Measuring the Productivity and Environmental Performance of Pamekasan Batik Using the Concept of Green Productivity ^†

Abstract

This study aims to measure the productivity and environmental performance of UD. AB, a small-to-medium batik enterprise in Pamekasan Regency, Madura. Productivity measurement was conducted by comparing output in the form of hand-written batik sales, while the inputs used consisted of materials, energy, and labor. The application of the green productivity concept was used to measure the environmental performance of this batik business by calculating the Environmental Performance Indicator (EPI) value for several environmental parameters. The results of calculating the productivity value of UD AB in 2018–2023 show that the highest productivity value was 1.449 in 2022 and the lowest productivity value was 1.266 in 2020. The results of the environmental performance calculation show that the Ph parameter has the largest EPI value of −0.007 and the ammonia parameter has the smallest EPI value of −3.307. The total EPI index value is −5.010, which means that the environmental performance is low. The proposed improvement recommendation to reduce environmental impact is to send liquid waste to the waste treatment plant owned by CV BA, which still has capacity, and to replace chemical dyes with natural dyes derived from plants.

1. Introduction

Pamekasan Batik is an Indonesian batik enterprise that has been famous throughout Indonesia for its outstanding quality, able to compete with batik enterprises in various regions. Pamekasan Regency announced in 2021 that the Pamekasan Batik Tulis Market, located in the 17 August Market, would become the largest batik tulis trading center in Southeast Asia [1]. One of the hand-written batik MSMEs in Pamekasan is UD. AB, which is located in Banyumas, Klampar village, Proppo sub-district, Pamekasan district. UD. AB focuses on making typical Madurese hand-written batik. The process of making written batik is still done manually, without the help of machines.

The development of Pamekasan hand-written batik is a change that is advanced, increasing, and also deep, taking place continuously. Although the Pamekasan hand-written batik industry experienced a decline during COVID-19, with time the demand for batik will increase. This is because the production process of UD. AB is still concerned with the quality and characteristics that make batik UD. AB an original product. The production of inscribed batik cloth is increasing, along with increasing consumer demand for inscribed batik products. In 2009, Pamekasan’s batik creative industry was recognized as the regional center of the East Java Province at the national level and was recorded in the Indonesian Record Museum (MURI) for being able to make written batik at altitudes of up to 1530 m [2]. Pamekasan Regency won the Indonesia Creative Expo in Batam in the batik marketing category [3].

The increase in demand for written batik also played a role in the increase in liquid waste generated. Liquid waste is generated during the fabric dyeing process to remove wax and during the washing process [4]. Liquid waste generated by UD. AB in small quantities is discharged into ditches and pits without any prior processing. The impact caused by the disposal of liquid waste is the emergence of odors around the waste disposal area, corrosive soil, and groundwater pollution.

An effort that can be made to solve this problem is to use the green productivity approach introduced by the Asian Productivity Organization [5]. Green productivity is a concept used to improve business productivity and performance simultaneously for overall social and economic development. This method applies techniques, technology, and management systems to produce goods and services that are compatible with the environment or can be said to be environmentally friendly. The concept of green productivity is derived by combining two important things in the development strategy, namely productivity improvement and environmental protection. It is expected that this research can provide alternative improvement solutions that can increase productivity and overcome environmental problems at UD. AB.

2. Research Method

The concept of green productivity (GP) is adopted in this study to measure productivity and environmental performance simultaneously. Primary data in this study were obtained through observation, interviews, brainstorming, and field surveys. Secondary data were obtained through records, evidence, and the financial reports of MSMEs. The research methodology in this study includes the stages of productivity calculation and environmental impact calculation, which are described in detail as follows.

2.1. Productivity Measurement

Productivity is the ratio between output and input [6]. Output is in the form of production results while input is in the form of raw material costs, labor costs, energy usage costs, and other costs related to production. The following is the formula for calculating productivity values [6].

$$\mathrm{Total} \mathrm{Productivity} ={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{Total} \mathrm{Output} }{\mathrm{Total} \mathrm{Input}}}$$

(1)

2.2. Environmental Performance Measurement

The measurement of environmental performance in the concept of green productivity uses the value of the Environmental Performance Indicator (EPI) index. The Environmental Performance Indicator (EPI) is a performance measure of the efficiency of a company’s activities towards the environment [7]. The calculation of the EPI index refers to the amount of waste generated in the production process and its impact on the surrounding environment. The purpose of calculating the EPI is to monitor and evaluate the long-term environmental impact of an activity [8]. Productivity can be used as a measure of how efficient and effective a system is [9]. EPI can show the efficiency of environmental performance [10].

