In a press event at Europe House, Valletta, an MBB delegation led by CEO Joe Tanti presented a report to European Commissioner Karmenu Vella, showing that energy and water savings of €1.4 billion are possible for the EU hospitality industry.

Present at the meeting were MBB Sustainable Development Manager Geoffrey Saliba; Water Expert Ing. Marco Cremona; Malta Chamber Council Member and Environmental Committee Chairman David Xuereb; and MHRA Council member and Environmental Committee Chairman Ing. Joseph Restall; together with Dr Gabriella Pace, Deputy Chef de Cabinet at the European Commission and Brian Synnott, who is the Communication Advisor at the European Commission.

The report, entitled ‘Economic Stimulus through greener EU hotel industry,’ collected data from the hospitality operators in Malta, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Slovenia, and follows on previous assessments by the MBB’s award winning EU LIFE+ Investment in Water Project.

As part of the project, a key measure which could facilitate wider adoption of these measures were identified to be the better uptake of the EU Ecolabel for water-consuming appliances such as taps, showers and urinals, and the creation of a standard for second class water.

The MBB, together with its international partners, will seek a common position from industry on these two policy measures, as well as common initiatives which would help drive a wider adoption of flow rate regulation and greywater treatment.

Welcoming the report, Commissioner Vella stated “Water stress is a growing factor in many countries in the EU, and is an area in which there are clear and easy technological wins. The promising results in this study will feed into future Commission work.”

Commenting on the MBB’s commitment to facilitating this transition, MBB CEO Joe Tanti said “Such a drive could merge green job creation, the financial strengthening of Europe’s largest industries, and the creation of new industry with strong potential for export. This would stimulate increased growth within the European economy while saving water, reducing CO2 emissions and energy dependence. It would be an excellent case study in environmental measures making excellent business sense.”