The long drive to Ravi Fernando’s home, which was cocooned in the suburbs of Colombo, was an entertaining one. Complete with numerous turns, sporadic bursts of traffic, dead ends, gravel traps, and confused murmurs emanating from the Uber driver, Google Maps itself seemed to lose interest as to where exactly I was.
But the challenging journey in rush-hour traffic served to be an excellent analogy of Ravi’s meteoric rise to the pinnacle of academia and the zenith of corporate success. The trip to the top was not a typical clichéd walk in the park. It was certainly potholed with challenges and inconveniences.
As I settled in comfortably into a chair, I took in the verdant surroundings, the cerulean sky, the crystal clear waters of the swimming pool, and the architectural marvel that was Ravi’s home, and wondered if it prepared me for the monologue to come.
It didn’t.
Sadly, the pages of this magazine won’t be enough to divulge the accomplishments of this man. Instead I hope to expand and drive home an important message that resides in Ravi’s consciousness, and hope to extend that burden to you, the reader.
In an earlier paragraph, I mentioned the word — monologue. This is because once Ravi gets started, he won’t stop; it’s this quintessential persistence that has helped him garner a list of eye-watering accomplishments, which includes: a Doctorate in Business Administration from the European Business School in Switzerland, A Master of Studies in Sustainable Leadership in 2014 & a Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business in 2008/9 from Cambridge University; a MBA from the University of Colombo; and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).
But I digress. Ravi’s accomplishments were never in question. As he sat brooding darkly for a minute, which looked somewhat ominous, like the black BMW in his garage, I wondered what he really was defined by. The short answer is Corporate action for climate change & Strategic Corporate Sustainability.
To put it simply — dark times are ahead. While the average individual has surely heard of global warming, deforestation, and the ozone layer dissipating, it has never been a real concern since these issues never have been the main focal point in mass media, and we are too busy with life in general.
But this is serious stuff; as per a Washington Post article from last year — “Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers — in locations from India and China to the United States and France — have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water was removed than replaced during the decade-long study period…”
What this means is that we are running out of water at an alarming rate. As fantastical and alarmist as this sounds, the fact of the matter is that the lives of the next few generations are at stake by 2025 unless we take steps to reverse the harm we are doing to planet Earth.
While the glut of world leaders have been dozing off when it comes to the issues of climate change, it is China that has taken itself to task by closing down 1,000 coal power plants, launching ‘no roof left behind’ a program to put solar power on every roof and the Green wall program to reforest China. There is a shift happening albeit quite slowly, and it is a change that needs to happen with a sense of alacrity.
Ravi noted that Sri Lanka needs to change its mindset to ensure that the current and orthodox type of businesses can flourish while paying precedence to sustainability. This is a task he unequivocally leaves in the hands of the millennial generation. After all, it is their future we are talking about here; their future and the future of the planet.
This is where Ravi’s philosophical expertise comes into play; the present millennial generation, which places more importance on all things green, can and should spearhead a movement that treasures the protection of the environment. While the capitalist structure throughout the last few decades championed the cause of profit at any cost, we are coerced into crafting sustainable businesses that are eco-friendly thanks to the sins of the past.
Ravi who at present is (the Operations Director of the Malaysia Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and is also) an Executive in Residence of the INSEAD Business School (Social Innovation Centre) in France is part of the environmental cognoscenti that is adroit and persuasive in changing the current mindset of global business leaders in its flagship AMP, International Directors programs in France, Singapore, Vietnam and China to embrace a sustainable future.
It is with the environment in mind that he had penned a virtuous and indeed pragmatic book aptly titled — Strategic Corporate Sustainability. It highlights 7 non-negotiable imperatives to ensure a sustainable business. The book per se offers his wealth of experience in the Blue Ocean Strategy concept; it also offers insight to readers on how business leaders and senior professionals can identify opportunities, and create new market spaces with the Blue Ocean Strategy formula while paying heed to the environment and sustainability.
It undoubtedly is an excellent book armed with practical examples and axioms that surely is a must-read for the business leaders and entrepreneurs of today. It was certainly an honor when he gifted a copy to me. But what was probably more endearing and heartfelt was his sincere appeal that was written in a strong and cursive hand —
To dear Rohitha,
Champion the cause of sustainable-minded leaders!
Ravi