This book is a remarkable case study of an environmental policy initiative for a national environmental regulatory system in the information age. In 1995 the Indonesian Ministry of Environment took the bold step to launch an environmental disclosure initiative called the Program for Pollution Control, Evaluation and Rating (PROPER). Under PROPER, environmental performance of companies is mapped into a five-color grading scale - Gold for excellent, Green for very good, Blue for good, Red for non-compliance, and Black for causing environmental damage. These ratings are then publicly disclosed through a formal press conference and posted on the internet. Not only did this simple rating scheme create a major media buzz and enhanced environmental awareness of the general public, but it also unleashed a wide range of performance incentives that showed how markets with environmental information could function in a developing country setting.

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Public Disclosure in Developing Countries 3. Institutional History of Indonesia's Environmental Rating and Public Disclosure Program 4. Rating Methodology and Implementation 5. The Effectiveness of PROPER 6. Which Firms Were More Sensitive to PROPER? 7. How does PROPER work? 8. The Impact of Financial Crisis on PROPER 9. Current Status of PROPER (2001-2011) 10. Summary and conclusions