Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability continue to rise to the fore for all businesses, with a more dominant position required from certain sectors such as the apparel Industry. This growing focus on ESG comes from a variety of stakeholders that include retail fashion stores, buyers and buying offices who expect an emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility from their suppliers, to end consumers that comprise of younger shoppers such as millennials and Gen Z’s who are increasingly adopting a mindset of ethical consumption from their fashion brands.
Whilst Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has proactively commenced adopting to this pressing need, the predicted growth in this sphere calls for local companies to further improve and expand their ESG performance in their respective supply chains and operations. As such, a spotlight is currently being put on apparel companies to ensure that their sustainability commitments are genuine. Therefore, apparel companies wanting to take a market leadership position needs to sustain themselves for success by further rebuilding and expanding their ESG principles and footprint.
The event will feature a team of industry experts, including Hela Apparel Holdings Group Chief Financial Officer Moiz H Rehmanjee, PwC Managing Director, Asia Pacific Sustainable Supply Chain Lead Jeremy Prepscius and Sandeep Mohanty, Director PwC Management Consulting for Value Creation through Sustainability (Strategy-led ESG), Low Carbon Economy and Sustainable Finance, who will cover many vital topics and hold a concluding panel discussion on sustainability in the Sri Lankan apparel industry.
Sandeep counts over 12 years of professional experience with PwC in management consulting, with expertise in value creation through sustainability, advising a diversified clientele from private corporates, funds, financial institutions and public enterprises, on integrating ESG into corporate strategy to drive business outcomes.
Jeremy Prepscius, a technical subject matter expert in supply chain and sustainability strategy, has a deep knowledge on global supply chain practices, issues and intersection with social, environmental and governance issues. Providing specialist input on the delivery of sustainable supply chain engagements across the region, he works with clients to embed ESG within the strategies and supply chains of some of the largest companies in the Asia region and globally.
Moiz .H. Rehmanjee has held several leadership roles in Sri Lanka and overseas in Forbes listed companies. He has a strong understanding of the strategic role finance plays in business and the importance of ethical and sustainable business practices for organizational growth through 20 years of experience in diverse industries and multinational corporations. Moiz is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) in the UK, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ACA) and Chartered Institute Management Accountants (ACMA) – UK
Export Development Board Chairman and Chief Executive Mr. Suresh De Mel will deliver the introductory message at the event, whilst the panel discussion will be moderated by Zhara Cader Director and ESG leader for PWC Sri Lanka.
During the webinar, the speakers will guide companies on finding answers in having a comprehensive sustainability agenda in place that is integrated into their core corporate strategy and on how to use a reputable ESG framework to report on performance in a transparent way.
PWC will also guide apparel brands to gain a clear understanding of establishing company level ESG strategies with quantitative targets to accurately gauge performance and set goals and metrics for improvement. They will showcase how to initiate product level sustainability measures to track, manage, and communicate on waste, water, carbon footprints and innovate on next-gen materials and product circularity.
As such, this webinar will overall offer the requisite strategies to help the apparel industry pave a pathway in being leading ethical, sustainable and efficient entities that will contribute to a healthier tomorrow for both people and the planet.