Sustainable Development Minister Leo Brincat told representatives of the Malta Institute of Management that although governments have a huge burden to carry to ensure that there truly is sustainable development, the managerial and private sectors  have an equally important role in the matter.

He was speaking at a meeting which the MIM requested, and said that the concept of corporate sustainable development is considered as a main component of corporate social responsibility.

In fact, he recalled that at the Rio +20 sustainable development summit there had been a corporate sustainability forum which laid stress on a larger and more effective role for the private sector where the sustainable element was involved in the environmental, economic and social aspects.

It was considered, Mr Brincat said, that a deeper commitment in the sector could only lead to value added and would be beneficial rather than a burden for the businesses themselves. The EU itself believes that to have a sustainable economy, the business and trade sectors, and private industry were the key.

MIM president Reuben Buttigieg and general manager Omar Vella said that as an institute they had for a long time made efforts for sustainability and green management to be introduced in Malta, and they themselves had taken various initiatives in this matter, such as when they treated Islamic Finance.

The MIM, they said, is prepared to support any initiative the government takes in sustainable development, because it was disappointing to note that in Malta there is not a strong recognition of sustainable development, which apart from its environmental dimension, also has an economic dimension.