Photo 1. Group photo of the workshop participants.

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) conducted a workshop titled Driving Energy Efficiency in Indonesia’s Industrial Sector through Sustainable Financing on Thursday, 23 January 2025, at The Westin Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia. The first workshop served as an introduction to the Green Climate Fund-Korea Development Bank (GCF–KDB) programme to relevant stakeholders while providing knowledge and tools to develop a project pipeline. This fulfils the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Coordination (APAEC) Programme Area 4 of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C), Outcome-based Strategy (OBS) 5: Advance Energy Efficiency and Energy Management in Industry, with related activities under the GCF-KDB Programme FP 196: Supporting Innovative Mechanisms for Industrial Energy Efficiency Financing in Indonesia with Lessons for Replication in other ASEAN Member States. 

Photo 2. Opening remarks delivered by Dr. Ir. Hendra Iswahyudi M.Si, Director of Energy Conservation from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Indonesia.

Dr. Ir. Hendra Iswahyudi M.Si, Director of Energy Conservation from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), Indonesia, opened the workshop by expressing his excitement, saying “This workshop is an excellent opportunity to discuss how to de-risk investment in energy efficiency projects, particularly in unlocking financial support”. Further, he stated that corroborative actions are important in achieving the country’s target, stating that “Indonesia sets a more ambitious target of energy savings, aiming to lower 70-72% of energy intensity of primary energy by 2060. Therefore, we must prepare a supportive ecosystem to improve energy efficiency opportunities projects, which will be discussed in today’s workshop”. 

Photo 3. Opening remarks delivered by Beni Suryadi, Manager of ACE. 

Beni Suryadi, Manager of ACE, further underlines the importance of this programme to facilitate energy efficiency measures in Indonesia’s industrial sector, stating that, “The GCF-KDB Programme is an initiative aimed at addressing challenges in implementing energy efficiency measures by focusing on the development of innovative financing mechanisms”. With the industrial sector as the highest contributor to the country’s total final energy consumption (TFEC), this programme is expected to optimise energy use while driving economic growth. 

Photo 4. Opening remarks delivered by Se Kyung Park, Head of the Climate Business Team.

Completing the opening session, Se Kyung Park, Head of the Climate Business Team from the Korean Development Bank (KDB), concludes that the partnership of ACE and KDB, through this programme, is expected to transform and support the country’s sustainable landscape, stating that “Our partnership had built up the confidence in supporting companies to enhance energy efficiency. Moreover, as more enterprises benefit from the programme, we believe that it will significantly contribute to Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and the pursuit of the country’s sustainable development”.  

Photo 5. Keynote Speech delivered by Devi Laksmi, Coordinator for Energy Conservation Business Development.

To provide an overview of Indonesia’s energy efficiency projects, Devi Laksmi, from Directorate of Energy Conservation at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), Indonesia, presented a keynote speech, underscoring how businesses are often hesitant to invest in energy efficiency due to high upfront costs. 

Photo 6. Dan Valeriz, Officer of CEE at ACE (Upper Left), Rio Silitonga, Senior Officer of CEE (Upper Right), and Haein Cho were delivering their presentation on Session I: Background and Activities from the GFC-KDB Programme 

The workshop moved into its core sessions, with the first session introducing the GCF-KDB Programme by Rio Silitonga, Senior Officer of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEE) at ACE, Dan Valeriz, Officer of CEE at ACE, both from the ASEAN Centre for Energy, and Haein Cho from Korean Development Bank (KDB). The session gave an overview of the programme which aims to enhance awareness among financial institution, industry players, and relevant stakeholders in facilitating energy efficiency (EE) projects within the industrial sector. The session emphasised the development of the project pipeline while underscoring the need for a national and institutional policy strategic framework and enhanced technical capacity. Effective risk management—supported by capacity building, technical assistance, and standardised technical and financing evaluation framework—will strengthen access to financing mechanisms under the GCF-KDB project.  

Photo 7. Yong Hwa Lee (Left) and Suhendra Setiadi (Right) were delivering their presentation on Session II: Lesson Learnt from Industry Players.

The second session focus on sharing practical experiences from energy efficiency programme, offering key lessons that participants can take away. Yong Hwa Lee from PT Hilon Indonesia and Suhendra Setiadi from PT Inocycle shared their companies’ sustainability goals and commitment to implement energy savings measures through technologies advancement. Further, an important note from the session was how important it is to align energy efficiency with ESG strategies, ensuring energy management improvements while achieving the broader environmental goals. 

Photo 8. Yayan Indriatmoko (Left) was delivering the presentation Session III: Understanding IFC Performance Standards (PS) Criteria: Safeguarding Your Investment and the Future.  

The third session, led by Yayan Indriatmoko from Indonesia Infrastructure Finance (IIF) provided deeper discussion on the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework and its critical role in investment decision-making, particularly in energy efficiency projects. The session featured a case study presented by Teguh Prasetyo, providing example on IFC Performance Standards to assess projects’ adherence toward environment and social (E&S) aspect. A notable takeaway from the session was implementing E&S standards, whether through IFC PS or other frameworks, offer opportunities for project sustainability and investment viability. 

Photo 9. Gena Lysistrata (Right) was delivering her presentation on Session IV: Gender Responsive Action in Energy Efficiency.

The last session, presented by Gena Lysistrata from Millenium Challenge Account Indonesia, explored the often-overlooked aspect of gender inclusivity in sustainable financing decisions. She underlined a regulatory and norm gap that restrict women participation. Hence, it is important to establish a dedicated ecosystem that fosters gender equality in the finance and energy sectors and ensure active participation from women and marginalised communities as key stakeholders in driving investment decisions. 

Photo 10. Closing remarks delivered by Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of CEE at the ASEAN Centre for Energy 

The event was concluded with closing remarks from Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of CEE at the ASEAN Centre for Energy, who underlined the programme’s goals, stating “The path towards energy transition is long an requires sustained commitment. The GCF-KDB Programme frameworks provide innovative financing mechanisms for Indonesia’s industrial sector, demonstrating a structured approach to support the country’s energy transition goal”. 

About GCF-KDB Programme

In 2023, Green Climate Fund and Korea Development Bank have signed a funded activity agreement (FAA) for a programme called “Supporting Innovative Mechanisms for Industrial Energy Efficiency Financing in Indonesia with Lessons for Replication in other ASEAN Member States programme”. This programme aims to increase Indonesia’s capacity to address the rising energy consumption in the industrial sector. The programme provides a package of innovative energy efficiency solutions including financial de-risking mechanisms, exploration of new energy service business models, development of a supportive regulatory framework, and technical assistance for the industry sector in Indonesia.  

For more information, please visit the GCF-KDB Programme landing page.