Less means more – the Reduction Revolution is upon us

‘Reduce – Reuse – Recycle’ has been the Environmental movement “catch phrase”, since the phrase was introduced for Earth Day in 1970.  It’s simple, clean, and powerful.  It’s misunderstood, however.  Ask yourself which of these three you do the most; I also said recycle.  It’s a great start but you can do better – we all can.

 

Think about it for a moment.  How often do you truly recycle?  How often do you reuse items like take-out containers or glass jars for food storage?  But, how often to you make it a priority to just use less of everything (for example, bringing your own cloth grocery bags to the grocery store)?  If we as individuals and businesses intend to really enact change we must focus on reduction.  Cape Town, South Africa has recently limited the water supply of all residents due to an extreme shortage.

 

The foodservice industry is making a major push to focus on efficiency with respect to the amount of food produced as food waste moves to the forefront of consumer’s minds.    Plastic waste is so bad that straws are being removed from restaurants (even McDonalds!) and people now have to pay per plastic shopping bags in certain states if they don’t bring their own.  Can you believe that in 2015, nearly 7 billion tons of plastic waste was produced but only 9 percent was actually recycled?  Come on people!  Even major brands are overhauling their whole product offering in efforts to ‘reduce’.  GM has set a goal to completely get rid of all gas and diesel vehicles and produce an all-electric fleet by 2023.   There is a theme here if you can’t tell;  reduction.  We, as a society, are finally changing our behaviors as a whole. It’s a slow burn, but I believe our society is on the cusp of the Reduction Revolution.

 

Enter, Melink’s Intelli-Hood.  Reduction has always been the name of the game!  Our pioneering system has been reducing commercial kitchen exhaust fan energy use for over 20 years in over 11,000 commercial kitchens to date; we have only scratched the surface!  Did you know that commercial kitchens consume over three times the energy of the average commercial building per square foot (as per the United States Energy Information Administration).  Within this energy intensive space, the kitchen ventilation system comprised of the exhaust and supply fans consume nearly 30% of this energy; this is even higher when fans are left on 24×7.  What a significant waste of energy and dollars!

 

Intelli-Hood simply reduces kitchen exhaust fan energy and also reduces the amount of “Make Up Air” or “Return Air” thus accounting for a reduction in the condition air as well!  The direct result of this means more money in our clients pockets.  Use less energy, save more money (not to mention the other intangibles benefits).

 

As an example, the foodservice industry sees an average profit margin of 3.5%.  The impacts of cost savings with DCKV continues to be incredibly significant to the bottom line profitability.  Here is a great case study showing how Intelli-Hood reduced the utility costs so much that we were able to save them over $14 million dollars which they could spend on the facets of their business that could drive more revenue. Incredible.

 

At the end of the day Intelli-Hood defines the reduce, reuse, recycle motto.  We reduce operating expenses, reuse those saved dollars to spend elsewhere while we live to recycle this technology in all commercial kitchens on planet earth. We intend to change the world here at Melink as we know that our children and future generations need this change.  While Melink continues to do more in terms of energy solutions, our society needs to use a little less.  The time is now.

Our Melink Culture

By Steve Melink

Our culture is everything.  It is our vision, mission,
and values all wrapped in one.  It is who we are, what we do, and why we
do it.  It is how we treat and support one another.  It is our
brand.  We can’t separate the parts and still have the whole.

But the foundation is one word: Integrity.  Everything
we say and do should model honesty and respect for others at all times.
We should always strive to show positive intentions.  Negativity, gossip,
and pettiness are counter-productive.  We choose to be genuine and
sincere.

It starts with simple things like acknowledging one another
… with eye contact, a smile, and saying the most important word in the English
language to the other person: their name.  It’s the ordinary hello, thank
you, and have a good day … with an extraordinary result.  Trust.

These small words, gestures, and actions when multiplied
thousands of times over the course of days, weeks, and months … by individuals,
teams, and ultimately all of us … help make our company the safe and healthy
workplace we all want and need.

And this promotes a sense of family.  This is where we
can be ourselves.  This is where we can learn, grow, and flourish.
This is where we can fall, but then be picked up by our peers and
leaders.  This is where we can and will do our best work and make a
difference in the world.

Last, our culture is intentional.  It is not an
accident.  It takes leadership from all of us and takes years to
build.  Let’s never take it for granted.  Let’s build on this
foundation and make it better.  We are a best place to work!

A Letter To Employees From Steve Melink Regarding The Paris Climate Agreement

Hi Everyone,

I am sure you heard that President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, and some of you may be wondering what the impact will be for Melink and other like-minded leaders in the clean energy age. The answer is none. No impact, zero, zilch, nada!

Our commitment is unequivocal. We are not less steadfast – we are more steadfast in the face of bad politics and fake news. We have to be because our U.S. and global economy, security, health, and environment depend on it. Climate change, in particular, is a growing risk and threat that we must fight today and not after it becomes too late. Our children and future generations will see this as our ultimate legacy.

The Paris Climate Agreement was signed by almost 200 countries. It is supported by many of the largest and most successful companies in the U.S., including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, GE, P&G, Bank of America, Walt Disney, Pacific gas & Electric, Salesforce, 3M, Citigroup, Corning, Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical, Johnson & Jonson, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Unilever, and many others.

This is not about jobs in Pittsburgh verses Paris. This is infinitely larger. And hence we will continue our good work to ensure we end up on the right side of history. Science and data will lead us, not rhetoric and short-term thinking.

We are just a medium-sized company, but our leadership and influence are critical in our state, industry, and the local communities in which we live. Thanks for living our mission and sharing this journey with me.

Back to work …

Steve Melink