Local firms still reluctant to adopt ISO 14000 rules

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian companies are still reluctant to adopt ISO 14000 environmental management standardization, according to the National Standardization Agency (BSN).

Agency chairman Herudi Kartowisastro said here on Monday that only about 60 companies had so far received ISO 14000 certification since its introduction in the country in 1996.

"We have already promoted the benefits ... but so far it has not been effective," he said after addressing the launch of ISO 14000 environmental management system training.

He said that the response from local companies to adopt the ISO 9000 series quality management standardization was much more positive than that of ISO 14000.

According to him, 1,400 companies have been recognized as ISO 9000 compliant since the standardization series' introduction in Indonesia in 1994.

The Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has licensed four Indonesian companies to issue its certifications in the country. They are: PT TUV International Indonesia (a German joint venture), PT SGS International Services Indonesia (a Swiss joint venture), state- owned PT Superintending Company of Indonesia (Sucofindo) and PT Mutuagung Lestari.

Anwar El-Tawil, an ISO senior executive, said companies which applied the ISO 14000 criteria would receive many advantages.

He said the companies would attract more customers, especially when marketing their products to industrialized countries where customers usually preferred to purchase products processed under ISO standards.

ISO certification has become a precondition for companies wanting to export their products to the U.S., Japan, Singapore and European countries.

"Not applying ISO 14000 ... will decrease exports sooner or later," he told The Jakarta Post.

Adopting ISO 14000 enables companies to reduce their operating costs, usually achieved through energy savings or a reduction in unused raw materials, Anwar said.

By implementing ISO 14000, a company would also maintain the ecosystem in the surrounding area, which not only sustains the company's existence but also that of the local residents, he said.

"In total, costs within and outside a company will be lower if it implements ISO 14000," he added.

Bambang Supriyo Utomo, BSN's director for documentation and information, said that as part of promoting ISO 14000, the agency will hold more training programs and seminars throughout the country this year in cooperation with the private sector.

"We hope the training will boost the number of Indonesian companies who receive the ISO 14000 certification," he said.

An ISO 14000 implementation training program, being conducted in cooperation with PT Surveyor Indonesia from April 30 until May 4, is part of the overall program promoting ISO 14000 being conducted this year, he said.

The training will provide participants with ISO 14000 guidelines along with case studies from other countries, Bambang said, adding that the trainers were ISO officials. (05)