From 9 - 10 November 2017, participants in the IB2016 benchmarking exercise for Western Europe gathered in Hal Luqa, Malta for the 11th edition of the annual benchmarking workshop. Over 90 utility representatives from around Europe and beyond, including guests from regional benchmarking hubs in the Danube region participated in an inspirational, constructive and open atmosphere.
Water Services Corporation (http://www.wsc.com.mt) the water- and wastewater company for Malta, kindly offered to host and sponsor this year’s workshop. Over 90 representatives from 19 different countries gathered in Hal Luqa, to discuss the benchmarking results, network and share good practices.
This year the workshop was organized around 5 themes. Three of these themes were suggested by the benchmark participants (asset management, energy efficiency and utility management) and two themes were put on the agenda by the EBC team ((Cyber) security and climate resilience).
The workshop was opened by the Maltese minister on Energy and Water management: “We are proud that EBC has accepted our invitation to host this year’s event, specifically in the smallest Member State of the European Union”.
On Thursday morning the sessions focused on the assessment part and benchmark results of this year organized around the workshop topics. After lunch the sessions shifted from assessment to improvement with a focus on sharing good practices in the field of Utility management and asset management.
Day two started with a short feedback session from the moderators of day 1 and an introduction by Peter Dane. The introduction was followed by a plenary session in which the upgraded reporting tool of www.waterbenchmark.org was presented and a plenary session on security. After the break the group had the choice between dedicated sessions on energy efficiency and climate resilience.
The workshop ended with a field visit to the Pembroke desalination plant of WSC were the group was guided around the plant with the enthusiasm known to the water sector.
At the traditional workshop dinner, the Benchmarking Co-ordinator of the Year Award was handed to Jyrki Kaija and his team (Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, Finland) and to Stelios Samios and Katerina Sargioti (EYDAP, Greece).
The EBC-team congratulates the winners of this year’s award and encourages them to continue their good work!
More info:
Press release by the ministry of Energy & Water management: https://energy.gov.mt/en/
News article Malta independent: http://www.independent.com.mt