UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka Powers Sustainable Business Transformation

UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka hosted CATALYZE 2026: Environment, convening business leaders, sustainability practitioners, policymakers, development partners, and technical experts to explore the environmental priorities shaping the future of sustainable business and economic growth. 

Explored across two impactful days, CATALYZE 2026 explored both the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable business. 

In alignment with the UN Global Compact's 2026–2030 Strategy and its pillars of Equip, Catalyze, and Advance; CATALYZE: Social, held on 24 June 2026 under the theme "From Commitment to Collective Impact," focused on the people-centric approach to sustainability, while CATALYZE: Environment, examined  under the theme “Growth Against the Grain”, the increasingly interconnected sustainability challenges corporates face,  by guiding the participants through the critical pillars of environmental sustainability, from climate action and nature stewardship to circularity, energy transition, resilience, and strategic communication. 

In his opening remarks, Azam Bakeer Markar, Partnerships & Development Finance Specialist at the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Sri Lanka emphasized the urgency of accelerating business action, stating, "The question is no longer whether we need to act—it is how fast we are willing to move. And how bold we are willing to be." 

The keynote address by Kapila Subasinghe, National Finance Expert of the Accelerating Industries Climate Response in Sri Lanka project, further augmented the forum by identifying the challenges and way forward on Unlocking Finance for Industrial Decarbonization and the private sector's role in mobilizing investment and advancing Sri Lanka's transition to a more sustainable and competitive economy. 

The Corporate Climate Action Lab, facilitated by Aditya Parchure, Director - Climate Change & Sustainability, Deloitte South Asia and Piyush Yadav, Associate Director - Climate Change & Sustainability, Deloitte South Asia, explored pathways from climate ambition to implementation, including net-zero strategies, science-based target setting, sector-specific decarbonization approaches, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. 

A Virtual Plenary, delivered by Tajeshwar Goyal, Global Lead of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), explored how businesses can identify, assess and manage nature-related risks while integrating nature into business strategy, risk management and long-term value creation. 

Extending  a systems approach, the Rewire the Economy Masterclass, led by Dr. Mayuri Wijesundara and the team from Anvarta PTY Ltd., explored circular economy principles through a game-based simulation, enabling participants to develop circular transition roadmaps while fostering systems thinking and collaborative problem-solving. 

Complementing these discussions, the Energy Transition Strategy Lab, facilitated by Piyumali Jayasundara of Control Union (Pvt.) Ltd., explored pathways for transitioning to low-carbon energy systems, including strategies to strengthen energy security and identify sector-specific decarbonization opportunities faced in today’s world. 

Recognizing that climate leadership must also strengthen resilience, the Climate Adaptation and Disaster Resilience Scenario Analysis, facilitated by Gethmi Adikari and Raeesha Ikram along with the team from A-PAD Sri Lanka, explored strategies for enhancing organizational preparedness, business continuity and resilience in response to increasing climate-related risks. 

Bringing the day’s themes together, the Strategic Storytelling Masterclass, led by Arosha Perera, explored how organizations can communicate sustainability commitments and impact through compelling narratives that build trust, inspire action, and strengthen stakeholder confidence. 

The extended technical sessions at CATALYZE 2026: Environment were delivered in strategic partnership with Deloitte and Anvarta PTY Ltd, in main partnership with Sampath Bank PLC. Session partners contributing technical expertise across decarbonization, circularity, energy transition, climate adaptation, and resilience included INSEE Ecocycle (Pvt.) Ltd., Hayleys Mobility Limited, Control Union (Pvt.) Ltd., and the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) Sri Lanka.

The convening was further supported by the Patrons of UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka's Working Groups: the Climate Emergency Task Force (Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC and Hirdaramani Group); the Water & Ocean Stewardship Working Group (Kelani Valley Plantations PLC, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, and Sampath Bank PLC); and the Sustainable Supply Chain & SME Working Group (Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, Teejay Lanka PLC, and Hatton National Bank PLC). 

About the UN Global Compact

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the UN Global Compact mobilizes business to transform sustainability ambition into action at the scale the world demands. With more than 25,000 participants and a presence in over 100 countries through 5 Regional Hubs and more than 70 Country Networks and expansion territories, it is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative.