European awards, future energy and SI-MO

Nature Trust, the environment group which fights for the protection of trees, valleys and ecosystems, sat down last year with the Federation of Industry and the Planning Authority (MEPA) to single out the winners for the first European Award for the Environment to local industry. The adjudicating committee included the Cleaner Technology Centre and the Environment Ministry.

Integration of respect for environment has found its way into day-to-day business life. The award is intended to build on this, so that both major corporations and small and medium enterprises think about sustainable development and good practice.

The European awards are designed to promote organisations making an outstanding contribution to sustainable development as an example to others. They aim to highlight policies, practices, processes and products achieving economic and social development without detriment to the environment and natural resources upon which we depend.

Although overall responsibility is shared with governments and consumers, business has a key role to play in addressing issues of climate change, air and soil quality, health, civil protection, waste, wildlife and habitats, coastal and marine areas. These have been identified as the main environmental issues facing the EU and the awards put a special emphasis on initiatives bringing improvements in these areas.

Methode Electronics has made the grade as an exceptional organisation with the strategic vision and management systems enabling it to continuously improve its contribution to sustainable development.

The environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability are clearly integrated into the company's overall mission and policies. There are clear objectives in place to reduce the environmental impacts of the company's activities, together with targets and indicators for monitoring and reporting performance. With a strong commitment from top management the Methode team chose eight targets, all of which were met in 2002. These included safe chemical storage, noise reduction and environmental training.

Methode Electronics has become one of the leaders in the field and is setting an example that others will be stimulated to follow. The company installed a new air-conditioning system to phase out an ozone-depleting refrigerant gas in favour of a more environment-friendly gas.

Hazardous waste produced during the manufacturing process is segregated. The company's business development manager Anita Zammit says an effort is being made to ship sludge to a licensed facility in the UK in line with the requirements of the Basel Convention. MEPA is processing the permit for the shipment.

In order to improve on present performance new objectives are being set for this year. The drive for cleaner industry has also had an effect on Methode's 650 employees who take the ideas home.

The environmental management award requires that mechanisms should be in place for addressing issues of wider corporate social responsibility, such as community involvement, employee rights and supply chain impacts. All management systems must be driven by the principle of stakeholder accountability, with evidence of regular and systematic dialogue at key points in the process.

One solid requirement for award contenders is a firm commitment to the certification of management systems to recognised standards (EMAS, ISO 14001). The EMAS scheme started in 1993 and the first validated site outside the EU was the ST Microelectronics plant in Malta. ST Micro-electronics received an Honorary Mention this year together with Green Skip Services Ltd. The company has turned a nearby abandoned quarry into an ecological site.

EMAS allows voluntary participation by companies for the evaluation and improvement of the environmental performance of industrial activities and the provision of the relevant information to the public

The International Standard ISO 14001 provides an effective environmental management system which can be integrated with other management requirements to achieve environmental and economic goals. Companies value this international standard as a means of assuring conformity with stated policies and certification by an external organisation.

The award for conservation of energy, water and materials was won jointly a local leaders in car industry supplies and the tourism industry.

Dowty Automotive, manufacturers of O-rings and sealing devices for fuel injection and braking systems, have been certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management systems since October 2000. The company's production processes are to be transferred to Hal Far. At the same time the company is to invest Lm1 million in environmental treatment equipment.

The Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort uses a dual drainage system taking grey water from baths and wash-hand basins through a waste water treatment plant for secondary use in the toilet flushings. Any excess water produced is stored and used for irrigating the hotel gardens.

The Radisson has installed solar panels on the roof providing over 25 per cent of the energy required to operate the hotel. Further electrical savings are made through cut-off switches, which automatically turn air-conditioning units off if the balcony door is opened. Room energy savers at the entrance of each room are operated with the room key card and energy saving bulbs are used throughout.

In the kitchen excess steam generated from the boilers is diverted to run the high consumption dishwasher and boiling pots. The kitchen is also steam cleaned once a day with a considerable reduction in the use of detergents due to the high cleaning power and heat of natural steam.

Exploiting sun's energy

We are at the peak of an era. Kerr MacGregor, adviser to the Shadow Environment Minister in the Scottish Parliament, expects the fossil fuel era to begin a slow but steady decline within the next three years as oil reserves become scarcer. Coal could take longer to run out but the environmental problems associated with its burning are greater.

