18/12/2023. Indonesia was an invited guest at the world environmental conference The COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. In this event, the government showcased the success of reducing carbon emissions by 42% compared to business as usual (BAU) planning during the 2020-2022 period.
This accomplishment is, of course, complemented by steps from the financial sector, which continues to assist the building of a green economic ecosystem in Indonesia.
PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk as a state-owned bank is one of the national banking pioneers committed to supporting the development of a green economy.
BNI Corporate Secretary Okki Rushartomo said the company views the development of the green economy in the country as very prospective in the future.
Not only does it make the economy more sustainable, but it is also beneficial to the development of the Indonesian business economy.
"As a bank, we view that the transformation of the commercial economy into a greener realm will create a demand for higher quality financing in the future. "There will be many products in the upstream sector to the downstream sector that are more sustainable which will also help boost the performance of banking business services," said Okki.
Currently, the need for green financing in Indonesia has reached IDR 4,002 trillion, spread across several sectors, namely FOLU, agriculture, IPPU, energy & transportation, and waste. This figure is relatively large and banks in Indonesia can optimize this need.
Okki emphasized that BNI can strengthen its green financing portfolio to fund various projects that are in line with the direction of sustainable development, such as adding features to conventional products with features that support the implementation of sustainable finance and financing the purchase of environmentally friendly motorized vehicles.
BNI's contribution in supporting the green economy is also reflected in the distribution of green financing which reached IDR 60.6 trillion or 9.1% of the total credit disbursed until September 2023.
BNI's green portfolio is distributed to several sectors, including sustainable transportation, green building, renewable energy, waste to energy and waste management, and sustainable natural resources.
Okki continued, outside of the company's business program, it has social and environmental responsibility (TJSL) which also collaborates with various stakeholders to provide socialization on environmental protection.
Some of the activities carried out by BNI include environmental rehabilitation of the coastal area of Anyer Beach, Banten and the upper reaches of the Citarum River Watershed, West Java through a nursery development program and planting and caring for trees in the area.
Furthermore, BNI has also collaborated with PLN in building infrastructure for public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU), the first partnership scheme in the country.
This step was taken to make the government's program a success in speeding the establishment of the Battery-Based Electric Motor Vehicle (KBLBB) ecosystem in Indonesia.
"On the other hand, we have also implemented the green concept internally at BNI, one example is the construction of the BNI Pejompongan Tower building which was built with a green building concept. All of these actions are an effort for BNI to continue to protecting our environment," he concluded.