ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND BUSINESS

Case Study: PT. Syngenta Indonesia
I. INTRODUCTION
The natural environment is the set of living and non-living things on Earth which
occur in a state substantially not influenced by humans. The term is most often applied to
an ecological complex, which includes all of the plants; animals; microorganisms; abiotic
factors such as minerals; rocks and magma; water bodies; and atmosphere layers. There
are extremely complex interactions between the living organisms and abiotic elements as
well as meteorological influences, all of which combine to form rich speciation and
biodiversity in most natural systems. Exceptions to this species richness are in extreme
conditions of pH, temperature and deep ocean conditions, where only a limited number of
biological species are able to survive as a result of specialized adaptations to these
difficult environments (Hogan, 2013).
Based on business dictionary, natural environment is simply climate, weather, and
natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. Every human activity
depends on natural environment, including business activity. Business needs natural
environment as main resources and huge factors influencing how business is done. But in
the other hand, businesses activities can also make impact to environment.
There is no kind of business which is not affected by nature of affecting nature,
direct or indirectly. Same thing also happen to PT. Syngenta Indonesia. This company is a
multinational company, Syngenta AG, which the headquarter is located in Switzerland. PT.
Syngenta Indonesia is under the organization of Syngenta Asia Pacific, which the office is
located in Singapore. Syngenta is a leading company in crop protection and seedling. PT
Syngenta Indonesia also has facilities to produce crop protection products (pesticides) and
seeds, especially hybrid corn seeds. Like any other business practice, Syngenta
production system also needs natural environment as well as make the impact to natural
environment. This relationship occurs in many ways, it could be by the product, the
production activity, distribution activity, to air, land, water, plants, animals, climate, and vice
versa.
II. THE IMPACT OF BUSINESSES ACTIVITIES TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
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Waste of a manufacture or factory recently being an important topic of business.

Manufacturing or production processes will also producing secondary product, which is the
waste. The waste of a plant or factory might also harm the natural environment. For
example, the hazardous chemical which is the leftover of a production process, or the
residue, will create bad and serious impact to the natural environment.
Environmental issues associated with pesticides manufacturing, formulation and
packaging include air emissions, wastewater, hazardous Materials, and wastes. Emissions
to air generated during pesticide manufacturing, formulating and packaging processes
include volatile organic compounds (VOC), fine particulates, exhaust gases, and
greenhouse gases. Wastewater streams requiring treatment include process wastewater,
pesticide manufacturing wastewater, pesticide formulation wastewater, and stormwater.
Pesticide manufacturing, formulation, and packaging facilities use and manufacture
significant amounts of hazardous materials, including raw materials and intermediate/final
products. Pesticides manufacturing, formulation and packaging processes also generate
both hazardous and non-hazardous solid and liquid wastes. Solid or semisolid wastes
include residues and filtrates from chemical synthesis processes, contaminated with spent
acids, bases, solvent, active pesticide ingredients, cyanides and metals; off-specification
products not accepted for packaging; used air filter media (e.g. fabric filters, spent
activated carbons); packaging waste; dry sludge from wastewater treatment processes;
wastes

from

manufacturing)

laboratory
and

activities;

chemical

filter

processes,

cakes

from

and

spent

fermentation
process

(biopesticides

solids

containing

intermediates, inorganic salts, organic by-products, metal complexes by-products, residual

