Founder of Dilmah Named as 2015 Oslo Business for Peace Honouree

The Founder of Dilmah, Merrill J. Fernando, has been named as one of the 2015 Oslo Business for Peace Honourees by the Award Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics.

The Business for Peace Foundation annually names honourees for the Oslo Business for Peace Award in recognition of business persons who, “through their own actions and commitments truly are business worthy, promoting socially responsible and ethical business practices in an outstanding way, and standing out as examples to the world.”

“I think the idea behind the Oslo Business for Peace Award, and the potential impact it may have, is important and inspiring. It is important to encourage businesspersons to be conscious of the role they can play as individuals to foster stability and peace,” said Nobel Laureate, H.E. Kofi A. Annan.

The Award Committee is formed by persons invited by former Swedish Prime Minister Hans Göran Persson, former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo Kristian Berg Harpviken.

Currently the Committee includes Michael Spence, Professor Emeritus of Management in the Graduate School of Business in Stanford University and recipient of the prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel 2001, Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Advocate, Founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative to Promote Peace and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank Founder and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 and the late Wangari Maathai, Founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2004. Previous honourees include Sir Richard Branson (2014), Jeffrey R. Immelt (2009), Ibrahim Abouleish and Reginald A. Mengi amongst others.

Honourees are selected from amongst nominees of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Global Compact and the International Chamber of Commerce.

The nomination criteria requires that nominees are examples to society and their peers, advocates of ethical and responsible business and trusted by communities their businesses affect.

In addition to Merrill J. Fernando, the first ever Sri Lankan Honouree, Juan Andres Cano (Colombia), Zahi Khouri (Palestine), Poman Lo (Hong Kong) and Paul Polman (United Kingdom) were honoured.

Per L. Saxegaard, Business for Peace Foundation Executive Chairman said that “each of the 2015 honourees are remarkable examples of individuals who are applying their business energy ethically and responsibly in the interest of also creating a positive impact for society. The foundation is pleased to recognise their efforts.”

Merrill J. Fernando and fellow honourees will be felicitated in Oslo on 5th and 6th May at a Business for Peace Round Table which will be addressed by Erna Solberg, Norwegian Prime Minister, Prince Maximillian of Liechtenstein amongst others.