Manufacture industry holds a significant role in contribution to GDP Indonesia. It contributes 24.3% of GDP, superior to agriculture and mining & quarrying industry that contribute 14.7% and 11.9% of GDP, respectively (Ministry of Industry, 2012). Food and beverage industry is one of the manufacture industries prioritized for development in 2015-2035 (Ministry of Industry, 2015). After careful discussion between UNIDO, SECO, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Environment and Forestry, food and beverage industry is decided to be one of RECP assessment target of RECP implementation. Palm oil mills, sugar mills, and rice mills are appointed as RECP pilot projects. It was seen that the RECP programme in these industries can be applied and highly potential to benefit.
Several interesting issues in food and beverage industry are:
- Material productivity
Product recovery (or rendement) from raw material is not optimized. The problem is in extraction process from raw material or carried over product to waste or wastewater. There is a potential to increase the revenue from additional quantity of product.
- Biomass conversion to energy
Energy generation from biomass is a strategic alternative for energy problem in Indonesia. Palm oil mills, sugar mills, and rice mills are supposed to be self-sufficient energy. With a good management, they do not need fossil fuel or electricity from external source. Moreover, several mills can produce excess energy (in the form of fuel or electricity) and be sold.
- Wastewater handling
Typically, the wastewater produced by food and beverage industry contains high organic content. High organic content of wastewater is highly potential for biogas production. It also can be used as soil fertilizer.
Some challenges are faced by the industry in achieving more efficient resource usage and cleaner production. The challenges include the available commercial technology, accessibility to new information, financial, and managerial obstacle. The concept of RECP needs to be understood by every element in the enterprise so that they are willingly to implement it.
