Top firms get poor marks on environment
Top firms get poor marks on environment
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A number of multinational firms including the domestic
subsidiaries of oil and gas firms Conocophillips, Caltex, Unocal,
Total E&P and pharmaceutical firms Bayer and Pfizer got red
labels for poor performance in environmental management, the
government announced on Monday.
A 2004-2005 environmental audit conducted on 466 selected
firms showed that 150 of them were given the red mark and 72 got
black for not doing enough in terms of environmental management.
State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said there
were 14 firms that got black twice and the government would give
them one month to improve.
"If they failed to improve or show goodwill to, my office will
take them to court in civil or criminal suits based on damages
they have inflicted on the environment," he told The Jakarta
Post.
The Company Environmental Management Assessment Program
(PROPER) was first started in 1995 before the government
suspended it in 1997, citing economic and political constraints.
The program was resumed in 2002.
PROPER has a color-coded system in declining order for
companies -- gold, green, blue, red and black -- with gold
indicating exemplary environmental performance and black
substandard performance.
However, none of the companies audited this year received a
gold mark for satisfactory performance.
The assessment is based on at least 50 criteria, including
control of liquid waste, air pollution and hazardous waste,
implementation of environmental impact analysis, management of
resources and environment and public involvement.
The more criteria a company fulfills, the higher its rating.
The audit, conducted between January 2004 and May 2005,
revealed that 23 firms were given the green label and 221 the
blue label.
Rachmat said the "red firms" were deemed not to have brought
harm to the environment yet, but were poor in environmental
management.
"There are no sanctions against firms. But if any investors or
potential shareholders asked, I will have to mention that," he
said, adding that announcing the names of the firms should
encourage them to work harder on promoting good environmental
management policies.
According to the minister, his office had maintained close
contact with the companies and therefore, most of them would not
be surprised by these latest results.