The opportunities and risks of sustainability awareness in Sri Lankan organizations

Abstract

In recent years, the issue of global warming has been a hot topic because of rapid changes in the environment. The researchers in various sectors have identified that the main causes of these rapid environmental changes are our human activities. In comparison with historical civilization extinction, that clearly indicates the upcoming danger towards the modern society. Therefore, it is highly important to pay more attention to the limitations of our natural resources. The extinction of habitats and ancient human civilizations has gradually begun years ago. Many natural species have been completely eradicated, due to unhealthy ecological systems. The modern world is making a consolidated effort to protect earth’s natural resources. They emphasize that the extraction of natural resources must be limited because it is vital that resources exist for future generations. The formula now being used to tackle sustainability issues consists of Economy, Environment and Society. Those three elements are interrelated. The change in one element does have a direct impact on other elements. Therefore, the world understands the fact that the economic element is the one that can have a greater influence on society and the environment too. Therefore, it is highly important to address the sustainability elements in the economic sector because failure to deliver sustainable outcomes to the environment will result in severe negative consequences. A better understanding of Sri Lanka’s sustainability awareness at the organizational level is very timely, based on two factors: firstly, the country is one of the developing countries, and secondly, it is engaged in international business. Therefore, the awareness of Sri Lanka’s sustainability from the perspective of organizations is factually analyzed in order to determine whether there is an awareness of the opportunities and risks associated with sustainability. To understand the level of awareness, the researcher has designed and distributed an online survey. As a result, 178 completed survey answers were able to be considered from a total of 312 participants.