The Cleaner Technology Centre of the University of Malta recently held the seminar “Greening of the Maltese Industry”.
The seminar was launched by two video-recorded messages by the Hon. Leo Brincat, Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, and the Hon. Chris Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business. The Hon. Brincat emphasized the important role that the industry has in achieving a circular economy, while the Hon. Cardona stated that investing in the environmental sustainability of a particular industry means investing in the economic and the social responsibility of the industry.
The seminar continued with presentations by Mr Michael Sant and Mr Kevin Mercieca from the newly formed Environment and Resources Authority (ERA). Mr Sant, Manager of the Environmental and Permitting and Industry Unit, instructed the audience about the complex aspects surrounding environmental permitting, whilst Mr Mercieca focused on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and how this is implemented under different waste related legislation.
Other interesting presentations were delivered by Perit David Xuereb, Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, Chamber of Commerce and Ing. Charles Buttigieg from the Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit within the Ministry for Energy and Health. Whilst the latter spoke about Energy Efficiency Directive and the role energy audits are playing in the implementation of this directive, Perit Xuereb, stressed the importance of having a solid financial base before venturing into the sustainability arena: “If you want to implement a green idea, the architect and/or the engineer must be able to convince the financial controller,” he said.
Finally, three presentations were delivered by representatives from Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, (Mr Neville Grima), ST Microelectronics (Ms Denise Buhagiar) and Actavis Malta (Ms Daniela Cauchi). The presenters showcased the work that their respective companies have carried out to reduce their environmental impact and improve their efficiency in order to achieve and maintain certifications like EMAS and ISO14001.
Mr Anton Pizzuto, director of the Cleaner Technology Centre awarded a grant to Dr Ing. Paul Refalo, academic member of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering of the University of Malta. The grant will be used to purchase energy logging equipment to analyse the energy required for different manufacturing processes.
