate risk a systemic threat to livelihoods, competitiveness, and national prosperity.

Corporate responses in the past were often framed as philanthropy or CSR, disconnected from strategy and risk management. That approach is no longer sufficient. Sustainability must be embedded into business models through a risk lens and as a resilience driver. When integrated into operations, product design, supply chains, and governance, sustainability shifts from vulnerability management to preparedness. Measuring outcomes in financial, environmental, and social terms reframes it from a cost to an investment; one that protects markets, secures supply chains, and creates a durable advantage in a world where resilience is fast becoming the true measure of competitiveness.

IFRS S1 and S2 as the starting line, not the finish

The introduction of IFRS S1 and S2 is a watershed moment for Sri Lanka. These standards require companies to identify, assess, and disclose material sustainability risks and opportunities. For many corporates, mainly those new to formal sustainability reporting, this represents a significant learning curve and a valuable catalyst, not the destination, but a milestone on a much longer journey.

For Sri Lankan companies, especially those in sectors directly exposed to environmental and social volatility, compliance should be seen as a crucial milepost. Meeting these requirements presents an opportunity to build foundational capacity, establish governance structures, gather relevant data, and foster a culture of transparency and continuous improvement. But the true value lies beyond compliance. Companies must use the insights gained from reporting to drive real change. This means embedding sustainability into strategy, operations, innovation, and value propositions. It means setting ambitious goals for decarbonisation, resource efficiency, and social impact. And it means holding leaders and teams accountable for progress, not just disclosures.

A leap into the unknown

Unlike many advanced jurisdictions, Sri Lanka had not previously made it in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Boards, executives, and sustainability leaders are navigating new requirements, unfamiliar reporting frameworks, and heightened stakeholder scrutiny, all while contending with immediate operational challenges. This context presents both risks and opportunities.

To succeed, companies must invest in the data systems and processes required for robust reporting. This includes mapping value chains, engaging with suppliers, and developing the internal capacity to collect, analyse, and act on sustainability information. Just as importantly, companies must foster a culture that embraces transparency, experimentation, and learning, recognising that the path to true sustainability is iterative and dynamic.

The buck must stop somewhere

One of the most vital components of effective sustainability integration is the assignment of clear responsibility and the embedding of accountability at every level where it is assumed. It is not enough to designate sustainability officers or create specialised committees. Every individual or team responsible for a segment of the sustainability agenda must be empowered and held accountable to deliver outcomes, not merely perform activities. Accountability is delivered through clear role descriptions and expectations, regular performance reviews, integration of sustainability goals into incentive structures, and transparent reporting to regulators and all stakeholders.

Boards and executive teams must lead by example, setting the tone for responsible behaviour and enforcing consequences for failure to meet targets. Transparent reporting is also essential. Progress toward sustainability objectives must be disclosed not only to regulators but also to all stakeholders, including employees, investors, customers, and the broader public. This transparency builds trust, creates a sense of shared purpose, and motivates continuous improvement.

Upskilling Boards and C-suites for a new era

Leadership is a decisive factor in the success of sustainability integration. In Sri Lanka, where familiarity with global sustainability frameworks is still developing, it is imperative to invest in the knowledge, skills, and mindsets of Board Members and C-suite executives. Targeted education and capacity building are vital. These efforts should include ESG fundamentals and their relevance to local and global markets, strategic foresight and scenario planning for climate and social risks, stakeholder engagement and communication, innovation and change management, and integrating sustainability into business strategy, risk management, and operational planning.

Regular training, partnerships with universities and thought leadership groups, and participation in international peer networks can help build this capacity. Boards may also consider recruiting directors with specialist expertise in sustainability, risk, or climate science. True integration requires that sustainability be incorporated into board mandates and decision-making processes. Committees focused on sustainability should have clear authority and adequate resources, and their recommendations must be effectively integrated into the company’s strategy and operations.

Third-party assurance and eliminating greenwashing

With global attention on sustainable business practices, the temptation to exaggerate or misrepresent achievements, better known as ‘greenwashing’, has become a significant risk. To counter this, companies must subject their sustainability disclosures and claims to rigorous third-party assurance. Independent verification of data and performance not only enhances credibility but also helps identify areas for improvement. Companies should also avoid ‘greenhushing’ by reporting legitimate progress honestly and encouraging balanced communication about successes and challenges.

Effective regulation and governance should foster transparent communication, creating an environment where companies strive for genuine impact, rather than maintaining a perfect public image.

