NDB Bank became the 1^st Local Bank to partner with 'Clean Ocean Force Lanka' (COF) to 'Adopt a Beach'. The Bank has adopted a stretch of beach at 'Kapungoda', ensuring daily cleaning of this beach whilst contributing to the livelihood development of the women in the community. The Agreement was signed by Ms Melody Wickramanayake, Chairperson of the NDB Corporate Sustainability Committee and Vice President – NDB Legal, Mr Vijitha Wettimuny, Assistant Vice President – NDB Administration & Services and Mr Jerome Fernando, Chairman/Founder of Clean Ocean Force Lanka.

Ms Wickramanayake, said, “We are pleased to partner with ‘Clean Ocean Force Lanka’ for this Sustainable Initiative. This initiative is unique as it will contribute to climate change mitigation and create livelihoods for the under-privileged women in the community thereby empowering them, whilst creating a pleasant environment for the beach goers. This will no doubt indirectly help in our tourism as well, as clean beaches would be a tourist attraction. This project will also be part of our employee volunteerism initiative, where our employees will volunteer on a continuous basis to keep this stretch of coastline clean. Pollution is the most widespread issue affecting our marine environment, especially plastic pollution. This affects ocean health and ultimately human health whilst contributing to climate change.”

Mr Jerome Fernando, Chairman/Co-Founder of Clean Ocean Force (COF) thanking NDB said, “The move made by NDB is highly commendable with NDB becoming the first local bank in Sri Lanka to partner with COF. Sharing a common goal of environmental sustainability, the partnership between NDB and COF will be a milestone in our island nation’s beach and ocean conservation, which is the need of the hour. COF adopts a sustainable mechanism to clean the beaches, where the cleaning process commences daily, during the early hours. The trash is manually collected, bagged, segregated, weighed and tabulated. The daily collection includes plastic items, cans, debris, etc. and over 90% is sent for recycling thereby ensuring that it does not end up in a landfill. The daily cleaning mechanism happens with the active participation of the local communities and governmental stakeholders.”

COF is a non-profit organization based in Sri Lanka working towards eliminating plastic, man-made pollutants, and other debris that enter the Indian Ocean through the various rivers and waterways  around the country. COF’s approach ensures ‘Clean Beaches’, everyday whilst providing a sustainable livelihood for the under-privileged citizens in the community who are part of the COF Taskforce. The entire process is spearheaded by COF, who has also been successful in bringing all the stakeholders to one table. This has resulted in public-private partnerships and the establishment of a unique mechanism that enables the whole operation to function smoothly. The key stakeholders are the Ministry of Local Government and Environment - WP, Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Waste Management Authority, Coastal Conservation Department, Samurdi Authority and Sri Lanka Police Environmental Division. The project is coordinated by the environment Task Force of the Hon. Governor of the Western Province while providing necessary guidance.

Photo Caption - Signing of Agreement -  Ms Melody Wickramanayake, Chairperson of the NDB Corporate Sustainability Committee and Mr Jerome Fernando, Chairman/Founder of Clean Ocean Force Lanka with the Members of the NDB Corporate Sustainability Committee