ITsAP asked all IT Employees to shun the usage of cars and private transportation, and observe an "All Bus Day" on Earth Day, 22nd April.
The IT and ITES Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh (ITsAP) on Sunday announced various activities in celebration of Earth Day on 22nd April.
Initiatives have been planned to promote environmental awareness and support its member companies' sustainability efforts.
As part of the program, IT industry employees will give time during their work day to non-profit organizations, and participate in activities related to the environment.
"Giving back to the communities where our employees live and work is an important part of our Industry here," said V Rajanna, President, ITsAP. "Whether it's planting trees, revitalizing distressed neighborhoods or cleaning local lakes and parks, IT employees will again come together and work to strengthen the communities where we do business."
Some of the highlights of the initiatives taken up for this Earth Day include "All Bus Day" and "Dry Waste Collection".
ITsAP gave a call to all IT Employees (nearly 3 lakh of them working in 300+ companies) to shun the usage of cars and private transportation, and observe an "All Bus Day" on the Earth Day.
The employees have been advised to use public transportation instead of commuting to office in their own private transportation. This is being done to generate awareness for the need to reduce thier carbon footprints by refraining from individual transportation.
This would be a small sacrifice for the long-term sustainability of the environment, said Pradeep Gadicherla, Co-ordinator, CSR Forum of ITsAP, who is also the Sustainability Champion for CA Technologies India.
"Adequate arrangements will be made by the APSRTC to ply more buses in the regular routes from Ameerpet, Lingampally, Mehdipatnam and Bachupally. And if that works out well, it is our sincere wish to make this a regular event once every month," Gadicherla informed.
By far this might be the biggest "No Car Day" ever observed in the city, looking at the sheer numbers of the IT and ITeS employees in the city. The mood in the IT campuses appears to be, "Get involved and get going with Earth Day!"
Dry Waste Collection will also be taken up from 21st April to 25th April. During this period, employees will carry the dry waste of their houses to their respective offices' collection points where they will dump it. The waste will be collected, segregated and recycled by ITC Limited, which is supporting this initiative.
The objective behind this move, Gadicherla explains, is to sensitize IT employees on the 3 "R"s of waste management — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - so that they can minimize the burdens that their waste creates. The "R"s stand for Reduce waste, Reuse waste when possible and Recycle it into goods for tomorrow. And these moves will help to cut down on the amount of waste thrown away by the employees, Gadicherla said - they thus conserve natural resources, landfill space and energy.
Further, this initiative will encourage the employees to set up recycling plants/units in their communities and welfare associations to sustain this movement, he added. (INN)