Sido Appears To Receive Green Industry Award From The Ministry Of Industry, Irwan Hidayat: Herbal Medicine Business Has More Difficult Challenges Than Pharmacy

JAKARTA - PT Sido Muncul Pharmaceuticals and Herbal Industry Tbk again received a Level 5 Green Industry award from the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin). This award was given because Sido Muncul was considered successful in implementing the principles of the Green Industry.

Sido Muncul is considered to have succeeded in implementing the principles of sustainability, including the application of environmentally friendly technology, in its business processes and supply chain. Sido Muncul Environmental General Manager Hadi Hartojo said the Green Industry award had been received four times in a row and received the highest predicate, namely Level 5.

"This award has been received since 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Last year it was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the assessment, it was based on three aspects, namely technical, production, and management aspects. above 92," said Hadi Hartojo at a press conference to receive the award at the Sido Muncul office, Jakarta, Tuesday, November 30 yesterday.

On the same occasion, Director of Sido Muncul Irwan Hidayat admitted that the Green Industry award was one of Sido Muncul's targets in the environmental sector. According to him, preserving the environment and its business are two equally important things.

He himself admits that the application of sustainability principles in the herbal medicine industry has challenges and is more difficult than managing the pharmaceutical industry. This is because the waste from the herbal medicine industry has high levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD).

"We have also developed technology to treat waste. This includes building a plant with an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) tank to process various types of waste," said Irwan.

In addition, as a herbal medicine company, Sido Muncul does not only focus on business aspects, but also pays attention to the environmental impact of using raw materials.

"The management of the competition depends on the use of raw materials. We choose quality ingredients, which have a high yield (comparison of the dry weight of the extract with the amount of raw material). This step aims to reduce the excessive use of raw materials, making it more efficient ," continued Irwan.

Then, explained Irwan, solid waste from the Sido Muncul production process is also processed into fuel. The energy efficiency obtained can also be doubled. Sido Muncul will also build and develop a spice nursery. Spice plant seeds will be distributed to the government and the community. Not only that, Sido Muncul also has community development programs, especially around the operational area of Sido Muncul.

"We are building tourist villages, such as fruit villages and spice villages. The program is also assessed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Ministry of LHK), namely how much impact the company has on the community and the surrounding environment," he said.