Toba Pulp receives ISO 14001 award

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Pulp and paper company PT Toba Pulp Lestari, which has long been accused by local people of polluting the area, was awarded the ISO 14001 certificate on Tuesday for environmental management in its factories.

The certificate was awarded by UK-based PT Societe de Surveillance (SGS) Indonesia, which is one of the world's top institutions in inspection, assessment, verification and certification of companies.

Toba's general manager Owen R. Downie said that the company was pleased to receive the acknowledgement despite the fact that its operation in the Porsea area of Toba Samosir regency, North Sumatra, was still hotly debated among the local people.

"We've taken several measures, such as by complying with regulations, minimizing pollution and continual improvement. Besides that, we've done other important things, such as system development, internal audit training, management review and certification audit," Owen said.

He added that the company would also seek to improve cooperation with the local community.

Owen also said that the company's exports were improving, with most of the exports going to China, Japan, Thailand, India and Australia.

"China is our biggest market, accounting for about 60 percent of our total exports, while Surabaya is currently the main focus for the domestic market. Our annual production is around 240,000 tons," said Owen.

SGS Indonesia president Erik Roger said that SGS had thoroughly assessed the environmental impact of the company's operations and had involved both environmental experts and legislators.

"However, ISO 14001 is not a permanent certificate. It can be revoked should the company cause environmental problems in the future. We'll conduct reviews every three year," said Erik.