Presenting the certificate to the company’s vice-president and managing director Gene Gretchen, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea, said that this was another sign of ST’s commitment towards environmental responsibility.
The certificate was presented at a press conference to launch the EMAS and the ECO-Label scheme.
The minister explained that EMAS is a voluntary scheme for organisations willing to evaluate and improve their environmental performance. The scheme, he said, came into force in Malta on 1 May as the regulations apply only to EU and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) member states, However, he stressed, ST Microelectronics have been applying EMAS regulations for 11 years now.
Mr Galea said that now the Malta Standards Authority (MSA) has been officially recognised as the official EU accrediting body, it had a great responsibility towards bettering the quality of the Maltese product.He announced the introduction of the Eco-label scheme, saying that the “simple flower” logo that will be carried by accredited products will help distinguish environmentally-friendly products.
Mr Gretchen said ST had a commitment towards its social responsibility, of which environmental concern was a key factor, adding that the company “puts its money where its mouth is”.
The environmental statement issued by the company as part of the EMAS scheme shows that, among others things, the company managed to reduce its inventory of ozone-depleting substances by 87.6 per cent over a period of four years (1993-1996).
It also managed to cut its water consumption by 70.2 per cent, from 183,315 cubic metres in 1994 to 54,555 cubic meters in 2001. Paper use went down from a yearly consumption of 67 tonnes in 1998 to 48.6 tonnes in 2001.
Asked by The Malta Independent whether there were financial benefits to be gained from environmental responsibility, Mr Gretchen said that in the long run this sort of investment paid off, because being environmentally friendly entailed reducing consumption and this was reflected in purchase costs.
He said that it is cheaper to anticipate regulations, rather than wait until they are forced on the company. ST Microelectronics tries to be at least one year ahead of such regulations, he said. MSA chairman Francis Farrugia, who was also at the press conference, said that the EU had provided the MSA with E300,000 for the promotion of the scheme and had set up the necessary structures, including the training of official Maltese scheme auditors.