The Chairman of IKBI, who is also the President Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Sunarso said, "We appreciate the joining of CIMB Niaga, Bank Syariah Mandiri, Bank OCBC NISP, Maybank Indonesia, and HSBC Indonesia to strengthen IKBI. It is our hope that IKBI members can be pioneers in enhancing the role of the financial sector in encouraging customers to implement sustainable transformation practices - mitigating sustainability risks to portfolios and transitioning to low-carbon and climate resilient global economic opportunities."

We are currently in the transition to low-carbon economic development. According to Indonesia's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)-greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are greatest from business activities involving the land use change and peat, energy, industry, agriculture, and waste sectors. If current business activities do not change their ways of production to be more efficient and low-emission, Indonesia's GHG emission reduction target by 2030 will not be achieved. The financial services sector has a key role to play in developing policies that improve the performance of industry practices to reduce GHG emissions.

Based on data from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018, it emphasizes that an increase in the earth's temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius will cause considerable climate impacts such as drought, heavy rainfall, sea level rise, and species extinction as well as increasing food security issues. These threats can potentially lead to economic instability and disruption of social life.

This has also become a concern of regulators at the global level including Indonesia. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has issued Regulation No. 51 on Sustainable Finance in Indonesia in response to these conditions. Bank Indonesia also showed its commitment to participate in climate risk management by joining the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). A platform of global financial regulators to address climate change risks.

On the occasion of this international seminar, IKBI brought together leaders of national financial services institutions and capital market stakeholders to provide a better understanding of how to recognize climate risks in their portfolios and manage them to avoid potential adverse economic disruptions.

"Indonesia is one of the countries that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, therefore it is important that financial services institutions (FSIs) begin to identify and manage potential climate risks and opportunities in this transition to a low carbon and environmentally friendly economy," Focal Point of the IKBI Secretariat representing WWF-Indonesia, Rizkiasari Yudawinata explained.

"By joining IKBI, which was established by eight banks and WWF-Indonesia in 2018, banks can utilize the existing platform to increase capacity and knowledge on environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, expand business opportunities that apply sustainability principles and facilitate dialog with stakeholders such as regulators, investors, and others." Rizkiasari added.

More than 100 participants representing FSIs, government, private sector and CSOs joined the seminar. Various strategic resource persons and sustainable finance experts involved in the seminar included ACTIAM, Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative, Bank Syariah Mandiri, BNP Paribas Indonesia, HSBC Indonesia, Indonesia Sustainable Finance Initiative, Financial Services Authority, Standard Chartered Indonesia, United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and WWF-Indonesia.

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Editor's Note:

Quotations from the leaders of IKBI member banks:

• Bank CIMB Niaga | "Business growth needs to ensure the preservation of nature, that's why we support sustainable economic development and expand people's access to financial services so they can achieve a better standard of living," said Director of Compliance, Corporate Affairs and Legal, CIMB Niaga Fransiska Oei.
• Bank OCBC NISP | "We understand that a responsible business is one that has an ongoing commitment to improving the quality of life of the community as well as the surrounding environment. This understanding encourages us to align our business, develop our human resources, and be responsible for environmental preservation. We realize this commitment by joining IKBI, so that the synergy between institutions can be strengthened and can support each other in the transformation of sustainable financial practices," said Director of Bank OCBC NISP, Joseph Chan.
• Bank HSBC Indonesia | "Together, financial institutions can be a catalyst for change and create a level playing field in sustainable finance to help address climate change and achieve sustainable development goals," said President Director of HSBC Indonesia, Sumit Dutta.
• Maybank Indonesia | "As a responsible corporate citizen, Maybank Indonesia is committed to ensuring that our operations are environmentally, socially and good governance friendly. IKBI is expected to be an effective platform to exchange ideas among members and strengthen commitment for sustainable business growth. Furthermore, IKBI will provide input and initiatives to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) in Indonesia," said Director of Maybank Indonesia, Effendi.
• IKBI was established on May 31, 2018 by eight national banks representing 46% of Indonesia's banking assets namely Bank Artha Graha Indonesia, BRI Syariah, Bank Central Asia, Bank Mandiri, Bank Muamalat, Bank Negara Indonesia, Regional Development Bank of West Java and Banten, and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, together with WWF-Indonesia. More information about IKBI: http://ikbi.org/
• 13 IKBI member banks: PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Tbk; PT Bank Mandiri, Tbk; Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Tbk; Bank Central Asia (BCA), Tbk; Bank CIMB Niaga, Tbk; Bank Syariah Mandiri, Tbk; Bank BJB, Tbk; Bank OCBS NISP, Tbk; Maybank Indonesia, Tbk; HSBC Indonesia, Tbk; Bank Muamalat, Tbk; Bank Artha Graha Internasional, Tbk; BRI Syariah, Tbk
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• The Sustainable Development Goals require wider participation than just government efforts. Not only from the industrial sector, but also Financial Services Institutions (FSIs) that play an important role in achieving this goal through the provision of financial products and services characterized by 3P (People, Planet & Profit) or known as sustainable finance (sustainable finance).
• IKBI will move according to its long-term roadmap in prioritizing strategic programs, expanding initiatives, building partnerships, conducting studies, and initiating pilot projects on the development of relevant green business models.
• The implementation progress of 6 (six) IKBI members has been assessed in WF's 2019 Sustainable Banking Assessment (SUSBA). SUSBA contains the results of an assessment of the performance of 35 banks in 6 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in ESG aspects and reveals that improvements in sustainability performance have not been evenly implemented across national banks.
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For more information, please contact:

Rizkiasari Joedawinata, Focal Point Secretariat IKBI / WWF-Indonesia (Email: rjoedawinata@wwf.id | Mobile Phone: +62 811 234 4343)