Behind every investment decision, emissions target achieved, sustainability report or corporate ESG claim lies a fundamental question that is often overlooked: who ensures that the information behind it is accurate?
This question takes governance beyond mere compliance. Governance is not simply about collecting data, but about how a company uses that data to make decisions, who has the authority to make those decisions, who scrutinises them and, just as importantly, whether there is room for those decisions to be challenged.
PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk (PGN) offers an example. In 2025, it was named among the top 50 publicly listed companies in Asean and top five in Indonesia under the 2024 Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard, which assesses transparency, accountability, shareholder rights and board roles.
PGN has a code of ethics and whistleblowing system, while integrating governance, risk and compliance into strategic decisions. This creates multiple layers of accountability: the board of directors makes decisions, the board of commissioners provides oversight and audits and whistleblowing channels enable scrutiny and reporting.
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), meanwhile, embeds integrity-based governance into business strategy with sustainability principles intended to work alongside business interests. Board composition and diversity of backgrounds can bring broader perspectives to decision-making while strengthening transparency and accountability.
This is where governance is truly tested. Not when everything is proceeding according to procedure, but when targets have to be met, competing interests come into play or information has yet to be fully verified. A sound system should allow decisions to be challenged, data to be scrutinised, mistakes to be corrected and those responsible to be held accountable.
The challenge is to ensure that governance does not become a tick-box exercise: a comprehensive set of policies that exists on paper but has little bearing on everyday behaviour and decision-making.
At this point, leadership becomes decisive. Governance is more than procedures and systems. It depends on the integrity of those entrusted to make them work. PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) or KAI, for instance, links its emissions-reduction targets to the board of directors’ key performance indicators, turning leadership commitment into a concrete mechanism that embeds sustainability in business decisions.
The measure of effective governance, therefore, is not simply how many policies a company has, but how robustly its systems guard against inaccurate information, undue interests and decisions for which no one can be held accountable.
Trust does not come from a company declaring that it practises good governance. It is built when a company has systems that make information trustworthy, allow decisions to be questioned and ensure that every action is supported by clear reasoning.
Caroline Damanik
Sustainability Editorial Assistant Manager
Lestari
Media Group of Kompas Gramedia
