Chris Dickson

Chris Dickson works in Information Services, one of the largest directorates in the University. His role as an Eco Champion is varied and busy. Here he reveals how the IT crowd are taking on the sustainability challenge.

Being Eco Champion for INSRV is challenging as we are a large directorate which spans more than 20 locations, providing support to 28 Academic Schools and seven central Directorates, so it's difficult to keep in touch with all of our staff. The MWE (Modern IT Working Environment) is proving to be a wonderful tool for keeping up to date with what my colleagues are doing!

I’ve found that my colleagues across INSRV are very aware of sustainability, and are already hard working in this area. We have already taken many initiatives across the directorate, often working in partnership with other divisions and directorates. I’m finding that my real challenge is in keeping up with what my colleagues are doing, as well as encouraging and representing them!

In INSRV, we actively work to minimise the environmental impact of our services, and thereby also reduce energy costs for the University. We aim to use Information Services to bring about positive change, through initiatives like encouraging people to use remote access or videoconferencing in preference to longer-distance travel. We are also proactive in the wider sustainability agenda through working with partners in the developing world and promoting the use of Fairtrade goods such as tea and coffee.

INSRV has a new sustainability website, which gives more information, hints and tips about what the directorate is doing in this area. We’re also keen to welcome suggestions and ideas to help us to continue to improve, so the site includes plenty of opportunity for feedback.

I'm lucky enough to be involved in coordinating the University's Sustainability website, in partnership with several colleagues across the University. I wish I had a bit more time to look through the sustainability research information in particular! I'm proud to say Cardiff University is really making a difference there as well as many other areas.

And as for why I am an Eco Champion? I think climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing us today, and we need to work together with other countries and world leaders to dramatically reduce our impact on the environment. Every institution and every individual needs to take action to reduce this impact. I think that it all comes down to simple choices like turning down your heating, walking instead of driving to work and so on. But I truly believe that if we all make these alterations to our habits, together we can make a huge difference to combat climate change.