John Keells Foundation mobilised volunteers for rainforest restoration at the Suduwelipotha forest to commemorate World Environment Day 2022.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) is one of Sri Lanka’s largest companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) with a 150 year heritage. Through innovation and strategic partnerships, the John Keells Group is a leading player across many key industry verticals, as well as a driver of the economy. The group is a much sought after employer, providing career opportunities to more than 14,000 individuals in an inclusive and respectful work environment. A full member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its vision of ‘empowering the nation for tomorrow’ through the John Keells Foundation.

Q: How is the formula for corporate respect changing – and how should corporates invest in garnering respect among stakeholders in the light of recent macro-environmental events?
A: The strength of our fundamentals is a formula to gain corporate respect and ensure we are steadfast in the face of challenges. At John Keells, our fundamentals are our values – integrity, trust, caring, excellence and innovation, and a commitment to upholding group policies where emphasis is placed on ethical and legal dealings, zero tolerance for corruption, bribery and any form of harassment or discrimination.

Krishan Balendra
Chairman – John Keells Group

Our ethos of environmental, social and governance (ESG) is entrenched in business processes, workplace culture and community outreach. In affirmation of these, we were ranked first in the ‘Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment’ by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) for the second consecutive year and also as the ‘Most Respected Entity’ for the 17th year.

We invest in our people, providing equal opportunities in an inclusive and respectful workplace so that everyone can perform at their best. We also invest in sustainable business practices focussing on conservation of natural resources, emissions management and responsible waste disposal.

While investing in community empowerment through livelihood development and education among other avenues, we invest in ensuring that those in our value chains – especially micro, small and medium enterprises – grow with us.

Q: How can corporate respect help organisations tide over times of crisis?
A: The power of trust based on integrity and good governance is the key to unwavering support and respect from stakeholders in a time of crisis. We have robust business continuity processes and crisis communications plans in place, which our senior teams are a part of developing, which prepare us for challenging scenarios to ensure that our businesses perform at their best and our people are safeguarded.

We believe that communication keeps us engaged with our people, investors, communities and the general public. In times of crisis – be it a terror attack, the pandemic or a challenging macroeconomic climate – we have always transparently communicated our position and the way forward.

Our trilingual messages during civil unrest in April, and the recent webinar we hosted for local and foreign investors, are some examples of how we stay connected with multiple stakeholder groups.

John Keells Holdings together with Keells signed a partnership agreement with USAID to empower communities through livelihood development by supporting Sri Lanka’s Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). This project will benefit MSMEs in the nation, and approximately 120 large and small-scale suppliers who work with over 128 Keells outlets.

Q: How does respect in the workplace help nurture admiration for an organisation as an employer of choice?
A: Our strongest ambassadors are our people, who experience how our fundamentals transform the organisation at every touch point. We ensure that our workplaces are respectful and inclusive – not only through policies such as our ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Policy’ and ‘Code of Conduct, Equal Opportunity and Non-discrimination Policy’ but also, initiatives in maintaining an equitable work environment.

We have multiple confidential avenues for reporting harassment or discrimination, and robust processes to address reported issues.

Rolled out under our DE&I brand ‘ONE JKH,’ we have many interventions on increasing women in our workforce, enhancing career opportunities for persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusivity of the LGBTIQ+ community.

We address unconscious bias and ensure that we maintain our culture of meritocracy, and diversity and creative thinking – especially in our decision making.

When people are respected, included and treated fairly in the workplace, they become strong advocates for the organisation.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Three recommendations to revive Sri Lanka’s economy
Conduct a global tourism campaign.
Enable the lowest possible flight costs from India by reducing charges in Colombo.
Privatise national assets.

Three most admired global business leaders
Elon Musk
Narayana Murthy
Warren Buffett

Q: Does CSR continue to be a part of the ‘corporate respect’ equation?
A: We believe so – as our investors, customers, future team members and wider stakeholders hold us accountable on ethical, socially conscious business practices geared to empower our nation and protect the planet. This aligns with our ‘triple bottom line’ approach in all aspects of business operations.

Our corporate social responsibility initiatives are strategised, implemented and monitored through the John Keells Foundation, which operates under six key pillars: Education, Livelihood Development, Health, Arts and Culture, Environment and Disaster Relief. Further, we contribute a minimum of one percent of our profit after tax (PAT) for CSR initiatives.

All of our projects and initiatives are continuing – while adapting to the ‘new normal.’

‘Praja Shakthi,’ which facilitates location centric community empowerment programmes and ‘Skill Into Progress’ (SKIP) – which upskills identified supplier groups – are two initiatives through which we supported livelihoods during the pandemic, and which we continue to strengthen.

Continuing to empower our communities and value chains to navigate turbulent times will raise confidence that our nation can be resilient in emerging stronger.

John Keells Holdings signed an agreement with Hemas Consumer Brands on 9 March 2022 to offer all female employees of the John Keells Group ‘Fems AYA’ sanitary napkins free of charge through the ‘SanNap’ programme.

Q: How does a corporate’s commitment to continuous innovation help garner respect?
A: Disruptive innovation – through technology, research and development, and data analytics to improve our product and service offering continuously – allows us to raise the bar constantly in our product quality and servicing levels.

We also support startups through ‘John Keells X’ (JKX) by building innovative, sustainable, scalable businesses that provide livelihoods and support our economy. We offer funding, access to our corporate networks, mentoring, training, office space and other resources to help Sri Lankan entrepreneurs grow.

Further, the JKX alumni since its launch in 2017 include startups in the industries and sectors of e-learning, ERP, online retail, peer-to-peer lending, electronic payments, agriculture solutions and transport systems; and these businesses have provided timely solutions to Sri Lankans during these challenging times.

Since its inception, John Keells Holdings has been at the forefront of innovation, industries and business growth. Being present across seven industries and sectors, the group plays a pivotal role in community empowerment and livelihood development, in addition to uplifting stakeholders in its ecosystem.

Telephone 2306000 | Email jkh@keells.com | Website www.keells.com