Chennai: Celebrating this year’s World Oceans Day theme – ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean’, HCL Foundation has collaborated with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) to launch ‘Revive Chennai’s Coasts’ initiative.
The campaign aims to sensitise the resident population along the coast about the hazardous impact of ocean pollution and initiate localised community-based solution through a participatory model for behavioural change.
The year long campaign consists of coastal clean-up and to bring about awareness in Chennai which is home to the world’s second longest beach. In the first phase of the campaign, HCLF, GCC and EFI will kick start clean-up and sensitisation activities in and around the five-km beach stretch between Ashtalakshmi Temple in Besant Nagar and Kottivakkam in Chennai.
Further, as part of its commitment to help improve the coastal ecosystem in 25 per cent of the Chennai’s coastline by 2025, HCL Foundation will create ‘Young Community Leaders’ in the form of “Ocean Fellows” as an innovative and sustainable solution to ensure the prevention of waste accumulation.
The role of “Ocean Fellows” is to become role model among the local communities to ensure the prevention of waste accumulation and to improve the coastal and marine ecosystem.
The “Ocean Fellows” will undergo rigorous training by EFI in the areas of Leadership, Management and Social Innovation. Post training, the fellows will join into various activities like community volunteering efforts such as adoption and maintenance of a beach stretch, sensitising visitors on the use of plastic, to introduce ocean friendly fishing practices, enhanced management of harbours and fish landing sites, eco-sensitization amongst fishing villages etc.
Meanwhile, HCL Technologies has announced its partnership with iBASEt, a leading provider of manufacturing, quality and sustainment solutions to support greater scaling of operations to serve growing needs of complex discrete manufacturing industries.
The partnership will address the growing needs of the aerospace and defense industry undergoing a digital manufacturing transformation, including connected factory processes. Working together, iBASEt and HCL Technologies can accelerate digital transformation initiatives by simplifying the implementation of advanced technologies in operations.