Hon. Chamal Rajapksa, Speaker of Sri Lankan parliament, awarded Nestlé a medal of appreciation for the company’s contribution to the economic and social development of Sri Lanka - in alignment with ‘Mahinda Chinthana’, the manifesto of His Excellency, the President of Sri Lanka.
Said Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa “Nestlé Lanka is a sincere steward of Corporate Social Responsibility in Sri Lanka, and a worthy ‘Best Corporate Citizen’ of the country. Their commitment to create sustainable value for society is clearly seen in their effort to enhance the scope of dairy development in the country, their development of local agricultural industries through increased local sourcing of raw materials, and their efforts to promote environmental conservation and reduce their own environmental footprint in the course of their operations.”
The presentation was made to Mr. Nandkishore, Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A. worldwide along with Nestlé Lanka’s senior management at a meeting at the Speaker’s residence last week. Also present at the meeting were Hon. Anura P. Yapa, Minister of Environment; Hon. Nimal Siripala, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resource Management; Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara, Minister of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development; Hon. C.B. Ratnayake, Minister of Private Transport; Mr. Shameendra Rajapaksa, Private Secretary to the Minister of Finance; and Inspector General of Police, Mr. N.K. Illangakoon.
Mr. Nandu Nandkishore is a member of Nestlé’s global executive board. He is also the new Head of Nestlé in Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.
Mr. Nandkishore visited Sri Lanka last week to inaugurate Nestlé’s third milestone in its LKR 10 billion investment commitment to the country with Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development, and to reconfirm Nestlé’s commitment to the development of the country. The ‘Good Food, Good Life’ company’s third investment milestone was marked by the inauguration of its new UHT milk plant at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kurunegala.
Said Mr. Nandkishore “Investments have to be good for the company as well as for the country. Creating long-term value for the countries where we operate also creates long-term value for our shareholders. By taking a long-term view of business development and managing it responsibly, we are able to stimulate significant local social, environmental and economic development. Nestlé is extremely honoured to receive this token of appreciation from the Sri Lankan government. We will continue to ‘Create Shared Value’ for our local communities in all that we do.”
Nestlé Lanka is the largest exporter of coconut milk powder in the world and Sri Lanka’s largest collector of fresh milk in the private sector. The company purchases over 50 million Sri Lankan coconuts a year and procures milk from over 15,000 local farmers every day across the island. The company has enhanced its local procurement to include rice, vegetables, fruits, salt and spices for its popular products like Nestum, Cerelac and Maggi Ricey Noodles which are enriched with traditional, nutritious ingredients and come to consumers in indigenous flavours.
The company also implements a number of other initiatives – in line with its philosophy of ‘Creating Shared Value’ - to enhance the quality of life for rural communities in the areas of nutrition, water and rural development for which it was awarded Sri Lanka’s highest business honour, the Best Corporate Citizen award, by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Nestlé practices the concept of ‘Creating Shared Value’ as their way of doing business, which states that companies must go beyond Corporate Social Responsibility to create sustainable, joint benefit for its business and for the welfare of the people in the countries in which it operates.
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