The calculation of the EPI index starts with the determination of the weight of the waste parameters generated by the production process. The weights were determined using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) paired comparison method. Respondents were selected from competent experts in the field of environmental chemistry, who know the level of hazard of each waste parameter.

The EPI index was obtained by multiplying the weight of the wastewater parameters by the percentage the percentage value of the deviation of the wastewater parameter, which is the difference between the value of the wastewater quality standard and the results of the parameter laboratory test on the observed samples of hand-written batik liquid waste.

Table 1. Industrial wastewater quality standard parameters.

Parameter	Unit	Value
BOD	Mg/L	60
COD	Mg/L	150
TSS	Mg/L	50
Ammonia	Mg/L	8
Ph	-	6–9

below shows the parameters of the industrial effluent quality standards based on the Decree of the Minister of Environment No. P.16 of 2019.

The EPI index value is calculated based on the following formula [11].

$$\mathrm{Pi}={\displaystyle \frac{(\mathrm{Standard}-\mathrm{Analyze} )}{\mathrm{Standard} }}\times 100\%,$$

(2)

$$\mathrm{EPI} \mathrm{index}={\sum }_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{\mathrm{k}}\mathrm{W}\mathrm{i}\times \mathrm{P}\mathrm{i},$$

(3)

where k is the number of waste parameters, Wi is the weight of each of the i-th parameters, and Pi is the deviation of each of the i-th waste parameters.

3. Result and Discussion

3.1. Productivity Measurement of UD. AB

UD. AB’s productivity measurement was used to determine the efficiency of the use of resources owned to produce the output of hand-written batik. This productivity measurement uses output in the form of written batik sales results while inputs use material, energy, and labor costs. UD. AB’s productivity calculation uses data output from the sales of written batik products during the period of 2018–2023. A summary of the complete written batik sales results can be seen in

Table 2. Summary of sales.

Year	Amount (Pcs)	Amount (Rupiah)
2018	610	71,786,000
2019	1096	187,360,000
2020	81	41,900,000
2021	237	51,380,000
2022	400	150,420,000
2023	359	142,480,000
Total	2783	645,326,000

below.

The batik sold by UD. AB is available in three qualities. Quality 1 has a price of IDR 1,000,000 and above, quality 2 has a price range of IDR 300,000–IDR 1,000,000, and quality 3 is sold at IDR 75,000–IDR 300,000. UD. AB had the lowest sales in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. Sales started to increase again in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic started to decrease. In 2022, UD. AB was able to record sales of 400 units, with total sales of IDR 150,420,000.

Input is a factor related to the use of resources in the production process. Input factors in the production of handloom batik consist of material factors, energy requirements, and labor costs.

Table 3. Inputs of UD. AB (Rupiah).

Year	Material Cost	Energy Cost	Labor Cost
2018	23,015,000	1,080,000	28,898,000
2019	64,378,000	1,920,000	64,854,000
2020	17,727,000	1,680,000	13,694,000
2021	17,868,000	1,780,000	19,997,000
2022	53,127,000	1,980,000	488,682,000
2023	86,098,000	1,080,000	13,642,000
Total	262,213,000	9,520,000	189,767,000

below is a table of UD. AB’s inputs for the last 6 years.

Material cost is the cost of materials to produce written batik, which consists of mori cloth, dyes (naphthol, remazol, and indigosol), water glass solution, wax, packaging, and dye mixtures (HCL, caustic soda, nitrite). Energy costs include electricity costs and LPG consumption costs. The total energy cost in 2018–2023 was Rp 9,420,000. The wage payment system at UD. AB follows the piecework system. Labor wages are calculated based on the number of fabrics that can be completed in each process. The process of making handmade batik includes cutting the fabric, binding the fabric, coloring the fabric, turning the fabric, binding the fabric, and finishing the fabric.

An example of the productivity calculation for 2018 is given, where the input was Rp 71,786,000 and the output was Rp 65,894,250. The results of the productivity calculation for 2018–2023 can be seen in

Table 4. Productivity value of UD. AB in 2018–2023.

Year	Output	Input	Productivity
2018	71,786,000	52,993,000	1.355
2019	187,360,000	131,152,000	1.429
2020	41,900,000	33,101,000	1.266
2021	51,380,000	39,646,000	1.296
2022	150,420,000	103,789,000	1.449
2023	142,480,000	100,820,000	1.413
Total	645,326,000	461,500,000	1.398

below.

From Table 4, it can be seen that the lowest productivity value was experienced by UD. AB in 2020, with a value of 1.266. The highest productivity value occurred in 2022, with a value of 1.449. The productivity for the years of 2018–2023 has a value of 1.398.

