David Melkevik

David Melkevik is an Eco Champion and works for the Lean University Team. Here he talks about his aspirations for making the university more sustainable, and how everybody can help it to progress.

One of the key fundamentals of Lean Thinking is to examine a process and see how waste can be eliminated from it. Consequently I saw a lot of common-ground between the two roles as being an Eco Champion is about promoting ways to lower energy consumption for example, through reducing waste.

Since becoming an Eco Champion six months ago, I’ve been fortunate in that colleagues in my area are already pretty conscientious when it comes to the environment -- they recycle; they don’t leave their computer switched on over-night; they don’t print documents unless they need to. They make my job a lot easier!

It would be great if I could change attitudes and behaviours but I would settle, at the moment, for my colleagues to question their current working practices and ask themselves if there are things they could change that could reduce their carbon footprint. I think it would be great if sustainability became second-nature to people and the way they work rather than a behaviour that can be switched on and off.  

Not everybody is going to view sustainability as a priority in the same way, therefore we cannot expect them to change the way they work over-night. However, the more aware people are about the differences they can make by doing simple things, the more positive the outcome will be.

If there was one thing I would change today it would be our office air conditioning. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to our air conditioning - it seems to blow hot air on hot days and cold air on cold days. However, I do feel that the progress the University has made has been very positive since I started my role.

I think it is extremely important that the University becomes more sustainable not just for the difference we can all make but the difference it can contribute on a regional level. The University is a highly-respected institution and consequently it can achieve a great deal of good in Wales by leading by example.

Being an Eco Champion hasn’t quite changed my view on sustainability but it has changed the way I view my colleagues’ commitment, especially my fellow Eco Champions. The University is fortunate to have a number of dedicated people who work exceptionally hard in securing a sustainable future.