CEO Meeting - Sustainability as a Business Driver for Growth and Innovation | Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies on Glue Up

Sustainability as a Catalyst for IT & BPM Growth

Embedding Sustainability into Core Business Models to Be Future-Ready with Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency

Creating foundational policies in alignment with strategic sustainability goals and objectives to drive measurable and impactful outcomes.
Understanding and aligning with global reporting, scoring, and certification standards to maintain competitiveness and credibility.

Creating a Positive Social Impact on Communities We Serve

Highlighting the importance of fostering sustainable development in the communities impacted by IT and BPM operations.
Leveraging business practices to ensure equitable opportunities and positive outcomes for local and global stakeholders.

Leveraging Technology for Diversity and Inclusion

Using technology to break geopolitical and political boundaries, enabling equality and equity in the workplace and beyond.
Addressing the role of IT/BPM in promoting inclusivity and embracing diverse perspectives for innovation.

Formulating Good Governance Policies and Practices

The importance of strong governance frameworks to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making.
Balancing compliance with proactive policies to enhance trust among clients, investors, and other stakeholders.

Sustainable Technologies and Operations

Transitioning to greener technologies to reduce carbon footprints while enhancing operational efficiency.

Resilient Supply Chains

Developing supply chain strategies that meet sustainability commitments and improve business resilience.

Inclusive Leadership

Elevating business performance through the integration of social sustainability principles into leadership, ensuring equity in opportunity and outcomes.

Investor Attraction Through Governance

Meeting global ESG standards to attract investors, improve governance, and enhance organizational reputation.

Agenda

7:30 - 8:30 am: Breakfast/Networking Session

8:30 - 8:35 am: Welcome Address

8:35 - 9:00 am: Keynote Speech - Sustainability: A

Catalyst for Business Growth and Resilience Speaker- Sophie Graham (Chief

Sustainability Officer – IFS Global)

9:00 - 9:10 am: Q&A Session

9:10 - 9:45 am: Panel Discussion

9:45 - 9:55 am: Q&A Session

9:55 - 10:00 am: Closing Remarks

Speakers

Sophie Graham

Chief Sustainability Officer (Global) at IFS

Sophie brings 12 years’ experience as a sustainability practitioner, having worked across EMEIA, Americas and the UK in the technology and finance sec...

Chamindry Saparamadu

Director General / CEO of Sustinability Council of Sri Lanka

Chamindry Saparamadu is the Director General/CEO of the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka(SDCSL) leading SDG-based policy making, budgeting...

Azam Bakeer-Marker

Development & Coordination Officer, Partnerships and Development Finance at United Nations

Azam Bakeer Markar is the Partnerships & Development Finance Specialist at the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka since 20...

Denver De Zylva

Global Head of Sustainability and Facilities , Virtusa Corp Joint Country Head , Virtusa Sri Lanka

Denver is an ICT professional with full membership in the Sri Lankan, Australian, and New Zealand computer societies and has over 20 years of work exp...

Zahra Cader

Director, ESG Government & Public sector Leader (Moderator) of Deloitte

Zahra Cader is the ESG, Government and Public Sector Leader at Deloitte Sri Lanka, with a professional career spanning over 25 years in the developmen...

Sophie brings 12 years’ experience as a sustainability practitioner, having worked across EMEIA, Americas and the UK in the technology and finance sectors. Sophie currently leads Sustainability & ESG at IFS, overseeing a multi-year strategy based around three pillars of operational excellence, supporting customers and wider community impact. Sophie is passionate about the potential that the technology sector has to drive change across different industries: providing the ‘how’ roadmap in the transition to a low carbon, more sustainable future. In her role as IFS Chief Sustainability Officer, Sophie is responsible for the delivery of an ambitious sustainability agenda, working with the executive team to embed and scale this across the business.

Chamindry Saparamadu is the Director General/CEO of the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka
(SDCSL) leading SDG-based policy making, budgeting, financing, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and capacity
building. She has represented Sri Lanka at regional and international sustainable development conferences,
including presenting Sri Lanka’s Second Voluntary National Review on SDGs at the 2022 UN High-Level Political
Forum in New York. She spearheaded the national strategy to promote inclusive and sustainable businesses for SDG
achievement. An Attorney-at-Law with over two decades of experience in the development sector with national and
international organizations, she holds a multidisciplinary background in Economics, Law and International
Development and is currently pursuing a PhD in Development Studies at the University of Colombo.

Azam Bakeer Markar is the Partnerships & Development Finance Specialist at the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka since 2019. He supports and advises the Resident Coordinator and the UN country team on strategic partnerships, financing for development, strategic communication, and stakeholder engagement.
Prior to this role, Mr. Bakeer Markar counts 13 years of management experience with Aitken Spence PLC where he rose as its youngest Assistant Vice President and its first Head of Sustainability, leading the corporate sustainability, new ventures, communication and branding functions. Mr. Bakeer Markar is credited with leading the development of the conglomerate’s integrated corporate sustainability strategy, which led to the company being ranked among the world’s top 100 companies for sustainability.
He was a founding steering committee member, director and Network Representative of the UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka, the local chapter of the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. He currently represents the UN Resident Coordinator on its Board. Mr. Bakeer Markar chairs the Sustainability Projects Evaluation Panel at flagship awards scheme of Sri Lanka’s leading business chamber that recognizes best practices in corporate sustainability.
Mr. Bakeer Markar was appointed by the late Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera as a member of the Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, where he served from 2015 to 2019. He is an advisor to the private sector steering committee of the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka.
He has held leadership positions in several volunteer organisations focused on youth, community relations, education and civic mobilisation. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Business Management (UK), a BSc (Hons) in International Economics (UK), a Diploma in International Relations and a Certificate in Financial Markets (US).

Zahra Cader is the ESG, Government and Public Sector Leader at Deloitte Sri Lanka, with a professional career spanning over 25 years in the development field. Currently heading the International Development portfolio of the firm, she has extensive experience working with multiple donor agencies and collaborating with public and private sector partners across diverse industries. Her core areas of expertise include value chain analysis, SME development, women empowerment, and sustainable livelihoods, alongside assignments in sustainability and ESG benchmarking.
Passionate about Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG), Zahra is the Leader for ESG and Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) initiatives at the firm and a member of the “Net Zero” Implementation Team. She also volunteers as the leader of the Women Technopreneur Forum of SLASSCOM and serves on SLASSCOM’s ESG Executive Committee. An active member of the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka (WCIC), she is dedicated to fostering sustainable development and championing women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka and beyond.

CEO Meeting - Sustainability as a Business Driver for Growth and Innovation

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