Companies commit to environmental conservation<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Natural resource-based companies such as oil producers, mine
\noperators and pulp and paper firms have often become the main
\ntarget of green activists, who protest over the poor handling of
\ntheir industrial waste.<\/p>\n
Some of these companies, however, have shown a strong
\ncommitment to taking care of the environment by imposing tight
\nenvironmental controls and ensuring that their operational
\nactivities do as little damage as possible to their surroundings.<\/p>\n
The country's giant oil producer PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia,
\nfor instance, regularly hires local and international auditors to
\ncarry out an environmental audit on the impact of its oil
\nexploration, drilling and processing activities.<\/p>\n
"Our operational activities are subject to four or five
\nenvironmental audits each year," said Caltex's Manager of
\nCorporate Communication Harry Bustaman.<\/p>\n
The government's agency for environmental impact management
\n(Bapedal) and the U.S.-based environmental audit company Arthur D
\nLittle are among the environmental institutions involved in
\nauditing the company's operational activities.<\/p>\n
The company's environmental activities adopt both national and
\ninternational standards, including the U.S.-based Environmental
\nProtection Agency (EPA), the ISO 1400 standardization and the
\nAssociation of Petroleum Institutions (API).<\/p>\n
Caltex, a subsidiary of US-based Chevron Texaco, operates a
\nnumber of oil blocks in Riau province, with 107 active oil fields
\nand 6,569 production wells. The company's operation site covers
\nan area of 25,500 square kilometers.<\/p>\n
Gold and copper producer PT Freeport Indonesia, which operates
\na massive gold and copper mining site in Timika, Papua, also has
\na long-term environmental monitoring program to evaluate
\npotential impacts of the company's operations.<\/p>\n
"This comprehensive program ensures that we have the necessary
\nscientific information for environmental management decisions
\nabout our operations to minimize and mitigate environmental
\nimpact," said Freeport's Senior Manager for Corporate
\nCommunication Siddharta Moersjid.<\/p>\n
With its strict environmental policy, the company is committed
\nto periodic internal and external audits. The company has been
\nsubject to three external audits, in 1996, 1999 and 2003, by
\ninternationally recognized, qualified environmental consulting
\nfirms.<\/p>\n
The most recent external audit was conducted by the Swiss-
\nbased International Certification Services Division of Societe
\nGeneral de Surveillance (SGS)," he said. "The SGS team identified
\nfour relatively minor instances of non-conformity, which are
\nbeing corrected, and no major problems," he added.<\/p>\n
Potential environmental impact issues arising from the natural
\nresource-based companies' operational activities are varied,
\ndepending on what fields they are engaged in.<\/p>\n
The area of business also determines the scope of
\nenvironmental projects. For oil producers, the potential
\nenvironmental impact issue is related to oily sand resulting from
\nthe exploration of oil fields. However, mining companies face the
\nchallenge of handling the disposal of rock waste and tailings.
\nPulp and paper producers are obliged to handle the disposal of
\nwaste resulting from paper processing activities.<\/p>\n
Caltex said that to minimize the environmental impact from the
\noil exploration and processing activities on the surrounding
\narea, the company had utilized an advanced technology that
\nenables the separation of oil from sand. "The sand is then put
\nback in the previous drilling site as part of the government's
\nmandatory reclamation efforts," he said, adding, "Trees are then
\nplanted in the reclaimed area to make the area environmentally
\nsafe."<\/p>\n
Like Caltex, Freeport and gold and copper mine operator PT
\nNewmont Nusa Tenggara (PT NNT) also have a strong commitment to
\nmanaging the impact of their mineral waste.<\/p>\n
Freeport, for example, uses sophisticated technology in
\nmanaging the dumping site for the company's mineral waste or
\ntailings, in the Ajkwa river.<\/p>\n
Based on extensive tailings reclamation studies and actual
\nexperience, the tailings deposition area can be readily
\nrevegetated with native and agricultural plants as mining is
\ncompleted. "We are committed to revegetating impacted land when
\nit is no longer in use for our operation," said Siddharta.<\/p>\n
The water in the Ajkwa River, which transports the tailings
\nfrom Freeport's mine in the highlands to the lowland deposition
\narea and in the tailings deposition area, meets the Indonesian
\nand the EPA's drinking water standards for dissolved metals.<\/p>\n
Unlike Freeport, Newmont, which operates a massive gold and
\ncopper mine in Batu Hijau, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, uses Sub-
\nSea Tailings Placement (STP) system to dump its mineral waste.<\/p>\n
Based on environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) analyses for
\nits Batu Hijau site, the disposal of tailings in the sea, at a
\ndepth of around 4,000 meters does not damage marine ecosystems,
\nsea habitats or marine animals.<\/p>\n
The decision to use STP instead of on-land disposal was made
\nafter carefully reviewing various options during the AMDAL
\nanalysis, said PT NNT's External Relation Senior Manager Robert
\nHumberson.<\/p>\n
Deep in the sea, there is little oxygen and biological
\nactivity minimizes any impact on the environment,he said.<\/p>\n
The license for the deep sea tailings placement system was
\nissued by the State Ministry of Environment in 2002, with Newmont
\nobliged to regularly monitor the quality of tailings resulting
\nfrom gold ore processing, tailings at tail-box, the sea water,
\nsea delta and the spread pattern of tailings in the sea.<\/p>\n
Paper manufacturer PT Fajar Surya Wisesa (FSW) places the
\nenvironment as a top priority of its business in parallel with
\nthe global trade trend requiring exported products to have eco-
\nlabeling.<\/p>\n
Fajar Surya which exports its products to 20 countries, mostly
\nin Europe, have been conducting tight environmental measures to
\nstay competitive in the green-friendly European market.<\/p>\n
Environmental protection is inseparable from global trade
\nactivities, especially with Western countries who issue
\nregulations for green products. "Because we are consistent in
\nimplementing our environmental programs, we never face obstacles
\nrelated to environmental requirements," said M. Rivai in charge
\nof Environmental Affairs at Fajar Surya.<\/p>\n
In order to keep the river near the factory clean and
\nunpolluted, the company has built a four-kilometer-long pipe
\nunderground to channel the waste water into the sea.<\/p>\n
The water produced from the waste water treatment area has no
\nenvironmental impact because the hazardous substances like
\ncertain toxins are absorbed and diminished, and the result is
\nsafe water. "The microbiology and bacteria also play a role in
\nprocessing the organic waste," he said.<\/p>\n
The company conducts an evaluation on the waste water produced
\nby the company to prevent possible environmental impacts. "We
\nshould know whether waste water treatment is really an effective
\nmeans of altering the waste water to non-hazardous substances,"
\nhe said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/companies-commit-to-environmental-conservation-1447893297",
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