Buying 3,000 Tons of CO2 on the Carbon Exchange, Bank Mandiri Waits for Technical Regulations

Green energy illustration (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk (BMRI) is one of the pioneers of carbon exchange trading. This was demonstrated by the purchase of 3000 tons of CO2 in the first trading on the Indonesian Carbon Exchange (IDX Carbon) on 26 September. The first trade was held after President Joko Widodo officially launched the first carbon exchange in Indonesia.

Deputy President Director of Bank Mandiri Alexandra Askandar said that purchasing carbon credits was a form of Bank Mandiri's support for Indonesian Carbon trading and Bank Mandiri's efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

"The existence of a carbon exchange is important for Indonesia to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in order to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2060 or sooner," said Alexandra in a statement to VOI, Tuesday, October 3.

He added that the existence of a carbon exchange could support the achievement of the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target in 2060 which had been set by the government.

Responding to the government's target, Bank Mandiri has also set a commitment to achieve NZE Operations by 2030 and NZE Financed Emissions (scope 3) by 2060.

Alexandra further explained that Bank Mandiri was directly involved in the preparation process for the launch of the Indonesian Carbon Exchange. Bank Mandiri is actively discussing with regulators and market players, and was the only speaker in the banking sector at the National Seminar on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Trading Opportunities in Indonesia organized by the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

After the carbon exchange is operational, Bank Mandiri is waiting for the issuance of technical regulations governing the role of financial and banking institutions in carbon trading. This technical regulation is a derivative of OJK Regulation (POJK) Number 14 of 2023 concerning Carbon Trading through the Carbon Exchange.

"We are actively coordinating with the OJK to prepare Bank Mandiri's participation in the carbon market," he said.

The hope is that Bank Mandiri can act as a catalyst for the real sector and take real action in reducing operational emissions.

Not only supporting the carbon exchange, Bank Mandiri also consistently carries out various initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With the vision of "Becoming Indonesia's Sustainability Champion for a Better Future", Bank Mandiri became the first bank in Indonesia to launch environmentally friendly cards, namely prepaid cards (e-money) and debit cards made from recycled plastic (R-PVC) as well as cardless credit cards. which has the potential to reduce emissions by 2,250 tons of CO2 eq per year.