Providing integrated pollution control

The ultimate level of integrated pollution control is where those affected by pollution are able to effectively change the situation. A community should be able to challenge polluters affecting the health and wellbeing of the community.

Industrial pollution has become a serious problem in many countries during the past two decades. Policy instruments used for pollution control are limited and a combination of national, state/regional and local environmental regulations have created a highly complex system of requirements that are not systematically implemented and enforced. There is an urgent need to develop new ways of thinking and new approaches to governance locally, nationally, and internationally. This calls for a more open and market-oriented approach including budgetary discipline and more private sector participation.

In June 1995 the Indonesian government publicly launched the Program for Pollution Control, Evaluation and Rating, also known as PROPER, by awarding green status to five companies (no company received a gold rating). The names of the other companies were not released. Instead the government announced that 115 of them were ranked as red, and six were ranked as black. Polluting firms were warned that their names would be made public in six months if they were still in violation. Using a sophisticated computerized model that takes into account dangers posed by each pollutant, the information on each factory was compiled into a single number. They then ranked the companies into five possible categories: gold for excellent, green for very good, blue for adequate, red for violators of environmental standards, and black for the worst polluters.