Kuala Lumpur– PT Pertamina EP (PEP) Sangasanga Field has recently won the International Asian Impact Awards 2024, achieving the Platinum CSR Leading Impact designation in the Environmental category. This award recognizes the quality of the program "Sungai Hitam Lestari Ecotourism – Sustainable Tourism for Bekantan Conservation and Community Empowerment" implemented by PEP Sangasanga Field. The trophy was presented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 17-18, 2024.

The Asian Impact initiative was initiated by the La Tofi School of Social Responsibility in collaboration with PORTMAN College Malaysia. This initiative aims to support companies or foundations owned by companies in continuously improving the quality of business governance and social and environmental initiatives to have a broad positive impact on society. In addition to providing awards, Asian Impact is an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating agency and CSR training institution.

The Asian Impact Awards 2024 were awarded based on assessments by a panel of experts, including the Chair of the La Tofi School of Social Responsibility, Ernie Chen, the Chair of PORTMAN Education Group – Malaysia, Prof. Ibnu Hamad, a Professor of Communication Science at the University of Indonesia, Aris Darmono, Sustainability Expert from La Tofi School of Social Responsibility, Rio Zakarias Widyandaru, and the Founder and Director of social impact.id, Milly Mildawati, PhD.

The Sungai Hitam Lestari Ecotourism program addresses issues in the Sungai Hitam Watershed, which has been transformed into residential areas, fish ponds, and plantations; the reduction of bekantan habitat leading to a decline in their population; decreasing fish and shrimp catches affecting fishermen's income, and an increase in unemployment rates reaching 5.79% due to limited job opportunities.

In response to these conditions, PEP Sangasanga Field recognized the potential for development in the 67-hectare mangrove area of Sungai Hitam, which can be utilized as a habitat for bekantan. The company then initiated the Sungai Hitam Lestari Ecotourism Program by establishing a Kelompok Sadar Wisata (Pokdarwis) in Kampung Lama village, turning this area into a new tourist destination in Kalimantan near the capital of Nusantara (IKN).

Elis Fauziyah, Head of Communication Relations & CID Zona 9, explained that this program aims to combine nature recreation with river exploration, to learn about nature through wildlife education, agriculture, and the history of Sungai Hitam, and to preserve the environment through planting and river clean-up activities. "In addition to the environmental aspect, this program has empowered 37 direct beneficiaries, successfully increasing the group's skills and income to Rp70 million per year from river exploration activities," she said.

This program has also established two entities, Pokdarwis and UMKM Sungai Hitam Lestari. To date, Sungai Hitam Lestari Ecotourism has attracted 1,160 tourists, both local and international. Elis added that the program has helped conserve around 400 bekantan in the area, reduced 51.04 tons of CO2 EQ per year through solar panel use, and absorbed 175.34 tons of CO2 EQ annually through mangrove planting.

Dony Indrawan, Manager of Communication Relations & CID at PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia (PHI), stated that the success of this CSR program is the result of collaboration between the company and various stakeholders. "We believe that the success of the Sungai Hitam Lestari Ecotourism Program is due to the cooperation between the company, the community, and the government," Dony explained.

Dony also added that CSR program development is carried out across various sectors, emphasizing social and environmental innovation, which is expected to impact and align with ESG principles positively. The company implements CSR programs in economy, education, health, environment, and disaster response to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "Through social and environmental innovation, we focus on creating sustainable impact. We are also committed to ESG principles and developing programs based on social mapping of villages in the operational area to ensure sustainability and positive impact," Dony added.

This program contributes to SDG Goal 1 on No Poverty, Goal 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Goal 15 on Life on Land, which aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems with a Social Return on Investment calculation of Rp 2.11.

PT Pertamina EP (PEP) Sangasanga Field, part of Subholding Upstream Regional 3, led by PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia (PHI), operates in the upstream oil and gas sector by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. In collaboration with SKK Migas, PEP Sangasanga Field, along with its subsidiaries and other PHI affiliates, implements innovative Corporate Social Responsibility programs in the fields of Economy, Education, Health, Environment, Infrastructure, and Disaster Response to support sustainable community empowerment and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PHI is headquartered in Jakarta. More information about PHI is available at https://phi.pertamina.com.