Pertamina's ESG implementation, which is getting stronger, has attracted international interest, as seen from the acknowledgment from a number of institutions and international awards, the company stated in a release received here on Tuesday.
The latest acknowledgment has come from JP Morgan, which included Pertamina in its ESG Emerging Market Bond Instrument (JESG EMBI) Index and assigned it a score of 44.2 in June 2022. The score is higher than the threshold of 20 set by JESG EMBI.
It shows that Pertamina has succeeded in improving its business, especially in terms of environmental insight, sustainability, and aspects of good governance, the company said.
"With this recognition, Pertamina has the opportunity to access wider funding in the market, including more competitive interest rates," it added.
Pertamina's position has also become more recognized globally as a motor that drives sustainability in Indonesia, especially since the country has also committed to implementing the Paris Agreement on reducing carbon emissions.
"In line with Pertamina's vision to become a sustainable global energy company, we continue to improve the company's ESG aspects in accordance with international sustainability practices so that our initiatives are in accordance with ESG standards," said Emma Sri Martini, Pertamina's finance director who is also a committee member of Pertamina Sustainability.
Pertamina has undertaken several measures in its sustainability efforts, including contributing to reducing carbon emissions, maintaining biodiversity, and implementing good corporate governance (GCG).
Further, Pertamina succeeded in reducing 7.4 million tons of carbon equivalent, or around 29 percent, by 2021 from the 2010 baseline.
Meanwhile, to maintain biodiversity, the company, in the past five years, has carried out conservation efforts for around 30 endemic animal species and around 24 plant species, most of which have become nearly extinct.
Regarding the implementation of GCG, Pertamina earlier this year won the Anti-Bribery Management System certification, which signifies the company's commitment to implementing accountable work practices.
Apart from its inclusion on the JP Morgan Index, Pertamina also received a number of awards for sustainability efforts.
In June 2022, Pertamina and its affiliate, Pertamina Hulu Rokan, won the Indonesian Sustainability Business Award (SBA) in the "Highly Recommended" category.
The SBA is given to companies that are considered to have a very strong sustainability commitment and demonstrate consistent efforts in various sustainability areas as well as have a good road map for sustainability implementation.
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SBA Indonesia has been instituted by Global Initiatives, an international company based in Singapore that is concerned with sustainability issues. Global Initiatives organizes the award program with some local partners, namely PwC Indonesia, the Indonesian Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD), Control Union, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
The award is also held in several other countries besides Indonesia, namely Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Earlier, Pertamina had also received an ESG score of 28.1 from Sustainalytics in 2021, which reflected a moderate level of risk, on par with other companies such as Spanish energy company Repsol and Italian oil industry company ENI.
In addition, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) also placed Pertamina 49th out of 100 oil and gas companies in the WBA Climate & Energy topic.
"We also encourage all Pertamina sub-holdings and affiliates to improve the implementation of ESG aspects, so that the company's operational and business programs can further implement some applicable rules according to ESG best practices," Martini said.
Launched in 2018, the WBA seeks to generate a movement around increasing the private sector's impact on efforts to build a sustainable future for all.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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