Richard Davies has been Director of MEA since 1998 and has gained a well earned reputation for inspiring individuals, communities and organisations to make real changes and reduce carbon emissions.

Professional Interests: Stirring people up a bit, and trying to get them to be a part of the solution not a part of the problem.

Qualifications: BSc, BEng in Chemical Engineering, Chartered Engineer

Skills: Thinking creatively, communicating and steering the good ship MEA.

Where I've come from: Tamworth, Nottingham, Louth, Alabama

I like: Cycling, coffee, my family, and an audience of at least 50 people who've never heard any of my best lines

A moral I live my life by: 'Our mission is to jettison those pointless preoccupations and take on once again the primordial cargo of inexhaustible ecstasy. Or, barring that, to turn out a good thin-crust pizza and a strong glass of beer.' Tom Robbins

How I'm trying to live more sustainably: Having done most of the 'spend to save' stuff at home, I'm now simply trying to be frugal.

I believe the greatest threat to our current society and environment is... Profligacy

My 'dirty secret': I used to design, build and commission chemical plants in America

It may surprise you to know but... I was wrong once - I thought I'd made a mistake - but I hadn't.

If things had turned out differently I might have been... Born in Africa and living on $1 a day.