Remarks of Swiss Ambassador Kurt Kunz - Launching of Green Building Case Studies

"It is a pleasure to attend today's launching of the Indonesia Green Building Business Cases. