IIT’s Master Class to focus on sustainable businesses

As the earth is speeding towards climate crises affecting nations and businesses, the importance placed on sustainability and the need for sustainable business is on a rise. 
To cater to this need, the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) is organising a Master Class which will focus on‘Embedding Sustainable Development goals in Corporate Strategy’with special attention to how every business can select and prioritize their chosen UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
There will only be one session for Sri Lanka in 2017, with sessions scheduled to be held in China and Vietnam between February and October. The programme is scheduled to be held on March 21, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm at Ramada Colombo. The full-day programme will be conducted by Dr. Ravi Fernando, a renowned Blue Ocean Strategist and Chairman and CEO of Strategic Corporate Sustainability (Pty) Ltd. He is also an Executive in Residence in the INSEAD business school in France. 
The participants of the programme will be provided a clear understanding of the principle of Blue Ocean Strategy and tools to create NewSustainable market spaces for business by identifying which UNSDG’s they should impact and thereby align to the new global agenda for sustainable development launched in December 2015 with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. 
Commenting on the programme Dr. Ravi Fernando said, “Tomorrow’s corporate leaders need to be conversant with the new global agenda of sustainable business and aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This programme gets them up to speed and gives them a clear strategy to do so.”
“In the technology driven world we live in today, companies around the globe are striving to achieve the highest level of sustainable practices and responsibility in every aspect of its operation. We have taken the key initiative to empower Sri Lankan organizations by promoting sustainable practices and also providing comprehensive knowledge in key specialized areas for corporate professionals. Being the pioneer in providing globally renowned undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in IT and Business in Sri Lanka, we are continuing our endeavour of sharing knowledge and grooming corporate leaders,” CEO of IIT Dr  Sampath Kannangara said.
The concept of Blue Ocean Strategy is a comprehensive set of analytic tools and framework created by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. Rather than the conventional idea of attempting to out-perform the industry, the Blue Ocean Strategy provides a systematic approach to make competition irrelevant by creating uncontested market spaces and avoiding falling into ‘Red Ocean Commodity traps.’
‘Strategic Corporate Sustainability’ will make participants aware of vital concepts such as the Triple Bottom Line – how to create greater business value by incorporating economic, social and ecological factors in an accounting framework. The Master Class will also discuss the importance of prioritising the UNSDG’s by business sector, to work towards impacting a minimum of three of the seventeen UNSDG’s while assisting participants to develop a company specific strategy to embed these goals into their corporate strategies. 
This year’s Master Class, exclusive with IIT, is being held for the second time since 2016. Dr Ravi Fernando who will be conducting this session is a Senior Fellow of the Green Ocean Institute HCM, Vietnam, has a Masters of Studies in Sustainability leadership from the University of Cambridge and a Doctor of Business Administration from the European University, Switzerland with years of knowledge and experience on the subject areas.