Ten points on the environment for Indonesian business executives
Ten points on the environment for Indonesian business executives
By Bruce E. Marsh
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian businesses and industries are being
bombarded with environmental jargons such as the Bapedal Business
Performance Rating, WALHI, HIDUP, eco-labeling, clean production,
green products, ISO standards, regulation PP-51, sustainable
development, ANDAL, AMDAL, RKL, and RPL, not to mention all the
growing public relations pressure.
Rather than run for cover, now is the time for business and
industry to become proactive environmental leaders. Here's a
quick checklist of ten Environmental Business Practices (EBP):
1. Get top management involved. If you are serious about the
environment then quickly they will be too and that attitude will
roll on down through the organization.
2. Do an "internal" or "external" environmental audit before
BAPEDAL comes knocking at your door.
3. Review environmental policies. There are plenty of examples of
policies which help to frame a company's approach to
environmental management. You don't have to reinvent the wheel,
but you should try to support "green" products, recycling, and
environmental education.
4. Review the environmental organization and provide sufficient
resources to support the environmental effort. Get some good
consultants and university experts on your team as well.
5. Know what your competition is doing, talk to them about their
problems and concerns (especially through trade associations) and
then keep ahead of them!
6. Hold employees responsible for their treatment of the
environment - make people understand the company is serious.
7. Take an environmentalist to lunch, listen to him/her, fund a
project and ask for help.
8. Involve the local community by providing them with information
about your operation. List the benefits your company brings to
Indonesia and figure out how to maximize these while minimizing
the negative impacts.
9. Key government leaders need to understand your problems and
accomplishments. Communicate with these key leaders so they can
help you.
10. Look at your lifestyle -- are you recycling, saving energy
and conserving water? If not, why not? If you are having trouble
living right, then others are, too. Maybe this is a business
opportunity for you. Finally, people need to enjoy nature and get
away from the city bustle on a regular basis.
The environmental wave is hitting Indonesia. The danger is
that people are focusing on the negative environmental impacts
and almost ignoring the very real positive impact businesses
bring in the way of jobs, taxes, foreign exchange, technology
transfer, education and economic support. If you follow the 10
EBPs listed above then people both inside and outside your
company will listen to you when you discuss these positive
business practices. When you tell them a proposed regulation is
too expensive or not appropriate, they will believe you and work
with you.
Lots of businesses are making fantastic progress in Indonesia
because good environmental management saves dollars and is the
right thing to do. Many projects save dollars immediately and the
rest will over the life of an operation. Good environmental
management will prevent Indonesia from going the way of many
western countries which require strict, tedious environmental
laws and legalized bureaucracies. Business people need to get
involved in the environmental discussions. Business people have
resources, knowledge and can-do expertise that is badly needed in
the environmental arena. Good business is good for the
environment. Without a healthy economy, the environment and
people will suffer. You can be an environmental business leader
and do the 10 EBPs now or pay dearly for help later!
Bruce Marsh is an environmental manager at PT Freeport Indonesia.