Export markets and the cascading effect of value chain sustainability

Sri Lanka’s export economy faces mounting expectations from global buyers and consumers, who are increasingly demanding sustainability throughout the entire value chain. For manufacturers and producers, this means demonstrating traceability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility at every stage, from sourcing raw materials to delivering finished products. Stricter regulations and standards in Europe, North America, and Asia, as well as requirements for third-party certification, emissions reductions, and responsible labour practices, are key factors shaping strategic decisions. These factors include the risks of losing contracts, reputational damage, and barriers to market entry.

For Sri Lankan companies, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Those who can credibly demonstrate sustainable practices gain a competitive edge and can command premium prices in certain markets. Moreover, building sustainable value chains can open new markets, foster long-term buyer relationships, and increase supply chain resilience. Collaborative approaches are essential, including collaboration within and across industries to establish common standards, joint investments in traceability systems, collective bargaining for sustainable materials, and industry-wide worker welfare programs. Sector-wide initiatives can accelerate progress and reduce costs for all participants.

Innovation, circularity, and product life-cycle management

Sustainability-driven innovation is essential for future-proofing Sri Lankan companies, especially in a climate-exposed context, where traditional products and processes may become obsolete or untenable. Embracing circular economy principles means developing agricultural products resilient to climate shocks and processed with minimum waste, designing apparel and manufacturing products with modularity and repairability, and creating systems for collecting, refurbishing, or recycling products at the end of their life cycle. Such approaches reduce environmental impact, create new revenue streams, enhance customer loyalty, and position companies as leaders in responsible production.

Innovation must reach across the value chain, from smart logistics that reduce carbon footprints and improve efficiency, to technology-enabled traceability meeting buyer demands for transparency, and collaborative platforms for sharing resources and developing sector-wide solutions. By fostering a culture of innovation, companies can quickly adapt to changing conditions and capitalise on new market opportunities emerging from the global shift towards sustainability.

Cost savings, business resilience, and seizing opportunities

Integrating sustainability into core business processes can yield significant cost savings, drive operational efficiencies, and build the resilience required to weather both expected and unforeseen challenges. Sustainable practices such as energy conservation, water management, and waste minimisation can directly lower operating costs, especially valuable in Sri Lanka, where utilities and resource prices are volatile and supply interruptions common. Proactive management of environmental and social risks prevents costly disruptions, safeguards reputations, and ensures continuity of supply to key markets. Companies with strong sustainability credentials are increasingly favoured by investors, lenders, and insurers, gaining access to more and cheaper capital.

Treating sustainability as a central business driver enables organisations to unlock new opportunities: entering new markets that reward sustainable practices, developing innovative products and services for climate adaptation or resource efficiency, partnering with international organisations or governments on sustainable development initiatives, and attracting and retaining top talent who seek purpose-driven employers. By seeing sustainability as a source of strategic advantage, companies can reveal opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden.

Open dialogue and collaboration: Overcoming challenges together

The scale and complexity of the sustainability challenge in Sri Lanka means that no single company or sector can tackle it alone. Open and honest discussions about barriers, failures, and lessons learned are essential for building collective resilience. Fostering industry and cross-sector collaboration can take many forms, including industry associations, public-private partnerships, knowledge-sharing platforms, and informal networks among peers. What matters most is the willingness to be transparent about challenges and to collaborate in developing solutions that benefit the entire ecosystem. This openness not only accelerates progress but also strengthens trust between companies, regulators, and the public, laying the groundwork for more ambitious, system-level change.

The role of the sustainability professional

As Sri Lankan corporates move from compliance to integration, the role of the sustainability professional becomes pivotal. These leaders are not simply report writers or compliance officers; they are strategic navigators who connect global expectations with local realities. Positioned effectively, they help align sustainability with business purpose, guide innovation to reduce environmental and social impacts, and act as trusted bridges between diverse stakeholders such as employees, investors, customers, and regulators. By embedding accountability into governance and ensuring that progress is measured by outcomes rather than activities, sustainability professionals elevate organisations from reactive box-ticking to proactive, purpose-led growth. For Sri Lanka, their expertise is essential in turning vulnerability into resilience and compliance into competitive advantage.

Towards true organisational sustainability

Sri Lankan corporates are at a defining moment. The journey towards sustainability begins with compliance, using IFRS S1 and S2 as mileposts, but must not end there. The true imperative is to embed sustainability into organisational purpose, governance, accountability, and business integration, ensuring that the organisation itself is future-proofed through robust assurance and a relentless commitment to eliminating greenwashing and greenhushing.

It calls for upskilling leaders, fostering innovation, embracing circularity, and cultivating a spirit of collaboration, even among traditional competitors. Companies must be courageous in addressing their challenges, nurturing partnerships, and building sector-wide solutions. Sri Lanka’s unique vulnerability to climate and labour risks makes this agenda urgent and non-negotiable.

