Over the last year the Malta Standards Authority has been busy organising several free training courses for the government entities and private organisations on the implementation of Environmental Management Systems.
The funds for these courses were provided through a national project, M&EMS (Malta & Environmental Management Systems), which was co-financed by the European Union and the Government.
Extensive training was provided to the public, industry, local councils and Government entities on the implementation of Environmental Management Systems, such as the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), ISO 14001, and the EU Eco-label Scheme.
More than 100 individuals from over 50 organisations attended the workshops, which provided practical experience on implementing an EMS. The commitment of the delegates prompted the Malta Standards Authority to organise a ceremony to present the delegates with Certificates of Attendance.
During the presentation of the certificates, Francis Farrugia, MSA chairman, commended the participants for their interest in the Project.
He also highlighted the various benefits of implementing an EMS, including savings in water and electricity and reduction in waste production. Ing. Farrugia explained the MSA was ready to help anyone who was interested in implementing these voluntary Schemes.
He said the Hilton Hotel, the first establishment in Malta to be awarded the Eco-label Scheme, was already seeing the benefits.
Claudio Boffa, director of the National Accreditation Body of the MSA, and coordinator of the project, thanked all the participants for their very positive feedback throughout the Project.
He emphasised the importance of organisations becoming more environmentally friendly while benefiting from adopting appropriate Management Systems.
He noted that although the workshops were provided free of charge, the local and international experts who delivered the courses were some of the best in the field. In this regard, Mr Boffa congratulated the consultants, Adi Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd and Tuning Fork Ltd.
He said that he echoed the feedback from participants when congratulating the organisers for the competence and professionalism with which the workshops were conducted.
Mr Boffa invited anyone interested in adopting an EMS to contact MSA and said that MSA would continue to maintain the Project website, www.m-ems.com.
The consultants, Adi Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd and Tuning Fork Ltd, also extended their thanks to both the MSA and the delegates for making the M&EMS Project so successful.
They reiterated the importance of attending such courses, and considering that these days the operation of any organisation is so closely linked to environmental performance, companies that do not implement an EMS are missing out on many potential benefits. EMS’s are becoming increasingly important, especially considering the plethora of new environmental legislation coming into force in Malta, and the ever-increasing cost of energy.