Tag: penghargaan lingkungan

  • Nilai Aneh untuk Lapindo

    Keputusan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup menempatkan PT Lapindo Brantas sebagai perusahaan yang memperoleh nilai cukup bagus dalam soal lingkungan hidup sungguh membingungkan. Publik tahu apa yang terjadi di Sidoarjo, Jawa Timur. Sudah lebih dari dua tahun lumpur menyembur dari ladang pengeboran yang dikelola PT Lapindo Brantas, dan membuat sengsara warga sekitarnya.

    Akibat semburan yang bahkan masih berlangsung hingga sekarang, lebih dari 10 ribu rumah tenggelam. Enam desa harus dihapus dari peta, ribuan orang kehilangan tempat bernaung dan harapan. Belum lagi kerugian ekonomi bernilai puluhan triliun rupiah akibat lumpuhnya industri dan infrastruktur. Bagaimana mungkin kemudian Lapindo justru mendapat nilai baik dalam hal pengelolaan lingkungan.

    Memang, yang mendapat label biru (artinya bagus) dari Program Penilaian Peringkat Kinerja Perusahaan dalam Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup (Proper) bukanlah unit perusahaan Lapindo yang melakukan pengeboran sehingga kemudian terjadi semburan lumpur. Penerima label ini adalah anak perusahaan Lapindo Brantas yang memproduksi gas. Tapi, apa bedanya bila pemilik perusahaan itu sama?

    Penghargaan lingkungan seharusnya diberikan kepada perusahaan yang benar-benar bersih dari unsur perusakan dan pencemaran lingkungan. Bukan hanya pencemaran lingkungan, mereka juga harus memenuhi tanggung jawab sosial kepada masyarakat sekitar. Apakah kedua faktor itu sudah dipenuhi oleh PT Lapindo Brantas?

    Yang kita tahu, penyelesaian bencana lumpur Lapindo belum tuntas. Sampai sekarang, lumpur masih menyembur. Kerusakan lingkungan sudah pasti akan bertambah luas dan parah dari hari ke hari. Upaya ganti rugi kepada korban yang diberikan oleh pemerintah dan Lapindo, jelas, tak menghapus dampak kerusakan itu. Apalagi tidak semua korban lumpur mendapat ganti rugi sebagaimana yang seharusnya.

    Bahkan siapa yang harus bertanggung jawab atas kehancuran lingkungan itu pun sampai sekarang belum jelas. Belum ada kepastian hukum, apakah semburan lumpur Lapindo akibat kelalaian dalam proses pengeboran, atau memang bencana alam. Semua masih merupakan kontroversi. Maka, di tengah kontroversi seperti ini, bukanlah langkah tepat memasukkan Lapindo sebagai perusahaan yang relatif ramah lingkungan.

    Seharusnya Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup lebih berhati-hati dalam memberi peringkat pelestari lingkungan. Apalagi, dalam daftar peringkat itu, perusahaan yang masuk kategori merah dan hitam lebih banyak perusahaan kecil. Bagaimana dengan perusahaan besar yang membabat hutan habis-habisan, atau perusahaan tambang yang mencemari sungai dan laut dengan limbahnya?

    Penghargaan seperti yang diberikan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup seharusnya menjadi pendorong bagi perusahaan untuk meningkatkan komitmennya terhadap pelestarian lingkungan. Tujuan ini hanya bisa berhasil bila ada kriteria yang jelas. Tanpa kejelasan kriteria, masyarakat akan semakin skeptis terhadap keseriusan pemerintah melestarikan lingkungan.

    Koran Tempo

  • Activists criticize environmental rating

    A government environmental report praising some of the country’s biggest polluters will lead to further deterioration of the environmental situation, according to green groups.

    Furthermore, they said they suspected the Proper (environmental performance rating of companies) rating system was designed to help the polluters improve their image and silence critics.

    “Many of the companies in the report are not eligible for green credits,” Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) executive director Berry Furqan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

    “The assessment shows the government lacks the will to take serious action to improve the environment and force companies to uphold better management of the environment.”

    The Proper system gives companies a rating of gold (the highest), green, blue, minus blue, red, minus red and black (the lowest), depending on their performance against government environmental management standards. The assessment is not mandatory.

    Walhi particularly questioned the minus ratings, which it claimed were created so polluters could avoid receiving the worst rating.

    “If the government wants to enforce the law, there is no need to use minus blue or minus red. It is not fair,” Berry said.

