Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/785757
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2017 Events 42 EC delivers on its promises on recovery of energy from waste One year after adopting its Circular Econo- my Package, the European Commission has issued guidance to Member States on con- verting waste to energy and proposed a tar- geted improvement of legislation on certain hazardous substances in electrical and elec- tronic equipment. As the world's largest multilateral climate action lender with over €19 billion of dedi- cated financing last year, the circular econ- omy is key to reversing the course of climate change, making more sustainable use of the planet's scarce resources, and contributing to Europe's growth. The new Circular Economy Finance Sup- port Platform will be an essential tool to boost awareness and financing of circular economy projects. Building on the momentum of the Invest- ment Plan for Europe, which has already mobilized investments worth €164 billion by end-2016. The Circular Economy Finance Support Platform will enhance the link be- tween existing instruments, such as the Eu- ropean Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and the InnovFin - EU Finance for Innovators initiative backed by Horizon 2020, and po- tentially develop new financial instruments for circular economy projects. The Platform will bring together the Commission, the EIB, National Promotional Banks, institutional investors and other stakeholders, raising awareness of circular economy investment opportunities and promoting best practices amongst potential promoters, analysing pro- jects and their financial needs, and providing advice on structuring and bankability. A Commission Communication on the role of waste-to-energy processes in the circular economy will maximise the benefits of this small but innovative part of the national en- ergy mix. It provides guidance for Member States to achieve the right balance of waste- to-energy capacity, highlighting the role of the waste hierarchy which ranks waste man- agement options according to their sustain- ability and gives top priority to preventing and recycling of waste. It helps optimising their contribution to the Energy Union and exploiting the opportunities for cross-border partnerships where this is appropriate and in line with our environmental goals. Proposed changes will further facilitate second-hand market operations (e.g. resell- ing) and repair of electrical and electronic equipment. It is estimated that the measures will prevent more than 3000 tonnes of haz- ardous waste per year in the EU, and enable savings of energy and raw materials. In the health sector alone, an estimated €170 mil- lion in healthcare costs could be saved. Finally, in its report on progress since last year, the Commission lists the key meas- ures taken in areas such as waste, ecodesign, food waste, organic fertilisers, guarantees for consumer goods, and innovation and in- vestment. Circular economy principles have been gradually integrated in industrial best practices, green public procurement, the use of cohesion policy funds, and through new initiatives in the construction and water sec- tors. The Concept Stadium presents custom CRM to IFSP Members During the IFSP 2017 Annual Confer- ence, the Concept Stadium Co-Founder and Director Jonathan Chetcuti presented a demonstration on how members of the Institute of Financial Services Practition- ers (IFSP) can increase their interaction with the Institute by means of a new online CRM platform. The IFSP in Malta trusted the Concept Stadium team to build this Client Rela- tionship Management system that allows the members and administrators to auto- mate existing processes, give more control to members over their own data, enhance the user experience and centralise various data sources. The new CRM system gives IFSP a more organised way of carrying out its vari- ous duties and certainly smoothens its operations, both from an administrative perspective as well as for its members. Features of the new CRM system include the centralisation of data by importing da- tabases in one hub, the facility to update databases with ease, an advanced search and filtering system that allows the ad- ministrators to query the users and their actions, and an organised mailing list, amongst others. In addition, Project Man- agement and Event Organisation Modules were also deployed. Giving a brief comment after the presen- tation, Jonathan Chetcuti said "Companies and NGOs are nowadays appreciating the importance of organising their data elec- tronically. CRM systems have become one of the most valuable assets of any organisa- tion, not only because they act as a reposi- tory of one's clients, but they also allow you to seize business opportunities by keeping track of contacts and potential leads". "By keeping on top of your data, you can make clients feel understood, and that his- tory with your organisation is key to build- ing long-time relationships with them", he added. Simon Gatt, IFSP Secretary General, said "In an effort to streamline the institute's operations, in order to better serve our members, we approached the Concept Sta- dium for the creation of a more centralised client relationship management system. We were very proud to present the new system to our members at the IFSP Annual Conference and it was very well received by our members". The IFSP Conference took place on the 26th of January at the Xara Lodge, Rabat with a guest list of over 200 financial ser- vices professionals. The topical issues discussed included the increased regulatory measures, the cur- rent political climate and the technologies that promise to upend the certainties that have underpinned the market for decades. For more information on the benefit of CRM systems, speak to us on team@con- ceptstadium.com Jonathan Chetcuti speaks at IFSP Conference