This commitment has led Kilang Pertamina Plaju to being honored during the World Petroleum Council (WPC) Excellence Awards 2023, or WPCEA 2023 – which were held in Calgary, Canada, on Sep. 21 – in the Social Responsibility category.

The Pertamina oil refinery subsidiary in Palembang, South Sumatra, was the only company from Indonesia or even Southeast Asia that won an award during the event, which had over 400 other nominees and finalists. Kilang Pertamina Plaju’s achievement came thanks to the company’s significant social contributions to the community through its CSR/TJSL programs, such as the Desa Energi Berdikari (Lighting More Hope, DEB) program.

The award was presented by WPC Energy president Pedro Miras to Pertamina Plaju Refinery communication, relations and CSR area manager Siti Rachmi Indahsari who was accompanied by Kilang Pertamina CSR and SMEPP Plaju officer I Ahmad Adi Suhendra and Kilang Pertamina Plaju offsite and product distribution process engineer I Daniswara Krisna Prabatha.

Miras stated he felt a positive atmosphere fostered by the productive work and dialogue of its participants during the WPCEA 2023. "Throughout this week, we have witnessed significant progress and productive dialogues," he said.

Furthermore, he presented the vision of WPC Energy as a global non-profit organization that facilitates open dialogue about the oil, gas and energy industry, its products, as well as how a company can contribute to creating better living conditions, such as through social responsibility initiatives, which is also one of the award categories at the WPCEA.

Bringing two outstanding CSR/TJSL programs

One of Kilang Pertamina Plaju’s CSR/TJSL programs that led to its victory in the WPC Excellence Awards 2023 in the Social Responsibility category is DEB.

The DEB program was presented in a paper titled "Lighting More Hope: Enhancing the Livelihood of Rural Communities through Empowerment in Sustainable and Cleaner Energy Sources". It began in several South Sumatra villages that had been without electricity for decades, but had renewable energy potential in the form of a consistent flow of water and adequate sunlight exposure.

Therefore, Kilang Pertamina Plaju developed DEB in South Sumatra and enabled its residents to receive electricity supply based on sustainable community empowerment from three micro-hydro power plants with a total capacity of 28 kWh and three solar power plants (SPP) with a total capacity of 8.2 kWp.

Previously, the DEB program in South Sumatra also received recognition at the International CSR Excellence Awards 2022 in London and was the runner-up at the WPCEA 2021 in Houston, in the United States.

In addition, the Climate Village Program (ProKlim) was also a finalist at the WPCEA 2023 in the Social Responsibility category, with an accompanying paper titled "Empowering Local Heroes Leadership: How Cultural Understanding Can Empower Local Leaders in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Efforts," addressing the challenges of climate change in urban areas.

The ProKlim program aims to reduce the impact of climate change on communities around Kilang Pertamina Plaju’s operational area through sustainable community empowerment and environmental management. The program has also successfully created more sustainable actions and made communities better prepared to face climate change.

Fostering a shared commitment

Kilang Pertamina Plaju general manager Yulianto Triwibowo revealed that Kilang Pertamina Plaju is fully committed to continue contributing toward the development and empowerment of communities and the environment through sustainable CSR/TJSL programs.

"Our commitment to continuously create benefits for society and the environment is realized through various programs that promote self-sufficiency in communities, as well as fostering collective awareness of cleaner energy and sustained climate change mitigation actions," Yulianto said.

He also said the company's achievement in attaining the international award was made possible with the support of many parties. "We express our gratitude for the support and collaboration of all stakeholders from the government, the public and academics," he added.

Yulianto also expressed profound gratitude that Kilang Pertamina Plaju has become the only company from Indonesia and even Southeast Asia to raise the reputation of the country and the Southeast Asian region on the world stage by being named as an awardee in the prestigious WPCEA 2023.

"This is an award for all those involved in the efforts and commitment alongside related Kilang Pertamina Plaju stakeholders to create a better world through the DEB and ProKlim programs. Appreciation [is expressed by Kilang Pertamina Plaju] to everyone involved in the success of these programs," he added.

Supporting the SDGs and ESG

Through those two submitted programs, Kilang Pertamina Plaju fully supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 7 which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. It also contributes to SDG 13, which focuses on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Furthermore, Kilang Pertamina Plaju also supports the implementation of ESG principles, particularly the environmental and social principles, through those programs.

About the WPC excellence awards

The WPCEA are held every three years to recognize outstanding projects and innovations in the oil and gas industry sector with three categories of awards, including:

1. Gender and Inclusion
2. Social Responsibility
3. Technological Development

About WPC Energy

WPC Energy, the organizer of those awards, is a non-governmental organization based in London that was established in 1933.

The NGO focuses on facilitating open dialogue and is dedicated to promoting sustainable management as well as providing general benefits in the fields of oil, gas and their derived products.

WPC Energy is currently expanding its focus to lead the global transition toward a low-carbon energy system, which is to be achieved through a diverse and sustainable energy source mix.

For more information about the award winners, readers can visit the website at world-petroleum.org/wpc-excellence-awards.