Indonesian Companies Accelerate Industrial Decarbonization
Leveraging WRI resources and support through the Kadin Net Zero Hub — a joint initiative of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, WRI Indonesia and partners — 80 companies in Indonesia’s industrial sector are working to understand and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Challenge
Indonesia’s industrial sector is central to the country’s economy, but it is also a major driver of climate change. From heavy industries like steel and cement production to “light” industries like food and textile manufacturing, the sector makes up nearly 75% of the country’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This includes the energy, waste, industrial and land-use emissions stemming from companies and their supply chains.
Indonesia, the world’s ninth-largest GHG emitter, is also extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country cannot keep communities safe or achieve its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2060 without transforming the industrial sector. However, businesses often lack the technical capacity and resources needed to understand their climate impacts and develop effective emissions-reduction plans.
WRI’s Role
At the Business 20 (B20) summit in Bali in 2022, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) launched its Net Zero Hub in partnership with WRI Indonesia, WWF Indonesia, CDP and the Indonesian Business Council for Sustainable Development. The Net Zero Hub offers business leaders the tools and training to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, set emissions-reduction targets and develop tailored strategies to reach their goals.
Two initiatives co-created by WRI — the GHG Protocol and the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTi) — are central to these efforts. Both provide standardized, globally recognized frameworks for greenhouse gas emissions accounting and target-setting. WRI also leads the Corporate Assistance Program (CAP), through which companies receive mentorship and technical assistance in how to decarbonize their operations and value chains.
The Outcome
Since its establishment in November 2022, 80 companies in Indonesia have joined the Net Zero Hub. Forty have completed GHG accounting bootcamps to learn to calculate their emissions, while 30 have worked toward setting net-zero emissions targets with support from the CAP. This resulted in 20 new commitments to the Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) in one year.
Some companies are already implementing their green transition plans. PT Pan Brothers Tbk., a leading garment manufacturer in Indonesia, installed solar panels at its operational and production facilities. The panels are expected to reduce up to 2.1 million tons of carbon emissions annually — equivalent to taking more than 450,000 petrol-powered cars off the roads each year. Apparel One Indonesia, a supplier for Adidas, Puma and other major clothing brands, is also leaning into solar power and reduced its energy-based carbon emissions by 43% in 2023.
The impacts of the Net Zero Hub extend beyond Indonesia’s borders. The country hosted the ASEAN Summit in 2023, which convened governments from 10 Southeast Asian countries. After the summit, the group established the ASEAN Net Zero Hub to support decarbonization efforts across the region.