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President Director of Pertamina Nicke Widyawati (left) during the ceremony of PROPER 2021 award witnessed by Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin, and Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar here on Tuesday (December 28, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Pertamina) - 

Pertamina received 23 gold awards in the Corporate Performance Rating Program in Environmental Management (PROPER) 2021 organized by the Environment and Forestry Ministry for successfully implementing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) for business sustainability.

The number of awards garnered had increased sharply as compared to 16 Gold PROPER in 2020.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry's website, PROPER is an environmental program to promote and enforce environmental regulation, compliance with pollution control standards, and encourage pollution reduction.

The gold award is bestowed on a company that demonstrates environmental excellence consistently in production and services, conducts business ethically, and is responsible to the community.

PROPER Gold 2021 was bagged by the Pertamina Group across business sectors starting from upstream to processing (midstream), and downstream.

The nine recipients of the 2021 Gold PROPER in the upstream sector comprised PT Pertamina EP Asset 3 Subang Field, PT Pertamina EP Asset 5 Sangasanga Field, PT Pertamina EP Asset 5 Tarakan Field, JOB Pertamina - Medco Energi Tomori Sulawesi, PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Kamojang Area, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi Jambi Merang, PT Pertamina Hulu East Kalimantan, and PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam BSP Field and South Processing Unit.

The two recipients of the 2021 Gold PROPER in the processing sector were PT Pertamina (Persero) RU II Sei Pakning Refinery and PT Pertamina (Persero) RU VII Kasim Sorong Refinery.

The 12 recipients of the 2021 Gold PROPER in the downstream sector comprised Fuel Terminal Cikampek, Fuel Terminal Bandung Group, Fuel Terminal Boyolali, Fuel Terminal Maros, Fuel Terminal Rewulu, Fuel Terminal Tuban, Integrated Terminal Semarang, Integrated Terminal Semarang Surabaya, Ngurah Rai Bali Aircraft Filling Depot (DPPU), Sepinggan Balikpapan Aircraft Filling Depot (DPPU), and Hasanuddin Makassar Aircraft Filling Depot (DPPU) and PT Badak LNG.

The award handover ceremony was attended and witnessed by Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin and Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

The award was received directly by President Director of Pertamina Nicke Widyawati at the Proper Environmental Award event that took place in Jakarta on Monday (Dec 27).

During the ceremony, Amin stated that PROPER had developed into a platform for the business world to conduct sustainable business practices by applying the principles of the green economy.

Amin also pinned high hopes on the business community playing an active role in tackling climate change and encouraging sustainable environmental management. As a result, industry players participate in handling and mitigating the impacts of disasters.

"Indonesia's 2030 target is to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change, as Indonesia is highly committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and remains committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060," he affirmed.

On the same occasion, Widyawati explained that Pertamina positively welcomed the Proper activities organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Through PROPER, assessing a company's environmental management performance become more measurable, objective, and accountable.

According to Widyawati, PROPER aligns with Pertamina's commitment to implementing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) in an integrated manner from upstream to downstream to support a sustainable business. The increase in Pertamina's Gold PROPER achievement in 2021 demonstrates its seriousness in implementing ESG across all business lines. 

Pertamina has succeeded in increasing the ESG Risk Rating by 28.1 and is considered to be at Medium risk. With this standing, Pertamina occupies the 15th position out of the 252 companies in the Oil & Gas industry and the eighth position in the integrated Oil & Gas sub-industry. Pertamina is in the same cluster (Medium Risk) as global companies comprising Repsol, ENI, PTT Thailand, and TotalEnergies. This position was recorded better than BP, Exxon, and Chevron.

"Pertamina will continue to consistently implement the ESG aspect in the company's business strategy by continuing to pay attention to PROPER's performance that is following the rules set by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry," Widyawati affirmed.

In implementing ESG, she noted that Pertamina has set 10 sustainability focuses that will guide the implementation of ESG in future and had formed a Sustainability Committee to ensure that the ESG aspects are implemented properly. Pertamina has also launched policies related to ESG, such as the Sustainability Policy, Human Rights Policy, and Respective Workplace Policy. 

Pertamina's compliance level and the operating unit on social and environmental issues were observed based on their participation during the last four years. In 2017, Pertamina won 11 out of the 19 Gold PROPER. Thereafter, in 2018, Pertamina bagged 14 out of the 20 Gold PROPER. Meanwhile, in 2019, it received 13 out of the 26 Gold PROPER. In 2020, Pertamina won 16 out of the 32 Gold PROPER.

