MERCA [pronounced MERĊA] – Managing Essential Resources in Retail through Consumption Analysis.
As the name entails, this pilot project will focus on a specific sector of retail, that of small and medium shops that sell food and beverage, commonly referred to as corner shops, grocery shops, convenience corners and mini/super-markets.
During the course of this project, the Agency will be working with the Chamber of SMEs in order to collect consumption data and analyse it, with the aim of understanding better this sector and also creating some benchmarks for the retail sector. Once this first phase of the project is completed, later stages will involve a number of detailed energy and water audits, within a sample of the participating retail shops. This will allow us to provide feedback to these shops on where their consumption costs are going and how to improve their efficiency in energy and water. The final aim is to support these enterprises in carrying out improvements that will lead to more sustainable operations.
Read more about the launch of this pilot project here.
THE FIRST PHASE HAS COMMENCED!
The first stage to this project is a data collection exercise from food retail shops to get an idea of their characteristics and consumption when it comes to energy and water. This phase is supported by the Chamber of SMEs, who are reaching out to these enterprises in order to collect this information.
So, if you are within this sector, and would like to be part of the MERCA journey, please contact the Chamber of SMEs on 21232881 or admin@smechamber.mt so they can guide you further.
