Jakarta (7/10/2022), An important step in limiting the impact of climate change is the ability to mobilize significant capital flows and direct them to green and sustainable investments. The World Bank and the OECD has estimated the value of the global bond market to be USD 100 trillion. This funding resource will assist the global world to transition and decarbonise towards green growth, as stated by the Dr Sally Salmah, Deputy Head of Development Finance Agency (BPKP) in a sustainable finance and sustainability reporting seminar on 07 September 2022.

In collaboration with Monash University Climateworks, the seminar was held at the Gandhi Auditorium, BPKP HQ Jakarta. It attracted over 500 participants on hybrid mode. Pak Susilo Widiyantoro, Director of Supervision of Stated-Owned Energy and Mining Business, in his remarked that the seminar was attended by the Director of Finance and the Head of SOE SPI, the Director of Finance of the Regional Development Bank, the Director of the Deputy for State Accountants, Supervision Coordinators of BPKP Representative Offices, and Officers within the Deputy for State Accountants, including Pertamina state-owned oil and gas corporation and the PLN national electricity enterprise.

There were two main speakers in this seminar. Sean Kidney, CEO Climate Bonds Initiative, London spoke on "Green Bonds: Mobilizing Sustainable Finance Toward a Green Economy". In his presentation, he said that Indonesia with its abundant resources had a great opportunity for green bonds to achieve a green economy, similarly as done in Philippines and Singapore. However, there should be support from the Government as the owner of the largest natural and physical resources, the Central Bank and other financial institutions such as the Financial Service Authority (OJK) which supervise and regulate the issuance of Green Bonds.

 

The second speaker, Hendry Yulius Wijaya, the Country Program Manager, Global Reporting Initiative, spoke on "ESG and Sustainability Reporting." He revealed GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)’s standards and guidelines that are most widely applied in sustainability reporting. He chimed in that the essence of a Sustainability Report is how the company delivers social, economic and environmental impacts to all stakeholders or the entire business ecosystem. In addition, he also said that a sustainability report is needed in the issuance of green bonds. Because green bonds are based on a promise of green actions or trusting that green transition will happen, a sustainability report is needed to support this effort.

 

The seminar was guided by two moderators, Sofia Mahardiningtyas (Auditor, BPKP Information Centre) and Dr John Vong (Monash Climateworks Center). At the end of the seminar, the moderators concluded that green bonds as instruments of Sustainable Finance should be complemented by a sustainability report as a tangible form of the company's commitment to deliver social, economic and environmental impacts to all stakeholders.

 

Humas BPKP