JAKARTA - Mining companies are required to implement international standards that are considered to have higher criteria as an effort to prevent environmental impacts such as flooding disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra by the end of 2025.
Chairman of the Advisory Board of Social Investment Indonesia (SII) Jalal said the government had indeed implemented rules for standardization of governance in the mining sector, but international standards had higher criteria, so that they became a reference for better mine management.
According to him, the implementation of international standards can be an incentive for mining companies whose buyers set strict governance requirements, or can get funding from banks and investors with a lower cost of capital.
"That could be an enticement for companies that implement international standard governance," he said in a statement in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 19.
However, he added, not all mining companies have interests with the incentive because there are companies whose buyers or creditors do not provide strict governance requirements so that many companies take steps to not bother to follow international standards.
"This is where the government's role is to ask companies to enforce rules. For example, through the adoption of higher international standards," he said.
As is known, currently there are several standards used by the mining sector in Indonesia, including the Mining and Metallurgy Society of Indonesia (MMSGI) standard.
One of the Indonesian standards that has been widely adopted in Indonesia is ISO 14001, which is an international standard related to environmental management systems to ensure companies manage operational impacts responsibly.
TCFD & IFRS Sustainability Standards which are global frameworks related to transparency in reporting environmental impact risks and financial sustainability.
Meanwhile, one of the standards in global mining practices is The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) which is an independent audit institution with the highest standards in social and environmental mining practices.
In Indonesia, the implementation of the IRMA standard has begun to be carried out by the nickel industry. Harita Nickel became the first company in Indonesia to apply for IRMA audit. This company's move, which operates on Obi Island, was then followed by Vale Indonesia, which operates in Sorowako.
Jalal said the adoption of international standards by mining companies is indeed not a binding provision.
However, he added, learning from the disaster in Sumatra which is still in the process of being audited by the government, the implementation of international standards can be one way to ensure that mine operations are managed with attention to environmental, social, and biodiversity aspects more strictly.
"Therefore, the beginning of 2026 can be a momentum for the public to help encourage the implementation of better regulations on mining sector governance," he said.
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