    Walhi plans to file an official protest with the environment ministry over the report. The ministry announced the Proper rating of 516 companies last week based on the companies’ air and water pollution control, environmental impact analysis (Amdal) and implementation of corporate social responsibility.

    Green ratings were awarded to 46 companies that surpassed the environmental standards set by the government. They included PT Holcim Indonesia, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper Mill, PT Toba Pulp Lestari, Tbk, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, PT Chandra Asri, PT Unilever Indonesia, PT Semen Gresik and PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper.

    The blue rating went to 180 companies that complied with the government’s environmental standards, including PT Lapindo Brantas in Sidoarjo, ConocoPhillips Indonesia Ltd, PT Medco EP, PT Pertamina and PT Lippo Cikarang.

    The blue minus rating was given to 161 companies including PT Dow Chemical Indonesia, PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Aneka Tambang, PT International Nickel Indonesia and PT Indo Lampung Perkasa.

    Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam) coordinator Siti Maimunah said the Proper rating was of greater benefit to companies than to the environment or to communities living near the companies’ operational areas.

    “The Proper program has prompted the companies to manipulate data,” she said.

    The government assessed companies only by their managerial performance and the documents they submitted, she added.

    A member of the Proper team, Gempur Adnan, denied allegations the minus ratings were made to accommodate the interests of big companies. “To meet the minus blue rating is not that easy for companies. They must work hard to improve their environmental management,” he said.

    He also denied there were any backroom deals with companies, saying the process was completely transparent and came under the review of an independent team consisting of activists and media.

    Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post

  • A disastrous award?

    Environmental NGOs, including the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), strongly protested last week the results of a Ministry of Environment audit on 516 companies, since this included an environmental award for PT Lapindo Brantas, allegedly responsible for an environmental disaster.

    Activists doubted the audit’s transparency and objectiveness. NGOs protested some audit results and awards, especially those involving companies thought to have a poor record on environmental damage, local community relations and human rights.

    State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar openly questioned the auditing team — which he himself selected — about the validity of published rankings, “as some big companies which have come under public scrutiny were awarded high marks.”

    The ministry also has a program to present environmental awards for individuals (Kalpataru) and for cities (Adipura). The awards for cities have also often been controversial.

    The NGOs have reason to protest. The inclusion in the award list of gas exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas, which allegedly caused the mud disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, is very questionable. It is hard for the general public, especially the mudflow victims, to accept that the government gives an environmental award to this company.

    The check and balance role of environmental NGOs deserves praise, since the environment is one of our critical problems, but one which receives relatively little attention from government. No matter the shortcomings of the ministry in auditing these companies, the audit is important as a means to encourage state-owned and private companies to improve environmental performance.

    Companies are facing more pressure to contain pollution and environmental damage, to adopt environmental targets and go green. Local communities are becoming more courageous and knowledgeable on the environment. Investors and trading partners from advanced countries are more demanding on environmental requirements. Overseas companies are under pressure to be environmentally friendly to follow legislation, maintain their markets, keep good community relations and access bank credits.

    On Wednesday, the ministry announced the results of its audit on 516 companies for the 2006-2007 period. These companies voluntarily took part in an environmental rating program, popularly known as Proper. The program classified companies into gold, green, blue, blue minus, red, red minus and black categories. They were judged according to achievements in controlling air and water pollution and in fulfilling environmental impact analyses (Amdal). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) program performance was also included.

    There was only one winner in the red category, which went to Bandung-based geothermal firm Magna Nusantara Ltd. The company is praised for its energy-saving efforts. The green category was won by 46 companies, including PT Unilever Indonesia, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper Mill, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper and PT Astra Daihatsu Motor.

    The blue category was won by 180 companies. There are big names in the list, including PT LG Electronics Indonesia, PT Indorama Synthetics, Bandung and Purwakarta and pharmaceutical company PT Otsuka Indonesia. Meanwhile 43 companies were categorized as being in the worst polluter group.

    Indonesia has one of the worst environmental records in the world, especially given its poor forestry management. Amid worsening global warming indicators companies are eager to go green either to boost earnings or to win prestige. Many companies have no choice but to produce environmentally friendly products, to meet the demands of increasingly aware buyers.

    The ‘Proper’ audit program deserves our support, although since it started in 2003 it remains a voluntary scheme. The government needs to provide incentives, including fiscal rewards to encourage more companies to go green. There should also be sanctions against companies which damage our environment.

    The award to PT Lapindo Brantas is a disastrous decision. Perhaps only a few people, including the auditing team members and the company, believe this award is deserved.

    The Jakarta Post