WorkdayVoice: How One Workday Engineer Is Making Waves on Ocean Policy
Christopher
Christopher Chin wasnât necessarily expecting a life-altering moment when he flopped into the waters off Viti Levu  Fijiâs largest island  in his diving gear.
Courtesy Christopher Chin
Heâd joined IMAX filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall on a dive to film sharks. Not long into their second-day dive  the trio was surrounded by sharks â as many as 12 different species.  Christopher  descended into a theater-like plateau  at about 32 meters  when a bull shark emerged within armâs reach â its penetrating black eyes locked with his own.
âThis was a sentient being  an animal trying to figure out what I was doing there â recalls  Christopher   a Workday engineer. âI knew sharks were troubled and misunderstood â but I didnât realize to what extent.â
Christopher Chin
When  Christopher  emerged from the water   he  paused.  He  knew  right then  that  he âd be on a mission in life to teach people about these mysterious animals â and our oceans at large.
Indeed  a few years later  he  founded a nonprofit organization called COARE (The Center for Oceanic Awareness  Research & Education).  Christopher  has been featured on the Discovery Channelâs Shark Week;  he âs a top expert on shark fin policy in North America  and one of the nationâs leading experts in single-use plastics legislation.
âWe all depend on the ocean  no matter where we live â  he  says. âWe depend on it for sustenance  for the very oxygen we breathe. And the ocean depends on us â no matter where we are  or the things we do  we can take little actions that have a tremendous impact on the world around us.â
Last year   he  spoke at the United Nations:
 Christopher   a scuba instructor and technical diver  was drawn to the ocean at an early age.  His  father was a diver who worked for the former Pan American Airways (Pan Am)  which enabled diverse experiences around the world.
âThe underwater world has always fascinated me â  he  says. âOnce I became a certified diver  I never looked back. I did 100 dives in my first year.â
With the founding of COARE   Christopher  has an outlet to share  his  passion and knowledge â and compel others to act with responsibility and urgency.
âProtecting our oceans is challenging and daunting â  he  says. âThere is a lot of waste. But as an organization  we just try to walk our talk. Even in the conservation community  weâll see a speaker up there with a single-use Starbucks cup â itâs hypocritical. It drives me bonkers!
 Christopher  has been impressed by Workdayâs own commitment to sustainability.
âIâm proud to work at a company so dedicated to reducing its environmental impact that it has full-time employees dedicated to creating  improving  and promoting sustainability efforts â  Christopher  says. âThese efforts  from the rechargeable battery program to reusable snack bowls make a measurable and meaningful difference with little effort.â
Outside our walls  thereâs an ever-evolving fight to break old habits. And  Christopher  is often right there  making the case for positive change.
[TGT]  wasnât necessarily expecting a life-altering moment when  [TGT]  flopped into the waters off Viti Levu  Fijiâs largest island  in  [TGT]  diving gear.
 [TGT] 
Heâd joined IMAX filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall on a dive to film sharks. Not long into their second-day dive  the trio was surrounded by sharks â as many as 12 different species.   [TGT] descended into a theater-like plateau  at about 32 meters  when a bull shark emerged within  [TGT]  reach â  [TGT]  penetrating black eyes locked with  [TGT]  own.
âThis was a sentient being  an animal trying to figure out what I was doing there â recalls   [TGT]    a Workday engineer. âI knew sharks were troubled and misunderstood â but I didnât realize to what extent.â
 [TGT] 
When   [TGT] emerged from the water    [TGT]   paused.   [TGT]   knew  right then  that   [TGT]  âd be on a mission in life to teach people about these mysterious animals â and our oceans at large.
Indeed  a few years later  he  founded a nonprofit organization called COARE (The Center for Oceanic Awareness  Research & Education).   [TGT] has been featured on the Discovery Channelâs Shark Week;   [TGT]  âs a top expert on shark fin policy in North America  and one of the nationâs leading experts in single-use plastics legislation.
âWe all depend on the ocean  no matter where we live â   [TGT]   says. âWe depend on it for sustenance  for the very oxygen we breathe. And the ocean depends on us â no matter where we are  or the things we do  we can take little actions that have a tremendous impact on the world around us.â
Last year   he  spoke at the United Nations:
 Christopher   a scuba instructor and technical diver  was drawn to the ocean at an early age.  His  father was a diver who worked for the former Pan American Airways (Pan Am)  which enabled diverse experiences around the world.
âThe underwater world has always fascinated me â  he  says. âOnce I became a certified diver  I never looked back. I did 100 dives in my first year.â
With the founding of COARE    [TGT] has an outlet to share   [TGT]   passion and knowledge â and compel others to act with responsibility and urgency.
âProtecting our oceans is challenging and daunting â  he  says. âThere is a lot of waste. But as an organization  we just try to walk our talk. Even in the conservation community  weâll see a speaker up there with a single-use Starbucks cup â itâs hypocritical. It drives me bonkers!
  [TGT] has been impressed by Workdayâs own commitment to sustainability.
âIâm proud to work at a company so dedicated to reducing its environmental impact that it has full-time employees dedicated to creating  improving  and promoting sustainability efforts â   [TGT] says. âThese efforts  from the rechargeable battery program to reusable snack bowls make a measurable and meaningful difference with little effort.â
Outside our walls  thereâs an ever-evolving fight to break old habits. And   [TGT] is often right there  making the case for positive change.