'Pollution caused by ignorance'
'Pollution caused by ignorance'
JAKARTA (JP): The top managers of many manufacturing companies
are either ignorant or misinformed about the pollution that their
plants are emitting, according to State Minister of Environment
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.
"Top managers are often the last to know that their company
causes excessive pollution because the only information they
receive are nice, pleasing reports from subordinates seeking to
win praise," Sarwono told reporters on Saturday.
The minister said he had reached this conclusion after
evaluating the results of the government's current Clean Rivers
program.
Such misinformation often led to political rifts between
companies and environmental law enforcers, he said.
Most managers, he said, defend the data provided by their
companies' research divisions or consultants, never suspecting
that it might be incorrect. "And if there are complaints of
pollution from people living around the plant, the managers will
think that the issue has been politicized, and they will respond
with a political attitude as well," he said.
The Clean Rivers program, launched in 1987 by then minister of
environment Emil Salim, aims to reduce the amount of pollutants
discharged by factories into 27 rivers. Further rivers are to be
added to the program in the future.
Performance
As part of the campaign, the government plans to rate
manufacturing companies according to their performance in
controlling the waste they discharge into rivers.
A total of 187 plants have so far been evaluated by the
Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal).
Sarwono, who heads the agency, said that the government would
announce the ratings today. "We will announce the name of the
plants, and not the group of companies they are affiliated with,
because it is possible that one group may have both good, law-
abiding plants and bad ones."
Nabiel Makarim, Deputy Chief for Bapedal, said the plants have
been selected from more than 1,000 which agreed to participate in
the program. "These plants have the appropriate data required for
the evaluation, meaning that the information is assessed through
reliable, consistent methods," he said.
Nabiel said that sound Clean Rivers ratings would benefit
companies by boosting their reputation.
"Some companies will use the results of the Clean Rivers
program as an aid to introspection, because they may not have
even been aware of the real condition of their plants prior to
the evaluation," he said.
Sarwono said the program also encouraged the public to monitor
the performance of industrial plants in their area.
People should feel free to complain if a company is harming
the environment, he said.
Nabiel said that industries which failed to meet Clean Rivers
standards would be given six months to comply. (pwn)