Industry told to spearhead green campaign

JAKARTA (JP): Given the still low environmental consciousness among consumers in Indonesia, the industrial community in the country should spearhead the environmental campaign, an expert said yesterday.

Nabiel Makarim, deputy for pollution control at the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) said consumers in Indonesia are not yet willing to pay the higher price for environmentally-friendly products.

This is one reason why the government is targeting the campaign at manufacturers first instead of consumers, Nabiel told a seminar on the concept of clean production and waste minimization.

He was specifically referring to the government's plan to introducing a system by which manufacturers in Indonesia are rated in accordance with their performance in preserving the environment.

The environmental rating system is a convenient drive towards clean production, as long as consumers here are not yet willing to pay the price for environmentally sound products, he said.

"Manufacturers for the domestic market with a low rating will be required to make their production process cleaner."

In the first of a two-day discussion on clean production and waste minimization, Nabiel said that eco-labeling, soon to be effective for forestry and light manufacturing products from Indonesia into the European Union, is only effective given strong consumer demand.

"Look at Singapore, nothing has happened even though eco- labeling has been effective there these past two years," he said. Like Indonesians, he said, Singapore consumers only demand a better environment but are not likely to pick a higher priced product with an environmentally sound tag.

The seminar, organized by PT Pamerindo Buana Abadi, was participated in by 100 local and foreign business executives.

Nabiel, and other officials addressing the conference yesterday, also reminded companies that soon they will all be obliged to undertake environmental auditing.

P.L. Coutrier, Bapedal's deputy on development, acknowledged that currently there are various methods of environmental auditing but he expressed his hope that they will soon conform to one standard.

"The National Standardization Council is still working on it," Coutrier said.

The chairman of the Indonesian Eco-labeling Institute, Emil Salim, stressed that eco-labeling is also voluntary, apart from industries already listed by buyer countries.

The European Union has set 1995 as the deadline for eco- labeling from Indonesia in forestry products, pulp and paper, shoe and leather and textile and garments.

Taking steps to clean production through waste minimization, will be cheaper in the long run than the "end of the pipe" waste treatment, the speakers said.

Businessman Thomas Dharmawan of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) said many companies are actually willing to be oriented to clean production, either to keep their market share or to avoid sanctions, but still lack necessary information.

"Producers immediately know when their markets are hurt," said Dharmawan, who is setting up an information center under KADIN on clean production.

Confusing

Participants also said that environmental standards in Indonesia are still confusing because different government agencies set different standards.

Agus Pambagio of the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation said Bapedal must assume a bigger role on this front because companies and consumers turn to it for references.

Agus welcome the recent presidential decree which allows Bapedal to set up offices in the provinces.

Other speakers included local and foreign consultants on legal and technical aspects of environmental management.

The conference, which ends today, is part of the "Manufacturing Indonesia '94" exhibition which runs to Dec. 3 at the Jakarta Fairgrounds. (anr)