CDB – OVERALL FIRST RUNNER UP AT BCCS AWARDS 2021

  • Among Top Ten Corporate Citizens for fourth consecutive year

  • Also wins three category awards

Building its business on visionary sustainability principles that have been translated into tangible action, Citizen’s Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) was recognized for its commitment to People.Planet.Profit with a total of five awards at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2021 organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Championing each sustainability fundamental, CDB won the overall First Runner Up Award in the Companies with an annual turnover above LKR 15 Bn being evaluated alongside the country’s top most corporates and conglomerates. In addition, CDB was chosen among the Top Ten Corporate Citizens for the fourth consecutive time, its best practices during the pandemic recognized with the award for Demonstrated Resilient Practices during COVID19, the Category Award for Employee Relations underscoring its extraordinary team and the Best Presentation of an Application showcasing CDB’s creative spirit.

“Each of the five awards this year have been very special to us because these awards recognize Sri Lankan corporates who have stayed true to the fundamentals of sustainability,” said MD/CEO Mahesh Nanayakkara who has been at the helm of CDB since its inception. “Our beginnings 26 years ago were humble and not been easy. But today, we are a leader in the financial services industry etched among the top five largest NBFIs in the country. We have seen our team unite through innumerable challenges to grow both our top and bottom lines, to grow our asset base from a mere LKR 10 Bn to close to LKR 100 Bn. And now, we’ve set our sights on becoming a quarter of a trillion asset base company.”

Nanayakkara reiterates that CDB’s journey throughout has been built on a sustainability agenda and tech disruption as its key enabling pillars. “For us, it’s not just about putting figures on paper, it’s about walking the talk and ingraining the core principles of corporate stewardship into our business strategy. And this is why sustainability has always been a qualitative and quantitative driven core strategy in our business, as we allocate 3% or LKR 100 Mn (minimum) of our Profit After Tax towards sustainability.”

It is these core pillars that have pushed CDB to look beyond compliance in every single principle embedded in People.Planet.Profit. CDB’s focus on contributing to a green economy through sustainability agenda complimented by tech disruption encompassing both social and environmental dimensions to become a resource efficient organization.

CDB incorporates two strategic pillars under its sustainability agenda – going carbon neutral and inculcating a social consciousness driven by CDB Advance contributing to the green economy by 2030 and being a leader in sustainable finance. “We have established eight verticals prioritized on seven UNSDGs based on education, health, water, clean energy, responsible consumerism, life on land and partnerships,” explains Nanayakkara of CDB’s unique sustainability advocacy. “Our eight verticals therefore focus on renewable energy based mobility and household solutions, enabling a shared economy, contribution to biodiversity and conservation, financial inclusion, community impacting initiatives, engaged mindful team members and responsible and sustainable branding.”

“It is our responsibility as a corporate steward to pave the path, transform mindset and push boundaries so we leave a living planet for our future generations,” states Nanayakkara. “To spearhead this, we provide opportunities for youth including graduates from rural and challenging backgrounds to be a part of our team. And we are fortunate that this team has integrated a green mindset into the very core of our business fundamentals. This is why in our journey of empowering a smarter and sustainable Sri Lanka, CDB has indelibly etched and exampled that we can achieve, ‘extraordinary results through ordinary people.”

December 1, 2021