Jakarta - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) officially launched a guidebook entitled Transitioning to Net Zero: Net Zero Roadmap Guideline for Property Developers in an event held at Studio 1 Kompas TV, Menara Kompas, West Jakarta, Friday (23/05/2025).

This guideline book is an important milestone in the effort to push Indonesia's property sector towards sustainable development that is low in carbon emissions.

This book is the result of collaboration between Kadin Indonesia and a number of strategic partners, including GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), LCI (Life Cycle Inventory), IFC (International Finance Corporation), Sustainahaus, AIGCC (Asia Investor Group on Climate Change), SII (Indonesian Industry Standard), and KPMG.

The launch event was also attended by a number of important Kadin figures, such as Deputy Chairperson for Infrastructure and Regional Development of Kadin Indonesia Carmelita Hartoto, Deputy Chairperson for Law and Human Rights of Kadin Indonesia Azis Syamsuddin, Head of the Integrated Property Area Development Agency (BPKPT) of Kadin Indonesia Budiarsa Sastrawinata, and Head of the BPKPT Study Committee of Kadin Indonesia Setyo Maharso.

Carmelita Hartoto emphasised that this book is not just a technical guide, but a strategic response to the global climate crisis.

‘We live in an era where sustainability is no longer an option, but a necessity. The property sector plays a strategic role in realising the transition to a low-carbon economy,’ she said.

According to Carmelita, the guide aims to facilitate developers in implementing net zero principles from design to building operations.

‘This initiative reminds us that sustainability and profitability are not polar opposites. With green financing, technological innovation, and cross-sector collaboration, we can make green development an engine of national economic growth,’ said Carmelita.

‘Let us continue this commitment together, building resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive cities for a better future for Indonesia,’ she concluded.

Similarly, Kadin Indonesia's BPKPT Head Budiarsa Sastrawinata emphasised the urgency of this transition.

‘We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Southeast Asia is at the forefront of climate change risks,’ he said. The Net Zero transition is not just a discourse, but a national strategy,’ he said.

Budiarsa underlined the importance of sustainable finance as a bridge to a low-carbon future.

He also highlighted the challenges faced by developers, particularly in fulfilling green taxonomy criteria and providing project baseline data.

For this reason, said Budiarsa, Kadin encourages the establishment of the Green Development Fund and fiscal incentive schemes such as the Green PBB and green interest rates, especially for MSMEs and local developers.

‘Let's change our perspective. Sustainability is not a cost centre, but an opportunity to make it a profit centre,’ he said.

Furthermore, Chairman of the BPKPT Study Committee of Kadin Indonesia Setyo Maharso said that this book is expected to be a practical guide, especially for medium and small-scale developers.

He emphasised that around 30% of global emissions come from the building sector. Meanwhile, Indonesia is projected to need around 780,000 housing units per year until 2045.

Therefore, an environmentally-friendly development approach is absolutely necessary.

‘Hopefully, this guide can be a guideline for developers to understand what exactly they will do in the context of net zero,’ Setyo said.

Furthermore, Expert Staff for Connectivity and Services Development at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dida Gardera, expressed his appreciation for this initiative.

According to him, the launch of this guide is a concrete step in line with the national target to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.

‘This discussion is an important step in formulating concrete efforts to support Indonesia's national target to achieve net zero emissions,’ Dida concluded.

During the book launch, a talk show was also organised with the theme ‘Net Zero and Access to Funds: Turning Sustainability into Profitability’.

The talk show brought together stakeholders to discuss concrete strategies for accessing green finance and making sustainability a profitable business opportunity.

Speakers who filled the panel discussion session included Benjamin Van Der Auwera (Regional Lead Green Building East-Asia Pacific IFC), Ignesjz Kemalawarta (Advisor President Office Sinarmas Land and Chairman of Green Building Council Indonesia), Madya Januar (SPV Group Head Consumer Loan PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk and moderated by Titis Nurdiana (Editor in Chief Kontan).