Nearly three in four small and medium-sized businesses are trying to cut down on energy consumption, a new European Union report has found.

The latest Eurobarometer report on resource efficiency among European businesses found that 74 per cent of Maltese SMEs were trying to cut down on energy consumption to become more resource efficient, the second highest rate in Europe after Portugal.

Meanwhile, only a third of Maltese businesses were trying to cut down on water usage, one of the lowest rates in the EU.

The Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) has long lamented the price of utilities facing local SMEs.

Maltese entrepreneurs least likely to plan on cutting their energy consumption

Reacting to the latest budget last October, the GRTU said that it expected utility prices to be cut to allow small and medium-sized businesses to be more competitive. Over the past few years it has called for cuts of up to 30 per cent in electricity prices.

Despite these complaints, Maltese entrepreneurs were among the least likely in Europe to plan on cutting their energy consumption in the coming years. Just over one in 10 local companies said they had any plans to curb their energy usage.

According to the report, around 15 per cent of Maltese small and medium-sized businesses had started using renewable energy to power their commercial activities. Just over half of local SMEs had taken to recycling waste materials. This was around 10 per cent higher than the average in European Union countries.

Just 15 per cent, meanwhile, said they were designing their product specifically to facilitate recycling or reusing – this was around half the EU average.

Similarly, Malta ranked among the worst when it came to those countries that were planning on drastically reducing waste generated from their businesses, as well as those who wanted to cut the amount of resources they used.

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