Govt to label polluting companies

Govt to label polluting companies

YOGYAKARTA: The government plans to measure companies' compliance
to protect the environment by labeling them with the colors blue,
green, red and black to help consumers identify environmentally
conscious companies from polluters.

"Companies showing the most serious concern in protecting the
environment will get a blue label, and those that are less
concerned will get a green one," said Minister of Environment
Nabiel Makarim on Friday. "And those companies that neglect or
damage the environment will get a red label or a black one if
they are among the worst."

He said he hoped that environmentally conscious consumers
would purchase products from like-minded companies and refuse to
buy those from companies that heavily pollute the environment.

Nabiel said his ministry had identified 90 companies that
operated in a way that could threaten the environment.

Environmental concern among local companies has always ranked
low, but it took a further backseat when the economic crisis hit
the country in 1997.

Attention to this issue has slowly risen thanks in part to
pressure from environmental watchdogs and Indonesia hosting a
United Nations meeting on sustainable development last year. --
JP