Sampath Bank honoured for CSR efforts and sustainability reporting

Standing from left: Dr. Sanjay Muthal, Executive Director, RGF Management Search, India, Nuwan Pathirana - Product / Business Analyst and Brand Manager for CSR,Sampath Bank PLC, Chryshanthi Lokuhetty – Manager, Employee Relations, Sampath Bank PLC and Dr. Saugatha Mithra, Chief People Officer & Group Head of HR, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Private Limited, India


Sampath Bank has broken new ground with the achievement of three prestigious awards for the “Best Sustainability Report” at The Asia Sustainability Excellence Awards 2015 and the ‘Best Use of CSR Practices in Banking & Finance’ and ‘Poverty Alleviation’ at Asia Best CSR Practices Awards ceremony held in Pan Pacific, Singapore recently.

Sampath Bank was honoured for its sustainability efforts in publishing its first integrated Annual Report in 2014, with the prestigious ‘Best Sustainability Report’ award at the Asia Sustainability Excellence Awards. The Sustainability Annual Report under the theme “Just Ask Our Stakeholders” not only provides information on the economic, environmental and social impacts of the company’s actions, but also makes evident the link between Sampath Bank’s corporate strategy, governance and commitment to a sustainable economy, environment and society.

The Asia Sustainability Excellence Awards is a leading industry event which recognizes and rewards outstanding achievements in sustainability in the built environment and are a key benchmark for achieving best practice in the sector and awarding these recognized entities with accolades under 14 organizational categories.  

The leading national bank was also recognized at the 5th Asia Best CSR Practices Awards ceremony with the distinguished ‘Best Use of CSR Practices in Banking & Finance’ and ‘Poverty Alleviation’ awards in recognition of the bank’s tremendous efforts and overall performance in executing sustainable CSR initiatives and the launch of its successful Entrepreneurship Development Programme, ‘Sampath Saviya’. The Asia Best CSR Practices Awards programme recognizes outstanding social and environmental initiatives of organizations among 41 countries in Asia under 19 award categories.

The award ceremonies were organized by CMO Asia in Singapore, an institution considered to be Asia’s highest recognition corporate body that has a significant and positive impact on the lives of the people and corporates in the region.

Commenting on these ground-breaking achievements, Tharaka Ranwala, Deputy General Manager – Marketing and Business Development, Sampath Bank said, “We are honoured and humbled to have our efforts recognized with awards for the ‘Best Use of CSR Practices in Banking and Finance’ and ‘Poverty Alleviation’ as we whole heartedly believe in giving back to the society and extending our efforts in ways that go beyond the realm of customer satisfaction”.
Sampath Bank has also received awards for the Sustainability Report & Annual Report in the category of Banking Industry at the Sustainability Reporting Awards 2014 organized by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Sri Lanka and CA Sri Lanka Annual Reports Awards 2014 organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

Other accolades awarded to Sampath Bank for its CSR and sustainability endeavors are the Health Promotion Category Award at the Asia Responsible Awards Entrepreneurship Awards 2015, the Best Community Leadership Award at the Asia Responsible Business Excellence Awards 2014, Silver Award for the CSR Brand of the Year in SLIM Brand Excellence Awards and awarded among the Top Ten Best Corporate Citizens at the Best Corporate Citizens Awards 2014 by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.