Jakarta. State-owned bank BNI recently revealed that it had issued green bonds worth over Rp 5 trillion (approximately $314.6 million), and this has helped the company cut carbon emissions.

“Thanks to green bonds, our company’s emission reductions totaled over 230,000 tons of CO2 annually,” BNI’s director for risk management David Pirzada said at the 2023 BNI Investor Daily Summit at Hutan Kota by Plataran in Jakarta.

The green bonds have also helped BNI’s reforestation initiative that spans 314,000 hectares. 

According to David, BNI will continue to bolster such a green portfolio to spur Indonesia’s green economy ecosystem. The government has also prepared incentives for companies to nudge them into slashing emissions. BNI invites partner companies to implement green economic practices through financing from green bond issuance proceeds.

Apart from financing, BNI also gives targets to its customers for implementing waste management, operations, and other initiatives that lead to emission reduction.

“If they achieve that target, we will give them incentives from a pricing standpoint. For instance, lower interest rates,” David said.

David also said that a green economy could have a positive impact on Indonesia’s growth. He added: “Study shows Indonesia’s gross domestic product [GDP] can rise 6 percent, and it [green economy] can increase new job generation by 15 percent until 2045. This is great and that’s why we need to support this.”