How you can help

The following tips are useful for both offices and households and can help you contribute towards more sustainable practices and behaviours:

Explore

PwC Malta Annual Review 2023

 

Mobility

Office

Basic

  • Carpooling - Carpooling reduces the costs involved in car travel by sharing journey expenses including fuel. Carpooling is also seen as a more environmentally friendly way to travel, as sharing journeys reduces carbon emissions, traffic congestion, and the demand for parking spaces.
  • Use public transport –If employees use public transport they contribute to a reduction in vehicle emissions.

Household

Basic

  • Walk - Whenever possible walk or use a bicycle for short distances. This reduces emissions from car use, and also contributes to your health and fitness.
  • Drive efficiently – Drive at moderate speed, and do not accelerate unnecessarily.
  • Car pooling – consider car pooling with your friends on weekends. It saves time and fuel, and it also benefits the environment.
  • Avoid traffic congestion – if you need to travel and you are flexible on time, avoid rush hour by travelling earlier or later.

Advanced

  • When buying a car consider buying a smaller and more efficient engine. You will save money on your fuel bill and also generate less emissions. You could also consider a hybrid car to further reduce your impact on the environment.
  • Check if your car can take alternative fuels such as biodiesel. Switching to this type of fuel reduces emissions.

 

Energy Use

Office

Basic

  • Switch off lights when leaving a room - When leaving a room, even if for a few minutes, remember to turn off the lights. If there is nobody in the room the energy would be wasted.
  • Go for energy efficient light bulbs - Energy efficient bulbs are available in different shades, and are as bright as traditional ones but they only use a fraction of the power and lower your electricity costs.
  • Make use of natural light – Exploit natural light whenever possible by keeping curtains or blinds open. In this way, you will be save energy and also enjoy natural light.
  • Make use of natural ventilation – during the summer time you can ventilate your building during the night so that the building is cooler the next day. The air conditioning would need to work less when its switched on in the morning.
  • Optimise power saving options – on computers and electronic equipment set options that place devices automatically on standby or power-saving mode when not in use.

Advanced

  • Reduce the use of air conditioning at the office by installing better insulation, such as double-glazing all the windows, use of canopies to block sunlight at certain times of the day and other measures.
  • Install light motion sensors to reduce electricity wastage.
  • Consider installing a Building Energy Management System that allows you to monitor and manage your energy levels and costs.
  • Consider installing photovoltaic panels to generate your own electricity, or partly contribute to a reduction in your electricity bill. In this way, you will also help the environment by reducing emissions (through lower demand for electricity generated by the power station) and by contributing towards the achievement of national renewable energy targets.

Household

Basic

  • Install timers on water heaters – Timers can allow you to use water heaters more efficiently and reduce the impact on the environment. In the summer months, these may be switched off altogether or switched on for very short periods of time.
  • Make use of natural ventilation – Opening windows at home to maximise the flow of natural air could save energy particularly in the summer months. During these months, allowing natural ventilation during night time allows the cooling of inside temperatures.
  • Unplug stand-by appliances when not being used – All the common appliances we use at home are using energy even when idle. Try to avoid leaving such equipment on stand-by mode for long periods of time.

Advanced

  • Consider investing in solar water heaters or photovoltaic panels to make use of renewable energy sources for electricity and heating of water. Renewable energy does not harm the environment, and even saves you money over the long-term.
  • Old refrigerators should be defrosted regularly, or replaced with newer models, as with time their cooling power decreases, and they would use more energy.

 

Resources

Office

Basic

  • Introduce recycling waste bins around premises – Educate your employees through awareness posters to start separating waste at the office.
  • Print ‘greener’ – When printing out documents make sure that you have an efficient printer, that you buy and use eco-friendly paper, and that you encourage double sided printing. Encourage electronic communication and filing systems.

Advanced

  • Implement a responsible procurement policy whereby your main consumables are purchased from suppliers who make use of environment-friendly materials, and adopt sustainable practices.
  • Reduce paper consumption by minimising hardcopies of documents, and shifting to the use of electronic documents.
  • Make use of second class water for restrooms in your office buildings.
  • Educate your workforce through internal training sessions on green behaviour, and invest in facilities that can enable a shift towards such behaviours. For example, the installation of separate waste receptacles, and the installation of a building energy management system.
  • Make sure that the water flow in taps is not set excessively high.

Household

Basic

  • Close taps when not using water – Reduce wastage of water and energy by closing taps, for instance, when brushing your teeth or taking a bath. These small efforts contribute towards reducing the impact on the environment.
  • Reduce-Reuse-Recycle – An attitude that values the reuse and recycling of products should be adopted in households. A change in habit is needed. Recycling is relatively easy. Tonnes of waste that are disposed of annually can be reduced drastically, transformed into a reusable product or used to produce other products.

Advanced

  • Store rainwater and use it for watering the plants, and for toilet flushing purposes.
  • Use appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, as efficiently as possible. Wait until you can collect a full load. In this way, you would be reducing the number of times the appliances are used, and saving on energy and water consumption.
  • Buy appliances that have a good energy-rating and include energy-saving and water-saving features.
  • Regulare the water flow in taps.

Contact us

David Valenzia

David Valenzia

Territory Senior Partner, PwC Malta

Tel: +356 2564 6892

Elizabeth Camilleri

Elizabeth Camilleri

Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications, PwC Malta

Tel: +356 7975 6972

Follow us