Case study
Climate Action Authority
The Climate Action Authority is the Maltese public body that leads national work on climate change, from public awareness and legislation to long-term energy and climate strategy. M7Alpha designed and built its website, built a custom internal web app for the Authority, and hosts and maintains the site.
The project
The Climate Action Authority is the Maltese public body that leads the country’s work on climate change, from raising public awareness to developing long-term energy and climate strategies. M7Alpha designed and built the Authority’s website, built a custom internal web app for it, and hosts and maintains the site. This case study looks at how one public website can serve citizens, industry and the press without burying any of them.
What does the Climate Action Authority do?
The Authority leads Malta’s national efforts on climate change, combining public awareness, a legal framework and long-term strategy. Its website explains that it develops plans such as the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), coordinates data to shape policy, manages climate-related projects and creates incentives that support sustainable action.
That is a wide remit, and it means the website has to speak to very different people. A resident curious about climate action, a company affected by new legislation and a journalist looking for a press release all arrive with different questions, and all of them expect a quick, factual answer.
Who visits the website, and what are they looking for?
Most visitors fall into a handful of groups, and the site gives each of them a clear route in.
| Visitor | What they want | Where they find it |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | Plain information on climate action and the Authority’s role | Homepage, About Us, Fact Sheets |
| Businesses and industry | The rules and policies that affect their sector | Industries, Legislations, Policy |
| Anyone with a view on new rules | A chance to respond before decisions are made | Public Consultations |
| Journalists | Announcements and media material | Press, News, Media |
| Job seekers | Openings at the Authority | Careers |
Mapping visitors to pages like this is a simple exercise, but it keeps a public website honest. If a group of people has no obvious route in, the structure needs another look.
How does the site make legislation and policy easy to reach?
It treats official documents as a library with clearly labelled shelves rather than a single pile of downloads. The Resources area separates the material into the categories people actually look for:
- Legislations: the legal framework the Authority implements, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) rules.
- Policy: national strategies and policy documents.
- Public Consultations: open consultations where the public and industry can give feedback.
- Annual Report and Fact Sheets: accountability documents and short, readable summaries.
- Media: material for the press and anyone covering climate news.
When a topic needs attention, the homepage can carry a notice that points straight to the relevant document. The CBAM notice is a good example: instead of expecting businesses to dig through menus, the homepage links directly to the legislation under Resources.
How does the homepage explain a complex subject?
It starts with purpose and then moves from the general to the specific. The opening statement sets out the aim, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience and create a sustainable future, before a short commitment section explains what the Authority does.
An Industries section then breaks the subject into three areas, Power Generation, Transport and Fuel Use, each with a short explanation. A Climate Leaders section carries brief statements from the Authority’s leadership, and a News and Press Releases feed keeps the page current with announcements such as new public EV charging points and a postgraduate certificate in climate financial risk with the University of Malta. Contact details, opening hours and the office address in the Central Business District give every visitor a clear way to reach a person.
Where does the internal web app fit in?
It sits alongside the public website as part of the same engagement, handled by the same in-house team.
M7Alpha built a custom internal web app for the Authority. Its details are not public, so this case study focuses on the website that visitors see. The thinking behind them is the same as for the public site: a public body works best with tools built around its own processes, not generic software stretched to fit. Our page on internal systems explains how we approach this kind of build.
M7Alpha also hosts and maintains the website, so updates, fixes and new sections go through the team that built it.
What can other public authorities learn from this project?
Organise the site around what visitors need to do, and keep the official record easy to find.
- Say what the organisation does in the first lines of the homepage, in plain words.
- Group documents by type: legislation, policy, consultations and reports.
- Use homepage notices to point to new or time-sensitive rules.
- Keep press material and news in one predictable place.
- Show contact details, hours and address on every page.
The same clarity helps with AI search. When people ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or Perplexity about climate rules in Malta, those assistants draw on sources that state facts plainly and keep official documents easy to reach.
How M7Alpha helps public authorities and regulators
M7Alpha designs, builds and hosts websites and internal systems for public bodies and organisations in Malta, with the whole team in-house. See our web design and development service, or contact us to talk about your organisation’s website.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Climate Action Authority website?
M7Alpha Creative Studios, a web design, development and branding agency in Żurrieq, Malta, designed and built the Climate Action Authority website at climateaction.gov.mt. M7Alpha also built a custom internal web app for the Authority, and hosts and maintains the site.
What should a public authority's website include?
A plain statement of what the body does, separate sections for legislation, policy, public consultations and reports, a press and news area, careers information, and full contact details with opening hours. New or time-sensitive rules deserve a visible notice on the homepage.
How should a public body organise legal and policy documents online?
Group them by type rather than by department, give each one a clear title and a short description, and link to them from related news and homepage notices. People rarely know a document’s exact name, so a predictable structure matters more than a long list.
Should a public body build custom systems or use off-the-shelf software?
It depends on how specific its processes are. Standard tools suit common tasks, while a custom web app fits work that is unique to the organisation. Our guide to custom software vs off-the-shelf sets out the trade-offs.