products, and nutrients (the latter in the case of fermentation processes). Decontamination
of the solid-based pesticide blending mills may generate a solid dilutant, consisting of clay
or sand, contaminated with pesticides. Liquid wastes include spent solvents; spent acid
and caustic solutions; and residues from distillation (still bottoms) in chemical synthesis
(Anonim, n.d.).
One of Syngentas major impacts is hazardous waste, generated mostly by
manufacturing sites. Syngenta aims to reduce the waste generated during product
manufacturing, or enable it to be converted or reused. This requires constant attention to
process optimization for both new and existing products. This company is working to
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develop regeneration, recycling and waste minimization options (Syngenta AG, 2014). To
avoid this serious problem, PT. Syngenta Indonesia work together with Geocycle
Indonesia in managing their waste. Geocycle provide the service in hazardous waste
management, secured destruction, field service, consulting service, also transportation
service. Working together with a specific company which is an expert in waste
management benefited PT. Syngenta in two ways, first the company has the waste
problem solved, and second the company will be more focus in the production system. But
Syngenta still have the supervisors for the waste management system, to make sure that
this company able to eliminate the harmful impact of its manufacturing process to the
environment.
For further improvement, PT. Syngenta must be able to deal with waste
management by the company itself, instead of working with other company to deal with
this problem. By doing the waste management inside the company, then the company will
be able to also reuse and reduce some waste and make the production process more
efficient. Syngenta in other countries already did it inside the company. With research and
development, this company in Indonesia might be able to also reduce the waste and
converted or reuse it.
III. THE IMPACT OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES TO BUSINESS
Besides producing pesticides, PT. Syngenta Indonesia also has another factory
which is producing seeds, especially hybrid corn seeds. The facility located in Pasuruan,
East Java. The seeds production is involving farmers in nearby area to plant certain
generation of seeds to create mass production of the seeds, and then it will be processed
in more advance treatment inside the factory.
Mass producing corn seed in controlled environment is one big part of seeds
production. Without the farmer partners, PT. Syngenta would not be able to produce seeds
in a big scale, because the company will need its own land to produce hybrid corn seeds
by itself. According to Copeland & McDonald (1999) hybrid corn seed is produced under
tight control. Its production techniques are quite standardized. Double-cross seed
production fields are usually planted in a pattern of six seed (female) parent rows and two
pollen (male) parent rows. Single-cross production is usually a pattern of two seed parent
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and one pollen parent, or four seed parent and two pollen parent rows. Seed fields must
be well isolated from other corn fields that represent potential contamination from outcrossing. And the environmental factors that modify seed chemistry are water availability,
temperature, soil fertility, and cultural practices.
But the seed production process in open land right now is facing a major problem
related to climate change. Temperature, carbon dioxide, soil fertility, water availability are
the important factors changing due to climate change. Based on United States
Environmental Protection Agency (2013), warmer temperatures may make many crops
grow more quickly, but warmer temperatures could also reduce yields. Crops tend to grow
faster in warmer conditions. However, for some crops, faster growth reduces the amount
of time that seeds have to grow and mature. This can reduce yields (i.e., the amount of
crop produced from a given amount of land).
For the increase of 3 C, the decreasing of agriculture yield is expected to be
happened in all places, and the most severe will happen in tropical area. In some part of
Asia, Africa, and America, the production of wheat and corn will decrease at 20 to 40%
when the temperature increases 3 to 4 C (The World Bank, 2008). This means that with
the climate change, the productivity of corn seeds produced by PT. Syngentas farmer
partners will also decreasing.
This climate change creates big threat to this company as well as a little
opportunity. The direct threat would be on the production process, which is lowering the
seeds productivity. Another threat would be on the sales side, because to deal with climate
change, the farmers (as the consumers of the hybrid corn seeds) would likely to purchase
seeds of another kind of plant which might be more adaptable to climate change, instead
of purchasing corn seeds and try to cultivate them even though the productivity is
decreasing. But this situation will also create an opportunity for seedling industry, because
the demand for seeds which will still be able to have high productivity in increasing air
temperature, will increase.
PT. Syngenta has it owns international standard research and development center,
which will be the competitive advantage of this company in seedling industry. With this
R&D facility, it would be easier for PT. Syngenta to produce new kind of seeds which will
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be able to adapt to climate or environmental changes. But to increase the productivity of

current corn seeds production process, PT. Syngenta needs to make adjustment in other
factors such as soil fertility, water availability, and pest control, to help lowering the impact
of the increasing temperature. While in a long term, the company might be able to produce
seeds which can be survive in a critical area.
IV. CONCLUSION
Natural environment is climate, weather, and natural resources that affect human
survival and economic activity. There is no kind of business which is not affected by nature
of affecting nature, direct or indirectly. Same thing also happen to PT. Syngenta Indonesia.
Syngenta production system also needs natural environment as well as make the impact
to it.
One of Syngentas major impacts is hazardous waste, generated mostly by
manufacturing sites. Environmental issues associated with pesticides manufacturing,
formulation and packaging include air emissions, wastewater, hazardous Materials, and
wastes. Syngenta aims to reduce the waste generated during product manufacturing, or
enable it to be converted or reused. PT. Syngenta Indonesia work together with Geocycle
Indonesia in managing their waste. But for further improvement, PT. Syngenta must be
able to deal with waste management by the company itself, so it will be able to also reuse
and reduce some waste and make the production process more efficient.
PT. Syngenta is depending on farmer partners land in producing corn seeds in a
big scale. The climate or environmental change has huge impact in lowering the
productivity of planted crops, including corn. This situation will be the threat to seedling
business, because the low productivity of corn produced in open land means low overall
seeds production. But this will create an opportunity too, for example the increasing
demand of seeds with high adaptability to climate change. Owning its on R&D facility, PT.
Syngenta Indonesia is expected to be able to create new variety of crops which is tolerant
to climate change.

REFERENCES
Anonim. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from Pesticide Formulation, Manufacturing, and
Packaging: https://www.estoolkit.com/DisplayFile.aspx?fileGuid=c6b6bae6-dc86-4b28bed7-e0305ae31f25
Copeland, L. O., & McDonald, M. B. (1999). Principles of Seed Science and Technology
(Third Edition). Massachusetts: Kluwer Academic Publisher.
Hogan, C. M. (2013, September 3). Natural Environment. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from
The Encyclopedia of Earth: http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154794/
Syngenta AG. (2014). Syngenta Annual View 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from
Syngenta: http://www.annualreport.syngenta.com/assets/pdf/Syngenta-annual-review2014.pdf
The World Bank. (2008). World Development Report 2008: Pertanian untuk Pembangunan.
Jakarta: Salemba Empat.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Agriculture and Food Supply.
Retrieved March 21, 2015, from United Stes Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/agriculture.html