HSBC Malta has won the Public Awareness category at the Greening The Islands Awards, held in Palermo, Sicily. The Awards recognise best practices in accelerating the sustainability and self-sufficiency of islands and remote locations. The award won by HSBC Malta recognises the work of the HSBC Water Programme and the Malta CSR Institute – Together for Sustainability. The contribution of the Energy and Water Agency as a lead partner was important in raising awareness on the importance of, among others, water conservation, waste management and reduction, and sustainable development.

Greening The Islands is an innovative organisation which supports the self-sufficiency and sustainability of islands worldwide. Focused on enabling cooperation between local authorities, businesses, citizens and academia, it aims to generate solutions for particular sustainability challenges which islands face. This year’s awards were presented during the organisation’s annual conference which discussed how to make the circular economy and sustainable tourism a reality.

As part of HSBC’s Global Water Programme, HSBC Malta has invested close to €1 million on water and other sustainability initiatives in Malta. This unprecedented investment by a private organisation has been used to greatly increase levels of awareness, particularly among young people, on the importance of conservation and the sustainable use of water. Initiatives such as Catch the Drop, Water Explorer, and the Malta CSR Institute – Together for Sustainability have also resulted in many practical initiatives to help schools, individuals and businesses to better manage water resources, energy consumption, and to reduce waste. The latter programmes were designed using Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) principles by Dr Alexandra Mifsud from the Centre of Environmental Education Research (CEER) at the University of Malta, and Amanda Zahra from the Energy and Water Agency, and were held at the National Water Conservation Awareness Centre, GĦAJN in Rabat.

Since its inception, the Malta CSR Institute, which is fully supported by HSBC Malta, has continued to expand its activities to now also include Business Against Food Waste which primarily helps restaurants to better manage food supplies, and Invest+, a series of financial literacy workshops organised with the Malta Business Bureau. This latter development has occurred in view of the fact that being better able to manage family finances is a key factor in determining the levels of food and energy consumption, as well as the amount of domestic waste produced. Both programmes are also being held at GĦAJN Centre.