Sampath Bank PLC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Home Lands Group at its Head Office, introducing a new financing solution aimed at easing the path to property ownership for homebuyers. This agreement further strengthens the long-standing partnership between the two organisations while providing customers purchasing houses or apartments developed by Home Lands with access to a 0% equity financing solution, subject to eligibility criteria.

Under this scheme, Sampath Bank will fund 100% of the total purchase price or total loan amount, ensuring buyers enjoy a seamless handover of their property. This exclusive facility eliminates the need for an initial down payment, providing customers with a truly hassle-free path to homeownership.

Home Lands is recognised for its resort-style luxury residential developments. The company has delivered over 3,200 residential units across multiple themed mega residential complexes and has over 1,800 units currently under construction across six futuristic mega residential projects. Guided by a strong set of values, Home Lands continues to drive trust, innovation, and excellence in the property sector.

The MoU reflects a shared commitment between Sampath Bank and Home Lands to create accessible housing opportunities while offering customers financial solutions that match their aspirations.

Sampath Bank Chief Operating Officer Deepal De Silva said, ‘Homeownership is one of the most meaningful milestones in a person’s life, and this partnership allows us to remove one of its biggest barriers, the initial down payment. Through this innovative 0% equity financing solution, we are empowering more Sri Lankans to step into their own homes with confidence and financial peace of mind.’

Home Lands Group Chairman Nalin Herath said, ‘Through this partnership with Sampath Bank, we are widening the opportunities available to aspiring homeowners across Sri Lanka. We remain committed to making homeownership more accessible, ensuring that our customers can step into their dream homes with confidence, convenience, and peace of mind.’

Sherry Turkle, the American sociologist, once said: ‘Technology doesn’t just change what we do; it changes who we are. Online, without empathy and respect, we risk treating people as objects rather than as human beings.’

She said this more than a decade ago, during the golden era of Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson. Soon after, between 2010 and 2013, the analog lifestyle began to fade. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its lockdowns and social distancing, accelerated this shift. The digital revolution brought us fully online, from emails and social media to automation and AI. More than ever before, we began to socialise, share, comment, like, and dislike in a screen-mediated world.

Moral reasoning in a screen-mediated world

As noted in the textbook ‘An Introduction to Child Development’ (Keenan, Evans and Crowley, 2016), young people’s behaviour in digital spaces often reflects the responsibility and accountability they develop as they mature. As independence grows, their sense of right and wrong increasingly guides how they use their digital spaces. However, Flores and James (2013) found that moral reasoning is less connected to conduct when mediated by screens. An integrative review in 2025 echoed this concern, noting that online behaviour frequently violates widely accepted moral standards.

What is moral reasoning? It is the capacity to think critically about right and wrong, guided by principles like fairness, justice, care, and well-being for others. As Thomas Hobbes warned: without moral reasoning and order, ‘life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’ Is this what happens when we interact through digital screens? Are we drifting toward a society marked by diminished moral reasoning?

Cyberbullying and technology-facilitated violence

A large part of our social life now takes place in digital domains, yet screen-mediated interactions often lack clear moral anchors. According to the ‘Digital 2025 July Global Report’, about one in three people has a social media account, and more than half of the world uses the internet. A 2021 survey by the British Council Sri Lanka and Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning found that most young people in Sri Lanka spend between 30 minutes and 3 hours a day on social media. But what happens when empathy and responsibility collapse? Our online society begins to echo the chaos Hobbes described.

Last month (August 2025), Indian social media influencer Makeover Yash, a popular figure in fashion and grooming, reportedly died by suicide after relentless online bullying. This tragic event is not unique to India. Cyberbullying is far more common than many realise. In 2022, Women In Need (WIN) conducted an island-wide study in Sri Lanka on ‘Technology-facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls’. The findings revealed rising levels of hate speech, harassment, threats, and bullying. Women and girls reported receiving unwanted explicit content, threatening calls, and blackmail tied to intimate photos shared without consent. Nearly one in four respondents said someone they knew had been subjected to online sexual harassment.

This form of abuse spares no one; it cuts across political ideology, age, gender, and sexual orientation. Victims experience sexual and non-sexual harassment that inflicts psychological, social, and economic harm. The psychological toll includes helplessness, distress, and suicidal thoughts. Social harm manifests as humiliation, strained family ties, and broken trust, while economic harm shows up in disrupted education, stalled careers, and tarnished reputations. A quick scroll through Facebook or Instagram reveals plenty of curse words, hate-filled posts, revenge-driven content, and vulgar language, evidence of how unhealthy and unsafe our digital spaces can be.

