Standardization helps conserve resources: Mega

Standardization helps conserve resources: Mega

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Monday that the
standardization of products, production processes and services
was not only necessary for increasing efficiency and
compatibility, but was also vital for natural resources
conservation and sustainability.

Opening the 11th Annual Meeting of the ISO-TC (Technical
Committee) 207 and the National Workshop on the Environment
Management System ISO 14001 in Denpasar, Bali, Megawati stressed
that Indonesia, like every other nation in the world, supported
the effort to promote sustainable development and standards'
harmonization in the industrial sector.

Established in 1993, ISO-TC 207 is responsible for
coordinating efforts to formulate and develop international
standards on environmental management.

Currently, ISO-TC 207 has 88 members, comprising both
developed and developing countries as well as international
environmental organizations.

The seven-day event is being held at the Bali International
Convention Center, Nusa Dua, Bali. Some 200 people from 44
countries are attending the meeting.

The ISO-TC 207 has five sub-committees, responsible for
devising environmental management systems, environmental audits,
environmental labeling, environmental performance evaluation and
life cycle assessment respectively.

This year's meeting will, among other things, discuss the
possible utilization of ISO-19011 in verifying greenhouse gas
emissions and validating environmental reports.

Megawati stressed that the efficiency factor had become even
more essential in view of the increasing imbalances between the
availability of and accessibility to resources, particularly bio-
diversity, and continued increases in exploitation.

Without such balance, the sustainability of both consumption
and bio-diversity would be difficult to maintain, she said.

"Bio-diversity standards are expected to provide effective
limits and thereby prevent business practices from causing damage
to the environment and sustainable bio-diversity.

"Nevertheless, this should not mean the imposition of non-
tariff barriers, which at the end will only bring about
distortions and unfairness in business itself," Megawati
stressed.

According to Megawati, aside from existing gaps in knowledge
and the capacity to master and develop the necessary technology
to formulate and apply standardization, its economic and
financial implications were also burdensome on almost every
sector of the business community.

Separately, during a press briefing attended by Minister
of Research and Technology Hatta Radjasa and the head
of the National Standardization Body (BSN), Imam Sudarwo, State
Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim said that the
awareness of the country's business community on the importance
of standardized production processes and products in accordance
with international and environmentally friendly standards was
still low.

"There are only a small number of companies that have acquired
ISO 14001 certification despite the fact that certification
reflects the country's ability to cope with globalization,"
Nabiel said.

Meanwhile, Imam Sudarwo said that so far there were only 230
companies that had obtained ISO 14001 certification.

"Besides the awareness issue, the high cost of the
certification process and the lack of a number of support
facilities have contributed to the fact that only
a small number of companies have managed to get certification,"
Imam said.