The Climate Action Authority (CAA), within the Ministry for Energy, the Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbor (MEER), has launched EcoTrack, a platform that, for the first time, brings together in a single system data on electricity and water consumption, as well as the Government’s vehicle fleet across public buildings.
A number of public entities have already tested the platform, with the results presented during the Permanent Secretary Forum, led by Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana and attended by the Minister for Energy, the Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbor Miriam Dalli.
EcoTrack provides a centralized system offering a clear picture of where energy and resources are being used, while identifying where they can be used more efficiently. The platform was developed under the Government’s “Leading by Example” initiative, in support of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Following an initial testing phase involving a number of public entities, its full roll-out across the public sector will begin this year.
EcoTrack also includes a dedicated Energy Efficiency guide, structured around the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle used in international energy and environmental management standards (ISO). The guide provides every entity, regardless of its level of technical knowledge, with a clear process for identifying its main sources of energy consumption and taking the necessary steps to address them.
Minister Miriam Dalli explained how EcoTrack will put data at the forefront of how Government manages its energy and resource consumption. “Through EcoTrack, we are putting data at the center of how Government manages its energy and resource consumption. Bringing electricity, water and government fleet data into one system, it gives public entities a clearer picture of where resources are being used and where greater efficiency can be achieved. This is what leading by example means in practice, providing public entities with the tools and knowledge to turn our sustainability ambitions into concrete action and build a more efficient and climate-resilient public sector,” said Minister Dalli.
Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana, said that it is important that the Public Sector not only provides high-quality services to its clients, but also leads in areas that directly affect the Maltese and Gozitan people, such as the efficient use of energy. “The public administration will remain at the forefront in implementing the necessary improvements and leading by example.”
Eng. Abigail Cutajar, CEO, Climate Action Authority said, “EcoTrack gives us, for the first time, one clear picture of how government buildings use electricity, water and fuel. You cannot manage what you cannot measure, and we are not asking anyone else to do something we have not started doing ourselves. This is the public sector holding itself to the same standard we expect of everyone else.”
Once baseline data is set, entities will track their own consumption over time, benchmark against similar buildings, and prioritize the measures with the greatest financial and environmental return. CAA expects EcoTrack to also support entities pursuing formal energy or environmental certification.
Every public entity has a role to play in reducing Malta’s environmental impact, and that effort must start within the Government itself.
