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