Hello everyone, I’m Przemyslaw Luczak (just call me Przemek (Pronounced “Shamack”)), and I am a national student studying Electrical and Electronics Engineering here at DMU. On Monday 14th, I have become part of Sustainability team that is part of Estates and Facilities Directorate. My role is a Sustainable Supply Chain Coordinator, and I will be doing it for a year until 14th of August 2024 as part of Frontrunners internship program that aims to provide students with internship opportunities here at DMU.
My role will include a whole range of activities, from questioning companies on their sustainability goals, pledges, and whenever they’re meeting them, to running sustainability initiatives around the campus. I will be interacting with students and members of staff from other departments quite regularly, so it is likely that you will see me around the campus at some point. Most likely during an open day.
As someone from engineering background, sustainability has always been a part of what I was doing, which is good, as this wasn’t always the case for everyone in the past. Engineers were always made to think about unnecessary use of components and materials, as this keeps the production costs down, and lets you keep your Christmas bonus. Unfortunately, as much as engineers were made to think about this aspect of sustainability, it was until recently that they were also made to actively think about the wider impact of their designs outside of just bothering with minimising production costs.
This role is a great opportunity for me to have a massive impact on sustainability not only in the university, but also on companies that DMU is working with. Which hopefully will have ripple effect on a range of industries by signalling to them that it is no longer acceptable to simply offer the lowest price, and that we expect responsibility and accountability towards sustainability and issues surrounding it, so that issues such as modern slavery, child labour, pollution, and other, can be tackled effectively.
But do not take my word for it, just have a look yourself at this article and Scope 3 Emissions Graph contained within it, there is a lot of room for improvement to be done in the world of procurement. It accounts for more than 50% of university’s carbon emissions, with the second largest contributor being student travel. This is a clear indicator that more pressure needs to be placed on external companies to step up their game to become more sustainable.
I hope that I will be able to fit in well, and that I will get along with my colleagues and staff members from different parts of the campus. Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming so far, and I hope that during my time here, I will be able to help the team to accomplish some great things for DMU, and more importantly the students. My hope is that I can help them become more aware of sustainability, what they can do about it, and have brighter outlook on the future.