Broadening Indonesian Market Access for Environmentally Friendly Products Through Ecolabeling Certification

The Indonesian people’s awareness of environmentally friendly products is steadily increasing thanks to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s adoption of the Green Public Procurement. This ministry launched the ecolabeling program- based SNI, a standard for environmentally friendly products, on June 5, 2004, to coincide with World Environment Day. A relatively small number of businesses employed the voluntary certification at that time. However, the program has continued to evolve since then, and the Ministry of Environment now has three types of environmental labels: Type 1, based on SNI (full ecolabeling criteria of products); Type 2, based on self-declaration (environmental claims); and Type 3, an environmental declaration with environmental data qualification using ISO 14040 and 14044.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global action plan agreed upon by world leaders, including Indonesia, to end poverty, reduce inequality and protect the environment. The SDGs contain 17 objectives and 169 targets, which are expected to be achieved by 2030. The ecolabeling program is intended to bolster the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially No. 12: responsible consumption and production. This point is encouraging many companies, especially large-scale and multinational companies, to adopt and spread sustainable practices that are going to reduce their environmental impact and to assess the life cycles of their products.

Ecolabeling is a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labeling that is practiced around the world; an ecolabel is a mark or label that provides information and preference about the environmental friendliness of a product, based on consideration of its life cycle [1]. Ecolabeling’s popularity is increasing as a tool for a company to convey its environmentally friendly side to consumers, but requiring a company to join the employ the program can negatively affect consumers, as product prices will most likely increase.[2]. Ecolabeling is a good way to inform consumers that the product being sold is environmentally friendly, and is a cheaper method than government regulation, which benefits both companies and the government. Finally, ecolabeling provides stimulants for the development of the new targeted markets and sustainable development of products and services.[3]. Ecolabeling is also useful for measuring and ensuring a product’s environmental and social impacts. There are many types of ecolabels with their respective focus, so different ecolabels will have different effects both to the environment and to the ecolabel registering company. Because of these differences there are also differences in price, credibility, and benefits that will be obtained by the company.

In 2019 the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, launched two national scale programs. The first program was the relocation of the capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan. The second was one that called for 3.9 million houses to be built by the end of 2024. So logically, both programs will require a lot of materials and building products. As the industry is classified as one that consumes a great deal of energy and uses many natural resources, it can be interpreted that this industry will also have a large impact on the surrounding environment. This phenomenon goes against the SDGs, especially No. 12. That is why it is important that all building product and material companies implement an eco- labeling program that considers the life-cycle assessment (LCA) based on the condition of Indonesia’s environment.

The term ecolabel first became known in Indonesia when the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia launched SNI Ekolabel in 2006. Paper and textile products were the first product standards they launched. There are 15 product standards and 16 companies that already certify their products with SNI Ekolabel. But among those standards, there are only four product standards related to building materials and only one company for building products and materials that has already certify its products to the SNI Ekolabel for glass sheet (SNI 7188-10-2017).

In order to increase number of businesses that are implementing ecolabeling certification, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has a synergy program with many stakeholders such as with LKPP for Green Public Procurement, with BPOM for registering of environmentally friendly food products and its packaging, and with the Ministry of Health for registering environmentally friendly household health product and its packaging. The synergy program also included encouraging the growth of Ecolabelling Verification Body (LVE) to register certain products’ environmental claims that enable businesses to have eco- labeling certification. This program is based on SNI ISO 14021, which is ecolabeling-based self- declaration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has a website to publish Indonesian products that has ecolabelling certificate to the USA and European markets.

Now, IAPMO Group Indonesia has been accredited as ecolabeling certification body Type 1 (LSE) for the scopes of ceramic tiles (SNI 7188.8), wall emulsion paints (SNI 7188.6), glass sheet (SNI 7188.10) and powder detergent (SNI 7188.2.1). As ecolabeling certification body Type 2 (LVE), IAPMO Group Indonesia has been registered for the following scopes: (i) environmentally friendly laundry service, (ii) concrete for the environmental claim of reduction of resource use, (iii) food packaging for the environmental claims of recyclable, recycled content, compostable, refillable/reusable, reduction of resource use and waste reduction, (iv) packaging of house- hold health products for the environmental claims of recyclable, recycled content, compostable, refillable/reusable, reduction of resource use and waste reduction, (v) cleaning and washing products with active agent for the environmental claim of biodegradable, (vi) wet tissue for the environmental claim of degradable spun lace woven, (vii) sanitary ware for the environmental claim of water efficiency, and (viii) fitting supplies for the environmental claim of water efficiency.

Hopefully this synergy program will increase the number of certified companies for environmentally friendly products. IAPMO Group Indonesia’s growing list of certified clients for these ecolabeling programs includes: PT Muliaglass (glass sheet); Apique Laundry (environmentally friendly laundry service); Cirebon Laundry (environmentally friendly laundry service); Mozdeo Laundry (environmentally friendly laundry service); PT Solusi Indonesia Beton, Serpong batching plant (concrete – reduction of resource use); PT Solusi Bangun Beton , Pulogadung batching plant (concrete – reduction of resource use); PT Varia Usaha Beton, Tuban batching plant (concrete – reduction of resource use); Nespresso coffee capsule (aluminium food packaging – recyclable and recycled content); PT PZ Cusson Indonesia (wet tissue – biodegradable spun lace woven) and PT Multi Bintang Indonesia (plastic, glass and barrel beer packaging – recyclable and refillable).

To learn more about our wide variety of services available for the Indonesian market — including ecolabeling — please visit our website at www.iapmoindonesia.org.