3.2. Environmental Performance Measurement of UD. AB

The process of making handmade batik products produces liquid waste. Liquid waste samples were taken from the waste of the dyeing process, because batik dyes use chemicals that contain hazardous substances. The liquid waste samples were tested at the Oceanography Laboratory of Trunojoyo University, Madura. The testing procedure was based on the Decree of the Minister of Environment No. P.16 of 2019 on the Second Amendment to the Regulation of the Minister of Environment No. 5 of 2014 on Wastewater Quality Standards.

Table 5. Liquid waste quality test results.

Parameter	Unit	Value	Test Result
BOD	Mg/L	60	239
COD	Mg/L	150	545
TSS	Mg/L	50	177
Ammonia	Mg/L	8	192.08
Ph	-	6–9	9.27

is the result of the examination of the chemical content in the written batik liquid waste samples. The following is a table of the results of the examination of the content of chemical substances in the samples of hand-written batik liquid waste.

Table 5 shows that the five parameters, BOD, COD, TSS, ammonia, and Ph, are above the limits set by the government. This liquid waste may endanger the surrounding environment if the liquid waste is disposed without prior treatment. The results of laboratory tests on the chemical content of hand-written batik liquid waste are inputs for the calculation of the EPI index. The weighting process of the liquid waste parameters was conducted by two respondents who are experts in the field of environmental chemistry at the Oceanography Laboratory of Trunojoyo University, Madura. The respondents were asked to compare parameters in pairs based on the level of hazard of the parameter or the chemical content of the wastewater. The weight obtained was used to calculate the deviation of the EPI index. The following is an example of the calculation of the EPI index value for the BOD parameter using Equations (2) and (3). The complete results of the EPI index value calculation are shown in

Table 6. The environmental performance index (EPI).

Parameter	Pi	EPI
BOD	−2.983	−0.750
COD	−2.633	−0.492
TSS	−2.540	−0.453
Ammonia	−23.01	−3.307
Ph	−0.030	−0.007
Total		−5.010

.

Based on the calculation results in Table 6, it can be seen that the parameter with the largest index value is the Ph parameter, with an EPI index value of −0.007, while the parameter with the lowest EPI index value is the ammonia parameter, with an EPI index value of −3.307. The total value of the EPI index is −5.010, where the negative value indicates that the environmental performance is low, and improvement steps are needed to reduce the environmental impact caused and increase the EPI index value.

The preparation of alternative solutions to overcome the problems of productivity and environmental performance of UD. AB is based on the results of discussions between researchers and UD. AB and environmental chemists. Based on the results of discussions with environmental chemists, there are two general alternatives for reducing liquid waste, namely processing waste products (output) through liquid waste treatment or improving inputs, for example by replacing raw materials in the batik process. Thus, it is expected that the final waste content of each parameter can be reduced. The proposed alternative solutions are as follows:

Alternative 1:

The location of UD. AB is adjacent to CV. BA, which has its own batik wastewater treatment plant about 50 m away. Based on an interview with the owner of CV. BA, there is still excess capacity in this facility, so it can be used to treat liquid waste from UD. AB. For alternative 1, it is necessary to construct a pipeline to facilitate the waste delivery process and prevent the risk of spillage of hazardous batik waste liquid.

Alternative 2:

Chemical dyes can be replaced with natural dyes derived from plants such as the Indigofera Tinctoria plant. Indigofera Tinctoria plants can produce a dark blue dye. This natural dye has the potential to reduce the concentration of waste that will impact the surrounding environment, as the remains of natural dyes that are wasted with wastewater will be more easily decomposed and more environmentally friendly. To produce more plate color, supporting materials such as palm sugar and quicklime are needed.

4. Conclusions

Green productivity is used as an economic benchmark that can be used as a reference for performance improvement. Based on the calculation of the productivity value of UD. AB in 2018–2023, it is known that the highest productivity occurred in 2022, with a productivity value of 1.449, and the lowest productivity occurred in 2020, with a productivity value of 1.266. The parameter with the highest index value is the Ph parameter, with an EPI index value of −0.007, and the parameter with the lowest EPI index value is the ammonia parameter, with an EPI index value of −3.307. The total value of the EPI index is −5.010, where the negative value indicates that the environmental performance is low and that there is a need for improvement steps to reduce the environmental impact caused. The proposed alternative to improve productivity and environmental performance is to send waste to CV. BA, which has a waste treatment plant, and replace chemical dyes with natural dyes derived from plants.