Jakarta. Chemical giant Chandra Asri Petrochemical (Chandra Asri Group) recently took home the gold rating at the 2023 PROPER awards hosted by the Environment Ministry.

The PROPER Award recognizes companies for their environment management. 

The gold predicate becomes the highest accolade at the awarding ceremony. It specifically recognizes Chandra Asri’s petrochemical plant in Ciwandan, particularly for its eco-innovations in developing creative and sustainable solutions. The Ciwandan factory has also won the green predicate for three consecutive years.

Chandra Asri Group’s petrochemical plant in Pulo Ampel also won the Green PROPER award for surpassing the required regulatory standards.

“This demonstrates our strong commitment to sustainability principles as well as ESG [environment, social, and governance] values, demonstrating how our management and all of our employees have implemented the standards advocated by PROPER,” Suryandi, the director of human resources and corporate affairs at Chandra Asri Group, was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

According to the press release, the Ciwandan plant produces eco-friendly products labeled under the Swadeklarasi Eco-label for HDPE and PP. The company has implemented innovations through Component Changes, enhancing production, and supporting energy savings in the polyethylene plant reactor system. 

This has resulted in a reduction in global warming potential (GWP) by 4,855,947.073 tons of CO2eq and an energy efficiency improvement of 12,470.40 GJ. The company engaged in plastic waste recycling processes under the waste embedded scheme. In total, 8.94 tons of plastic pallet waste were utilized in the year 2022.

Chandra Asri Group has also teamed up with local fishermen, the community, and the Anyar village government in waste management initiatives. This includes engaging digital waste bank customers. Chandra Asri reported that the efforts had accumulated approximately Rp 43.57 million from the Anyar community’s savings. 

This program was integrated with waste management using a pyrolysis reactor, which was the first pyrolysis machine in Cilegon, Banten. The purpose of using this machine was to process low-value plastic waste into an alternative fuel equivalent to diesel, kerosene, and gasoline. The specifications of the pyrolysis machine include a capacity to handle 100 kg of plastic waste, producing approximately 60-80 liters of the end product.

Chandra Asri Group said that its Pulo Ampel plant had also produced eco-friendly products, specifically styrene monomers. The plant’s technology is able to reduce the waste generated in the production process. On the biodiversity front, the plant has also initiated coral reef conservation in Banten Bay. Chandra Asri also supports Adiwiyata School Coaching at MTSN 5 Serang and the Taman Toga Asri. The company’s environmental social responsibility program focuses on community empowerment, capacity building, infrastructure, and charitable activities. All these initiatives put emphasis on the following four pillars: education, health, economy, and environment.