Case study
Sustainable Development Malta
Sustainabledevelopment.gov.mt is the Maltese government's website for sustainable development, covering national policy, reporting, awards and ways for people and organisations to get involved. M7Alpha designed and built the site, organising a large body of policy material into clear sections for citizens, schools, businesses and public bodies.
The project
Sustainabledevelopment.gov.mt is the Maltese government’s website for sustainable development. It brings together the country’s policy framework, its reporting to the United Nations, a programme of national awards and a range of events and initiatives for the public. M7Alpha designed and built the website, and this case study explains how the content is organised so that very different audiences can find what they need.
Who is a government sustainability website for?
It has to serve several audiences at once: citizens who want to understand what sustainable development means, schools and young people taking part in initiatives, businesses looking at ESG reporting, and public officers who need the official documents.
The site is structured around those needs rather than around the organisation chart. The main menu groups everything into six areas: About Us, Sustainable Development, Policies, Reporting, Engage and Opportunities, with the site available in English and Maltese.
| Section | What it contains | Who uses it most |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Development | What sustainable development is, the Sustainable Development Act, the Guardian of Future Generations and the national network | Citizens, students, public bodies |
| Policies | Agenda 2030, Vision 2050, Strategy 2050 and sectoral strategies | Policy makers, researchers |
| Reporting | Annual reports, Voluntary National Reviews, targets and indicators | Public officers, journalists, international partners |
| Engage | Events such as the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, Malta’s Development Action Days and Football for the Goals | Community groups, schools, the public |
| Opportunities | Action Awards, SDG Youth Champions, funding and schemes, the Sustainable Baby Box | Businesses, schools, young people, families |
How does the site make policy documents easier to approach?
By putting a plain explanation in front of every formal document. Visitors meet a short introduction to Agenda 2030 or Vision 2050 before they reach the strategy itself, so the site works as an explainer as well as an archive.
Reporting pages collect the annual reports and Voluntary National Reviews in one place, and the targets and indicators section shows how progress is measured. Links from the homepage lead to the national ESG Platform and the Green Public Procurement resources, which sit alongside the main site.
How do the awards and opportunities work on the site?
The Action Awards have their own section, with a page for each category: research and innovation, environment, community impact, youth leadership, public service sustainability, sustainability in journalism, sustainable schools and ESG positive impact. Each page explains who can apply, and an award application page brings the process together.
Other opportunities, such as SDG Youth Champions, funding schemes and the Sustainable Baby Box, follow the same pattern, so anyone looking to take part can see quickly what is on offer and how to get involved.
What makes a public sector website usable for everyone?
Clear navigation, plain language and accessibility. The site includes a dedicated accessibility page and an accessibility tool, a news section for announcements and workshops, a subscription option for updates and a simple Get in Touch page. Ministerial messages and news give the homepage a current, human feel without burying the core sections.
What other public bodies can take from this project
- Organise by audience: group content around what people come to do, not how departments are structured.
- Explain before you publish: a short plain summary in front of each strategy or report.
- Give programmes their own pages: awards, schemes and events are easier to find and share.
- Build in accessibility: an accessibility statement, readable layouts and a bilingual site.
- Keep it current: news and updates show the work is ongoing.
How M7Alpha helps public sector organisations
M7Alpha designs and builds websites for public bodies, cultural organisations and associations in Malta, with all design and development done by our in-house team. See our web design and development service, browse more projects, or tell us about your project.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Sustainable Development Malta website?
M7Alpha Creative Studios, a web design, development and branding agency in Żurrieq, Malta, designed and built the Sustainable Development Malta website. The site brings together national policy, reporting, awards and public engagement for sustainable development in Malta.
What is sustainabledevelopment.gov.mt?
It is the Maltese government’s website for sustainable development. It covers the Sustainable Development Act, Agenda 2030, Vision 2050 and Strategy 2050, national reporting such as the Voluntary National Reviews, and opportunities including the Action Awards and SDG Youth Champions.
What should a government policy website include?
Plain explanations of each policy, the official documents and reports in one place, pages for programmes and opportunities, news, a contact route and an accessibility statement. Organising the menu by audience rather than by department makes it far easier to use.
How much does a government or organisation website cost in Malta?
It depends on the number of pages, features such as booking, listings or forms, and how ready the content and photography are. Our guide on how much a website costs in Malta explains what drives the price.
