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Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano: A modernist in environmental activism
Courtesy of Mohamad Bijaksana JunerosanoMohamad Bijaksana Junerosano is a social entrepreneur, an engineer of urban consciousness to care for the environment
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Courtesy of Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano
Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano is a social entrepreneur, an engineer of urban consciousness to care for the environment.
With the modest appearance of an environmental activist, the 32-year-old is CEO of Greeneration Indonesia (GI), a social enterprise that focuses on promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle through products and programs.
Under PT Greeneration Indonesia, Sano, Bijaksana's nickname, and his team have produced baGoes, an eco-friendly bag brand, as well as Waste4Change, a community-generated business unit that specializes in waste management.
The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) graduate believes that getting involved in social and environmental movements should not get in the way of having a financially stable life.
'Being an activist doesn't mean you have to lead a frugal life. With entrepreneurial values within our movement, we are financially supported through our activism in social and environmental issues,' Sano told The Jakarta Post, adding that his organization is not fully dependent on donations.
The idea of empowering communities while promoting eco-friendly lifestyles was born in 2008 when Sano decided to commit to environmental causes.
He established GI with a socio-entrepreneurial concept to promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.
'GI has been around since 2005, but the platform was still too casual ' we applied 'activist-lifestyle', however, the structure became too community-based,' said participant of Bayer Young Environmental Envoy in 2006, Young Changemaker Ashoka in 2007 and Wirausaha Muda Mandiri (Mandiri's Young Enterpreneur) in 2011.
'After I got married, my two friends and I decided to raise GI to a new level in 2008. At that time, our primary target was to ensure the organization was financially independent. Therefore, we ended up with the baGoes bag,' he said.
The baGoes bag was created as part of DietKresek, a GI campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags. Sano created a prototype bag using his own funds.
However, he did not have enough capital to produce more bags. Therefore, he borrowed Rp 4 million (US$353) from a bank and ordered two local bag sewers to produce 80 pieces in 2008. Not long after, Sano sold the first batch of baGoes bags in an exhibition at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.
Sano and his friends' creative and bold approach paid off. As more and more people became familiar with the innovative bag it eventually found a strong customer base, comprising mainly of environmentally conscious companies or institutions.
Regarding revenue, baGoes bags earned Rp 250 million in 2009, Rp 550 million in 2010, Rp 1.1 billion in 2011, Rp 1.8 billion in 2012 and Rp 2.4 billion in 2013.
'Nevertheless, we are fully aware that the problem behind the creation of baGoes bags, which is excessive usage of plastic bags, will be settled. Once the problem is solved, we realize this business unit will no longer be viable. Yet, we don't mind at all because we have a list of other waste issues,' said Sano.
Thus, GI is now shifting to Waste4Change, a business unit that focuses on consultation, research and management of waste.
Through Waste4Change, GI wants to continue its role as an agent for change in waste management by facilitating environmental awareness among the general public as well as everyone directly involved in waste, such as garbage collectors and those who work at landfills.
Sano explained that his concern toward environmental issues was a result of his experiences from growing up in various villages as well as Banyuwangi in East Java.
'Between the ages of three to five, my family moved to several places in Banyuwangi following depending on where my father, who was a public servant, was stationed. I experienced rural as well as urban life, where I met people of various backgrounds.'
In terms of business instinct, Sano revealed that he had been involved in many business activities while he was pursuing an environmental engineering degree in ITB.
'I initially learned how to do business by selling customized class T-shirts at the university, and some other small service businesses.'
Sano admitted that his grandfather was a successful businessman.
'I think I got that business instinct from him.'
Living within socio-environmental issues, Sano said that his sense of idealism was formed before entered ITB.
'After some deep contemplation and prayers, I saw a news report about waste issues on TV and it was then I knew what my calling was,' he said.
Years later, Sano is proving it that by following one's heart and doing things that one is passionate about can yield positive results.
JP/ Niken Prathivi