Digital safety

How can we make this digital society safer? Some advocate for regulation. Yet Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act (OSA) has drawn sharp criticism from civil society and human rights groups. Though presented as a way to protect people from online harm, in practice, it risks censorship, surveillance, and shrinking democratic space.

Others suggest deleting social media accounts altogether. While simple in theory, this is rarely practical. Parents often advise it, but research shows prohibiting online engagement does not reduce risks and instead limits opportunities (Livingstone et al., 2017). In today’s data-driven world, few can afford to disconnect.

The good news is we are not powerless. Education, awareness, and the right interventions can minimise the harm of cyberbullying and trolling. Practicing digital empathy and responsible digital citizenship is a crucial step.

Digital citizenship

The concept of ‘digital citizenship’ emerged as a way to create safe and respectful online societies. It refers to confident, positive engagement with technology; the ability to participate responsibly, respect rights and dignity, and cultivate a thoughtful online presence.

Most of us are already digital citizens. Even offline, we cannot fully escape the digital world. Digital citizenship is not just about using technology; it is about behaving ethically and respectfully in digital spaces.

We must remember that behind every screen is a human being with feelings, challenges, and family responsibilities. Acting responsibly online is as important as being a responsible citizen in the offline world. In a fast-moving society where information shifts in seconds, this responsibility is vital to building safer communities.

Digital empathy

When engaging in online debates, especially on heated political issues, we often forget the human being on the other side. Online, people say things they would never dare say face-to-face.

Digital empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others through technology. Unlike face-to-face interactions, where tone, body language, and expressions carry meaning, online communication relies on text, emojis, and symbols. Practicing digital empathy means interpreting these cues carefully, listening actively, respecting perspectives, and offering support in virtual spaces.

By remembering that there is a human being on the other side of the screen, and by respecting their dignity while being mindful of our own actions, we can build digital spaces that are healthier and safer for all. We raise the standard when we call out indecent behaviour and choose to stand firmly for humanity and decency.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) will conduct a public consultation today to review the proposed electricity tariff structure for 2025.

Titled ‘3rd Electricity Tariff Revision 2025,’ the session will be held at the BMICH from 9 a.m., with registration beginning at 8.30 a.m.

John Keells CG Auto, the authorised distributor for DENZA in Sri Lanka, has announced the upcoming launch of luxury electric vehicle brand with over a decade of innovation excellence. DENZA is set to bring refined elegance and luxury to Sri Lankan drivers through its premium New Energy Vehicle (NEV) offerings.

Pre-bookings for DENZA are now live, ahead of the brand’s upcoming official launch. Ideal for customers seeking quiet luxury and intelligent, high performance NEVs, the announcement marks another milestone in Sri Lanka’s automotive industry, and for JKCG Auto’s continuing mission to accelerate Sri Lanka’s sustainable mobility transition.

DENZA’s Sri Lankan portfolio features three distinct luxury models designed for different customer preferences. The DENZA D9 offers premium family transportation as a luxury electric MPV, while the DENZA B8 and B5, an adventurous plug-in hybrid, cater to customers seeking high-performance mobility with advanced safety and technological features.

Each model in the DENZA line-up represents the brand’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional build quality, innovative technology, and the refined luxury experience that defines premium electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

‘Ever since BYD entered Sri Lanka, it has quickly become the island’s most popular NEV brand, reflecting the unmatched value we deliver in performance and the overall driving experience. With DENZA, we are elevating that promise into the luxury segment. Sri Lanka joins a select group of international markets including Singapore, the UK, and Hong Kong in offering DENZA, and we’re incredibly proud of this achievement.’

‘DENZA delivers one of the most sophisticated premium NEV experiences available today anywhere in the world: refined dynamics, intelligent electric performance and a cabin designed for exceptional passenger comfort. It is, in every sense, the complete package, and we are excited to introduce this remarkable brand to our discerning Sri Lankan customer base,’ JKCG Auto CEO Charith Panditharatne said.

Sri Lankan customers can experience DENZA’s advanced technology first-hand during pre-bookings starting 1 October at Cinnamon Lakeside, with the official launch scheduled soon. With this launch, DENZA reaffirms its commitment to advancing sustainable luxury new energy mobility and supporting Sri Lanka’s transition to cleaner transportation solutions.

The partnership between DENZA and John Keells CG Auto was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June.

JKCG Auto is committed to delivering an exceptional customer experience throughout the entire ownership journey, establishing a comprehensive 3S solution featuring sophisticated showrooms, state-of-the-art service centres, and readily available spare parts for Sri Lankan customers.