The oil companies are looking to the future in the knowledge that they will otherwise be left behind. Shell is now the biggest manufacturer of "clean" gas hydrogen and BP produces more photovoltaic (PV) cells than any other company in the world.

Covering an area of just a tenth of the Sahara Desert (700 square km) with PV panels could in theory supply the entire world demand for energy. But practical challenges abound. Renewable energy from natural sources is intermittent and not easy to store.

The recently formed Simpson Research Team organised a seminar to look for ways of importing, modifying and applying renewable energy solutions for Malta. The country is almost completely reliant on imported fossil fuel.

The team, currently engaged in a high level review of the MIDI-Tigné project, spoke of the pressing need to start developing alternative technologies for energy on the island.

Cooling is the biggest energy problem in Malta. Just when solar radiation is at a summertime high the need for air-conditioning makes energy consumption soar. Perforated metal plates on buildings can be used for radiative cooling night and day.

The problem of high calcium content in our water has been known to clog up solar water heating systems. This can be solved by using silica rubber piping which is less prone to limescale deposits. Hot water produced by solar energy could be used under flooring to keep bathroom floors warm as well as provide a hot shower in winter.

There are serious questions that need to be answered before the grid is opened to input from renewable sources. Would connecting solar systems or wind turbines to the energy grid produce any undesirable effects? Is the grid up to a standard that could support connection?

The recent tender issued by the Malta Resources Authority is designed to address just such issues. It calls for consultancy services for the development of a strategy for the exploitation of renewable energy sources. The brief includes an assessment of renewable energy exploitation in Malta and establishment of a long term framework for developing renewable sources of energy.

Members of the Simpson Research Group listed things that can be done now without waiting for grid connection. Discussions are being held with mobile phone base stations with an eye to using renewable energy for their requirements. Closed circuit television cameras, irrigation pumps and marine navigation lights could all run on renewable energy. A preferable system might include making use of the wind in winter and the sun in summer while reducing the number of storage batteries needed.

Honouring our European and international obligations the Malta Resources Authority is asking for help from consultancies like the Simpson group to investigate setting up alternative energy systems in Malta.

Developing a strategy to exploit renewable energy sources will include a look at hydrogen production from renewable sources. Support measures are expected to be the key to success with legislative, administrative and fiscal measures creating a receptive business setting.

At the moment solar is not competitive but it will be. The payback time in Malta is probably about half that in the UK. And whether we like it or not the cost of electricity in Malta will go up. A detailed description of the Maltese scenario concerning delivery and control of bulk power entering the grid is urgently required before we can move ahead.

Are we or aren't we?

Annual hospital admissions caused by air pollution in the UK are estimated to be around 24,000. This is the kind of information sustainability indicators make use of in order to bridge the gap between economic performance and social and environmental progress.

SI-MO, based at the Foundation of International Studies in Valletta, monitors and reports sustainability indicators in Malta. The organisation has put in the groundwork by developing indicators based on data collected.

Sustainability indicators show whether a country is moving toward or away from sustainability, a practical tool to help communities develop in a more sustainable direction. Economic indicators are inadequate at describing progress in social and environmental directions. Sustainability indicators are designed to fill this information gap.

Selecting the appropriate indicators for Malta involved removing some that are not relevant to the Maltese Islands or overlapped. When two or more indicators measured the same thing it made sense to use the framework adopted by Eurostat since this information might be required in future.

Of all the reports drawn up for the SI-MO exercise the report on biodiversity is the most comprehenshive. The compilation of court cases and ALE reports on protected biodiversity have been dispersed between too many departments, it said.

Although the term "forest" may not be relevant to Malta since our forests are all but extinct and no forestry industry exists on the island these indicators could still apply. As for the indicator on density of solid waste disposed at sea. it has been claimed that: "No solid waste is disposed at sea" when Progett Skart does not deny that excavation waste from the Tigné project is being dumped on the seabed.

It is noted that some criteria employed by the OECD, United Nations (including the Mediterranean Action Plan) and the European Union are not suitable for the Maltese Islands because of our small size or differences in the economic infrastructure. It is recommended that local versions should be developed.

"The overall state of knowledge of local biodiversity with respect to international criteria is not at all adequate", states the report, although data collection has improved in recent years.

One other indicator thought unsuitable for Malta was the sale and use of pesticides. The reason given was the small size and fragmented nature of our agriculural holdings. It was judged that measuring the amount of pesticides used per hectare of utilised agricultural area would be too difficult and sales data does not always relate to application rates.