Sarwono warns against collusion in green drive
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja senses a rat in the green campaign: Collusion between government officials and technological consultants.
The alleged collusion has caused scores of factories in Central Java and Yogyakarta to choose the wrong waste water treatment technologies, he said yesterday.
Armed with documents signed by relevant officials, consultants visit companies offering waste treatment technologies they claim are recommended by the government, he said.
Many company managers are lured not only because of the officials' recommendations but also the cheap price the consultants quote.
"That ends up in the wrong choice of technology. Now the companies are busy putting things right," he said.
Sarwono was addressing managers and reporters in a discussion on business environmental ratings related to the Clean River campaign. The discussion was held by the Indonesian Journalist Association and the Dr. Sutomo Press Institute.
He alleged that some officials who "don't know anything about technology" are actively promoting a product from a certain consulting firm.
"Company managements must learn to be responsible for their own decisions," he said. "We only provide information on environmental consultants. We let managers decide for themselves."
The Ministry's Environmental Impact Management Agency has made it clear that managers must check out the credibility of consultants before making any transaction, he added.
The experience, Sarwono said, should serve a lesson for company managers to stop waiting for "guidance and instructions" from government officials.
This habit, he said, causes them to follow the lead of any official with a high rank but no knowledge.
Sarwono said internalizing environmental factors in the production planning is the best attitude, instead of blindly following officials.
Six managers attending yesterday's discussion announced the establishment of the "Green Nusantara Industrial Club." They had all been granted the green category among 187 firms evaluated for their business performance environmental rating in June.
They said the club wants to show the public that the business performance rating can be done voluntarily by entrepreneurs who understand the importance of environmental protection.
The winning companies include the Tangerang-based PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, the Bandung-based arms manufacturer PT Pindad and Tangerang's Tifico textile company.
The others are PT Cheil Samsung Astra, which produces monosodium glutamate in East Java, and two other textile producers, PT Unitex and PT Kumafiber.
Nabiel Makarim, the deputy of the Ministry's Environmental Impact Management Agency, reminded the managers to account for the interest of local people.
"Managers should not only guard their shareholders' interests, but they should also heed the stake holders (of their production)," Nabiel said. (anr)