Over the next few weeks we are meeting various members of different teams within Estates and Facilities. Each week we’ll be asking the team what they do and how they are linked to sustainability at King’s. For our first week we meet Alison and Debbie from the Service Desk.
The service desk, you might know them as Ask@kcl.ac.uk, are very busy people! Any request, problem, feedback or information you need they will sort it for you. It is ‘the first point of call for Estates and Facilities information and service requests’. So, for example, if you have a problem with your heating in your classroom or notice a broken lock around campus, the Service Desk are the people to ask!
The Service Desk are in operation Monday to Friday, 8:30am -5:30pm and are there to help students and staff receive the best possible care and help to communicate and resolve problems quickly and efficiently.
We asked the team what they do with sustainability and at first there were not sure if they did anything at all. However, once we talked through a few things it was clear that the Service Desk has accomplished some amazing sustainable achievements and has a lot of sustainable values at their core. Two examples which really highlighted the amazing work the Service Desk does were the termination of printed tickets and recycling of WEEE waste.
Up until March this year, every request put into the service desk was printed out and sent to the relevant team to act upon. Now this has all become electronic, reducing the Service Desks printing dramatically, saving a lot of paper, energy and in turn money for King’s. This is fantastic!
Another initiative that the Service Desk applies is the redistribution of WEEE waste (anything linked to electrical, such as PCs, lamps, Keyboards) with the IT department. If anyone has equipment they no longer want or if they require equipment and contact ASK, the Service Desk work with IT to reuse equipment rather than disposing of items. This again is a great use of resources and reduces the amount King’s throws away. A future project that the Service Desk and the Sustainability Team may work on together is a similar scheme but with furniture recycling and reuse, throughout King’s offices and also within student residences.
It was great to talk Alison and Debbie in the service desk and learn more about the vital service they provide. Here in the Sustainability team we are really pleased to hear that they are working hard to improve King’s and in turn are becoming more sustainable. If you do have any requests, feedback or problems please do contact Ask@kcl.ac.uk, or visit their webpage or ring them on 020 7848 3456.
