Central Jakarta Administration Forms CSR Forum to Align Programmes

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Central Jakarta Municipal Administration has initiated the formation of a Business Social and Environmental Responsibility Forum (TJSLBU) to align corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes with the needs of local communities.

Denny Ramdany, secretary of the Central Jakarta administrative city, said the forum was needed to strengthen cooperation between the government, businesses, academics, community groups and the media in addressing various urban social issues.

“Synergy between the government, businesses, academics, community groups and the mass media is key,” Denny said in a written statement in Jakarta on Thursday.

He said Central Jakarta continued to face a number of challenges, including densely populated settlements with socioeconomic vulnerabilities, the threat of fires and flooding, stunting, unemployment among people of working age, and environmental problems.

Denny said limited fiscal space in the Regional Budget (APBD) meant that tackling these issues required support and collaboration from various parties, including businesses through TJSL or corporate social responsibility programmes.

He said a number of companies had already carried out CSR programmes, but their implementation had sometimes lacked coordination, creating the risk that some areas would receive repeated assistance.

“Often, these activities are carried out separately or in a fragmented manner. As a result, some areas receive assistance repeatedly, while other vulnerable areas are overlooked,” Denny said.

TJSL programmes are also intended to support several priority initiatives, including tackling extreme poverty, empowering micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), addressing stunting, and strengthening community resilience to disasters at neighbourhood and community-unit level (RT and RW).

However, he stressed that the forum was not intended to burden businesses with an obligation to donate to the government.

“This forum is not a bureaucratic instrument for collecting donations or burdening businesses. We conceived it as a bridge for equal, transparent and accountable collaboration,” Denny said.

He said he hoped that pooling different resources and programmes would make TJSL implementation more targeted and deliver broader benefits to the community.

TJSL, he added, should be regarded as a form of social investment that helps create a prosperous, safe and stable community environment conducive to sustainable business activity.

“Businesses can only grow healthily and sustainably in a prosperous, safe and stable social environment,” Denny said.