Low Carbon housing with BTN - Resident Coordinator, Gita Sabharwal's Speech

Your Excellency, Bapak Erick Thohir, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises

Bapak Nixon LP Napitupulu, Pak Nixon Napitupulu, BTN President Director, BTN Directors and BTN’s Board of Commissioners members.

Bapak Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Head, housing taskforce team

Selamat Pagi

Let me congratulate BTN for the launch of the Low Carbon Emission Housing Project and thank you, for your leadership in support of circularity and decarbonization.

Your commitment is inspiring, as you set an example for Indonesia’s banking sector in accelerating the SDGs.

As the first state-owned bank that signed up for the Principles for Responsible Banking in Indonesia, you are championing ESG principles, which will translate into increasing inclusively green investments.

The banking industry looks to you in charting their own sustainable financing pathways and yours is a model worthy of emulation.

I also want to commend you on your commitment to green housing.

Scaling up affordable energy-efficient housing will not only raise standards of living for low- and middle-income people but also reduce GHGs and environmental footprint for the construction industry.

This is key to sustainability, especially when coupled with increased awareness of energy-efficient behaviors among residents.

Experience in ASEAN tells us that higher initial costs of green buildings can be a barrier, but this can be offset through broadening the scope of financial services to those most in need, including women, in addition to providing loans for retrofitting existing houses with energy- and resource-efficient features.

With this, we can increase access to affordable and decent housing, a priority for the President elect!

UNEP provides technical assistance to scale up energy-efficient housing in the low-rise sector by piloting green technologies and certification in partnership with Government.

These include lightweight bricks, energy-saving glass, improved insulation, solar rooftops for street lighting, and on-site wastewater treatment.

By adopting these features on a broad scale, we can reduce millions of tons in GHGs.

Bapak Nixon, as Indonesia’s market leader in affordable housing, BTN can leverage its forward-leaning approach on circularity in the residential sector.

Today is a prime example of this. where, your bank collaborates with nearly 10,000 developers and manufacturers to ensure that at least 10% of the materials used in housing projects are recycled and eco-friendly.

With this you are investing in creating the demand and ensuring the supply chain is affordable and fit for purpose.

The UN is keen to take our partnership with you to the next level given that "Karena hidup ga-cuma tentang hari ini" (given that life is not just about today)

Terima kasih.