Sydney, Australia: The Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia has announced a second speaker for its annual Fiona Wain Oration on May 27, which will focus on the conflict in Ukraine and its broader implications for business.
Following the news that Maryna Saprykina, the Head of the Board and CEO of the Centre for CSR Development Ukraine (CSR Ukraine), will be the keynote speaker at the event, BCSD Australia’s CEO announces that she will be joined by Kimmo J Lipponen, Chief Executive Officer of FIBS, a not-for-profit promoter of sustainable business and developer of expertise in Finland.
Kimmo will share insights into the impact on business of Finland’s recent decision to formally make a request to become a member of NATO due to the threats posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the risk that the conflict could expand to other countries. FIBS has a network of more than 350 companies and organizations that invest heavily in responsibility.
“The fallout from the conflict in Ukraine is being felt far beyond its borders, and the impact on many businesses is significant,” said Andrew Petersen, CEO of BCSD Australia. “Having both Maryna and Kimmo address the Fiona Wain Oration will offer two unique perspectives on the conflict, the very real and immediate impact on businesses in Ukraine itself and the impact that is being felt further afield in Finland, which itself has been threatened by Russia if it does join NATO.”
Overnight we heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he opened WEF on Monday, proving he’s a better communicator than most of the CEOs at Davos, overcoming a dodgy translation to win a standing ovation as his message to the audience appealed to businesses to pull out of Russia and urged them to open their check books for a Ukraine reconstruction program. Zelenskyy didn’t hold back — “Your brands should not be associated with war crimes,” and “our national economy has to remain operative.”
The Fiona Wain Oration is named in honour of Fiona Wain, BCSD Australia’s CEO during 1999 – 2010, who passed away due to cancer. The BCSD Australia Board established this Oration in recognition of her contribution to public policy in Australia.
This year’s event will be held virtually from 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. AEST, live from Kyiv, Helsinki, and Sydney via Zoom.
You can Register to join the event here.
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Media contact
Leigh Murray, Spotlight Communications
leigh@spotlightcommunications.com.au I +61 473 658 807
About BCSD Australia
BSCD Australia is an Australian coalition of over 70 private and public organisations advocating for progress on sustainable development. Its mission is to be a catalyst for innovation and sustainable growth in a world where resources are increasingly limited. The Council provides a platform for companies to share experiences and best practices on sustainable development issues and advocate for their implementation, working with governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations.
BCSD Australia’s members include leading Australian businesses, from all sectors, who share a commitment to economic, environmental and social development, public sector enterprises institutions, business and industry non-government organisations and community organisations, which in turn represent more than 100,000 Australian employees.
About CSR Ukraine
Founded in 2008, Centre for CSR Development Ukraine (CSR Ukraine) is a non-profit expert organization in corporate social responsibility. The objective of the organization is to implement social responsibility (sustainability) projects for systemic and qualitative changes in Ukraine. CSR Ukraine values: leadership, transparency, creativity, passion. Learn more.
About FIBS
FIBS is a unique, not-for-profit promoter of sustainable business and developer of expertise in Finland. Our network already includes more than 350 companies and organizations that invest heavily in responsibility. Every year, our events gather thousands of corporate responsibility experts, decision-makers and influential people from all fields together to learn and be inspired by the latest practices and solutions in the field both from Finland and abroad. Our goal is to inspire more and more Finnish companies to start developing productive solutions to local and global problems in cooperation with other companies and organizations so that they can rise to the top of sustainable business globally. Learn more