The School of Business & Law at Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia, recently honoured Dilhan C. Fernando, Chairman & Chief Executive, Dilmah Tea, with the award of Doctor of Business, Honoris Causa, Dilmah announced last week.

This follows his appointment at the same seat of learning as Adjunct Professor of Practice in Sustainability, a role that Fernando has fulfilled for over a year. The ECU School of Business & Law is ranked within the top business schools in Australia (AFR BOSS Best Business Schools List 2024), and, also, listed in the top 300 universities worldwide for Business and Economics by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.

“The ‘Honorary Doctor of Business’ award is a special signal that Dilhan’s impact on business in actual practice, and by natural extension that of Dilmah Tea itself, has been deemed exemplary in terms of ethical leadership, social responsibility and sustainability,” the company news release said.

“You have forged an exceptional career as a respected businessman and community supporter with impressive contributions in your role as CEO and Chairman of Dilmah Tea. Your transformation of the organization and its commitments have created a global exemplar of sustainable and ethical practices,” said Gaye McMath, Chancellor of Edith Cowan University.

“That is the context of this award; a legacy bestowed on his children and grandchildren by the late Merrill J. Fernando,  the family patriarch,  who,  unconcerned  that the prevailing business philosophy was the pursuit of profit and  market dominance at any cost,  invested the family business with a deep concern for society and  environment, nurtured in him from childhood by his parents,” the release said.

“The profit of his business was seen, less as private gain and more as a resource to be deployed for public good. That is the principle which governs the Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation, which annually benefit from endowments direct from the pre-tax profits of Dilmah Tea, Resplendent Ceylon and other companies within the MJF Group.:

In its recognition of Dilhan C. Fernando, Edith Cowan University has convincingly demonstrated the importance of mutually beneficial collaboration between purpose-led businesses and academia. It promises science-based solutions for agricultural enterprises struggling for competitiveness in the face of climate change and enlightened and more demanding environmental conformances. For academia and for youth yet to enter the real world of business, it underscores the criticality of genuine commitment to kindness to society and nature, in both life and work.

The award affirms that ‘Business as a Matter of Human Service’ is not just a noble concept, but a dynamic principle which can shape corporate strategy, environmental conservation, philanthropy, and the empowerment of the marginalised – all in measurable and transformative ways. For enterprises all over the world, and for the leaders of the future, it would serve as a beacon; that ethical and responsible enterprise management  is not an exception, but an example to be respected and replicated.