"The increase in the number of Gold PROPER won by Pertamina shows its superior performance as a world-class energy company that always prioritizes environmentally friendly business operations. Congratulations to colleagues from the unit that received the gold PROPER award. This is a motivation for others, with a sustainable program that is much better and in line with Pertamina's commitment in Indonesia. I am very proud to be a big family of Pertamina," Widyawati affirmed//ANT

Police officers patrol a deserted Sudirman-Thamrin road on December 31, 2020, after restrictions were imposed on public movement. (ANTARA PHOTO/Galih Pradipta/pras) - 

The Traffic Directorate of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police disclosed on Wednesday that at least 1,200 traffic officers would be deployed to prevent crowds at several locations in the capital city on New Year's Eve.

"The directorate has readied around 1,200 personnel to monitor key locations in the city," the directorate's Law Enforcement Sub-directorate head, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Argo Wiyono, informed on Wednesday.

The officers will be deployed at ten locations that have the potential to attract crowds on New Year's Eve, he said.

The ten locations are the East Flood Canal in East Jakarta; Kemayoran, Sudirman-Thamrin road, Asia-Africa road, the National Monument in Central Jakarta; Kemang, Bulungan and Barito, Senopati-Gunawarman, and SCBD in South Jakarta; Jakarta Old Town in West Jakarta; and Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta, Wiyono disclosed.

A "crowd-free night" will be enforced from 10 p.m. local time (UTC +7) on December 31, 2021, until 4 a.m. on January 1, 2022, the sub-directorate head said.

All business establishments, such as cafés, restaurants, bars, malls, and department stores, within the crowd-free night locations have been instructed to close at 10 p.m., he added.

"All business establishments must close by 10 p.m., but we will provide a one-hour buffer period until 11 p.m. After 11 p.m., the officers will conduct a sweeping to examine the ten locations," Wiyono stated.

No public activities will be allowed in the ten crowd-free night zones after 11 p.m., and the police will enforce a traffic diversion to ensure the zones remain empty until the conclusion of the crowd-free night, he added.

Earlier, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, the Jakarta Regional Military Command, and the Jakarta provincial authority had deployed 8 thousand joint officers to monitor public activities and security during the Christmas and New Year period.

The decision to enforce the crowd-free night during New Year's Eve is meant to prevent public locations from turning into COVID-19 infection hotspots, particularly as the Omicron variant has been recently detected in Indonesia, Wiyono said//ANT

FILE PHOTO: China's new Central Bank Governor Yi Gang (C) leaves after a speech at the annual session of China Development Forum (CDF) 2018 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee - 

China's central bank will by the end of the month issue a first batch of low-cost loans to financial institutions to enable carbon emissions cuts, state-owned Xinhua reported on Tuesday (Dec 28), citing an interview with central bank governor Yi Gang.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) in November said it would provide 60 per cent of the loan principal taken out by financial institutions for carbon emission cuts, with a one-year lending rate at 1.75 per cent, without specifying when the lending would be issued.

The measure is in line with China's broader goal to bring emissions to a peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as to shelter the economy from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's economy, the world's biggest after the United States, faces the triple pressure of falling demand, supply problems and weakening expectations, Yi said, reiterating previous official comment.

"The macroeconomic market must be stabilised," he told Xinhua. "In addition, it's necessary to let shareholders of companies, and local authorities shoulder the responsibility of risk events occurring in the market."

Yi said the PBOC will keep its monetary policy flexible and appropriate, and liquidity ample.

To further lighten the pressure on business, which in general can obtain corporate loans with an average interest rate of 5 per cent, a record low, Yi said, the PBOC will increase the quota for refinancing to small businesses as necessary.

He also said financial risks were under control and expectations for the property market have improved.

"The structural adjustment of the property market is conducive to the formation of a new development model for country's real estate, and the healthy development of the whole industry," Yi said//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa reacts as he speaks with his family after donning space suits shortly before the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, December 8, 2021. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov - 

Japan revised the schedule of its space exploration plans on Tuesday (Dec 28), aiming to put a Japanese person on the moon by the latter half of the 2020s.

"Not only is space a frontier that gives people hopes and dreams but it also provides a crucial foundation to our economic society with respect to our economic security," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a meeting to finalise the plan.

According to the draft schedule of the plan, Japan aims to put the first non-American on the moon as part of the Artemis programme, a US-led initiative that aims to return astronauts to the moon.

The plan also spells out Japan's aspirations to launch a probe to explore Mars in 2024, as well as to find ways to generate solar electricity in space.

Neighbouring China also aims to become a major spacefaring power by 2030, and it too plans to put astronauts on the moon, raising the prospect of an Asian space race.

In May, China became the second country to put a rover on Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon.

Japan's announcement of its space exploration targets comes a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to earth after spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station, becoming the first space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade//CNA