The Malta Business Bureau has won this year’s edition of the National Enterprise Support Awards with its Energy Ecosystem initiative. This annual award is hosted by the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, and seeks to reward entities which support entrepreneurship and enterprise growth. As national winners, the MBB’s initiative has now been shortlisted to compete on a European stage against initiatives from Germany and Portugal, at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) to be held virtually this November, in Berlin.
The MBB Energy Ecosystem is the first comprehensive network of energy stakeholders and businesses of its type in Malta. It promotes direct energy efficiency action by businesses in Malta through promoting technical support for energy projects; the promotion of financial instruments for energy efficiency that address market gaps; the dissemination of local best practices; and policy learning.
The business sectors in Malta have performed well with regards to energy efficiency. Official figures show that by 2019, the industrial and services sectors have increased their Gross Value Added by 8.9%, while their energy consumption only increased by 3%. This shows a decoupling between production and energy consumption, with energy efficiency gains acting as a key contributor.
MBB President De Cesare said, “we are extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award as recognition of the hard work put in by our team, and more importantly - the strong performance by businesses and all stakeholders involved to really make a change. Businesses increasingly understand that energy efficiency is not only an environmental responsibility, but that it also makes business sense. This is becoming even more critical now with the Commission’s EU Green Deal announcement earlier this year, which will place sustainability centre stage for the years to come.”
The Minster for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Silvio Schembri congratulated the Malta Business Bureau on achieving first place in the National Enterprise Support Award with their innovative project. “I commend Malta Business Bureau for their initiative and even more for making it as EEPA finalists amongst European peers, an achievement which sheds light on Malta’s entrepreneurial mindset.” In his address, Minister Schembri called for more young people who are willing to take the risk and launch entrepreneurial initiatives.
The MBB is privileged to have seen a strong desire to achieve CO2 emission reductions amongst all stakeholders involved in the business community, from policymakers and energy auditors, to technical and managerial staff within businesses. Without this strong commitment, the benefits gained so far could not have materialised. The MBB expressed gratitude to all the parties and business which participated in its Energy Ecosystem.
The MBB believes that this commitment and enthusiasm, coupled with the existing competence, form a good base to help Malta align with ambitious energy efficiency policy and the EU's 2030 goals. It also forms a strong foundation for Malta to move towards the 2050 goal of carbon neutrality.
So far, the Energy Efficiency Ecosystem has reached around 150 Maltese companies across various industries and will seek to continue expanding this network and offer continuous support where needed.
The Ecosystem is led by the MBB, in collaboration with the Energy and Water Agency. The MBB represents the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.