KaroSambhav and producer partners felicitate Chennai schools for their contribution towards responsible e-waste collection

Chennai: KaroSambhav, a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), engaged in developing and implementing responsible electronic waste (e-waste) management solutions across India, organised a felicitation ceremony at ShubhumVidyalaya, Vilvaravanallur, Madurantakam, Kancheepuram in Chennai today. The event was organised in conjunction with the successful culmination of the four-month-long school programme aimed at building awareness and inspiring students towards recycling of e-waste.
The Programme enabled by principal partners Apple, Dell, HP and Lenovo aims to create awareness among students on critical environmental issues like Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), preventive environmental strategies, and inspiring them to take actions in their daily lives. Other partners of the programme include M-Tech, Savex, and Supertron. KaroSambhav has partnered with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of World Bank Group, to build sustainable e-waste solutions for India with a focus on awareness generation, capacity building and knowledge exchange.
Talking about the Programme, Pranshu Singhal, Founder, KaroSambhav, said, “Students are the foundation of tomorrow, and our mandate is to not only sensitise them on the need for responsible e-waste management, but also to enable development of 21st century skills. We have designed the program by employing contemporary pedagogical practices to teach skills like collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, ICT competencies and real-world problem solving.”
Sarina Bolla, Consultant, IFC, encouraged the students on their achievements and said, “E-Waste is a challenge unique to our generation. IFC’s India E-Waste program, in partnership with KaroSambhav, aims to build a sustainable solution for e-waste management in India. School programs are integral to our mission. By helping spread awareness among their friends and families, students are powerful ambassadors of the program and can help to bring about a positive change on the issue.”
Designed for students from class 5 to 10, the programme was carried out in 25 schools in Chennai. During the felicitation ceremony students, teachers and schools were awarded under 5 categories. ShubhumVidyalaya was awarded for maximum e-waste collection of 40kg. Scad World School was awarded under 3 categories: Best Execution of Toolkit, Best Community Outreach Programme and Social Media Champ.
In order to increase the efficacy of the program, the curriculum of the program was designed as a toolkit of 6 exercises to enable development of participating teachers’ competence and to empower them to provide enriching practical experience to the students. Also, the awards were given based on the continuous field visits, and communication established with the participating schools by Juana Technologies Pvt Ltd, the execution partner of KaroSambhav in Chennai.
Under the programme KaroSambhav has engaged with almost 1000 schools across India over the span of a year, in alignment with the State Education Departments, and the State Pollution Control Boards.