Jakarta. Chandra Asri Group recently won a Satu Inspirasi award for improving social welfare.

The company’s circular economy and partnership manager Nicko Setyabudi said that the award recognized Chandra Asri Group’s commitment to empowering communities through the concept of a circular economy. In other words, it emphasized waste reduction and maximum use of existing resources.

One of Chandra Asri Group’s initiatives is to improve waste management in Cilegon and Serang. The company teams up with local communities to run the integrated waste facility IPST Asari. This initiative also aims to help the government reduce waste accumulation in landfills and slash marine waste by 70 percent by 2025.

"One of the models we are trying to do is to create a pilot project, end-to-end plastic waste management, which is centered in Cilegon and Serang," said Nicko.

IPST Asari goes through several stages. 

First, waste is collected and then taken to IPST Asari for further sorting. Second, waste that has a selling value will be processed for recycling. Then low-value waste is processed directly through the pyrolysis process. In this stage, waste will be processed into pyrolysis oil that both the local communities and Chandra Asri Group’s operations can use.

Chandra Asri Group's end-to-end plastic waste management initiative is also demonstrated through the SAGARA Program which is integrated with IPST Asari. In Sagara, Chandra Asri Group joins forces with coastal communities to collect plastic waste from the ocean to be processed.

These programs have a broad impact on the local communities, with over 10,000 people around Cilegon and Serang benefiting from these initiatives. They are also beneficial for local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

According to Nicko, Chandra Asri Group vows to balance economic, environmental, and social interests, among others, by helping address the plastic waste issue. Nicko hopes the company can motivate other stakeholders to carry out similar programs to help the community and environmental sustainability advancement.

"Of course, we need to collaborate with more stakeholders. Hopefully, this program can be duplicated in other places and eventually, we will have a model that we can run together," Nicko said.

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