Clean products ultimately cut cost: Officials
Clean products ultimately cut cost: Officials
JAKARTA (JP): Officials at the Environmental Impact Management
Agency (Bapedal) urged companies to adopt clean production
methods which they said was a way to save the environment and
money at the same time.
P.L. Coutrier, the deputy in charge of environmental impact
assessment and technical guidance at the agency, said in a recent
workshop that the aim of cleaner production was to use less
material, water and energy, and to reduce the toxicity, pollutant
load and volume of waste.
"This can also reduce production costs through greater
efficiency," he said at the Workshop on Cleaner Production
Practices in Indonesia. The agency introduced clean production in
1993.
The workshop was co-organized by Environment Australia and
Bapedal.
Environment Australia is a donor institution in the agency's
clean production program.
Coutrier added that other than greater efficiency, cleaner
production could also reduce production costs through less waste,
increased productivity, less use of energy and less charges for
waste treatment.
"The cleaner production implementation in Indonesia would also
increase competitiveness of Indonesian products in the global
market," he said.
He said that manufacturers must take into account the recent
trend toward eco-friendly products.
"The growing number of green consumers will spur producers to
make environmentally friendly products," he said, adding that the
greater number of consumers who bought eco-labeled products, the
more producers would be able to reduce total cost.
This, he said, should encourage manufacturers to make
necessary adjustments to their production processes.
Another speaker at the workshop, Liana Bratasida, the director
for technical development at Bapedal, shared Coutrier's opinion.
She said that cleaner production meant improved operational
efficiency.
While there might be extra outlay initially, she said, cleaner
production could reduce businesses' expenditures as greater
efficiency and competitiveness would ultimately offset expenses
incurred.
She also reminded that the effective implementation of cleaner
production not only required commitment from management, but also
the active involvement of staff right from the beginning.
Both Coutrier and Liana admitted that there were some
constraints in cleaner production implementation in Indonesia.
They pointed out that businesses did not believe the
advantages of cleaner production.
"Many cleaner production programs in Asia are also very donor-
oriented. Once the donor leaves, the program is discontinued,"
Coutrier said. (10)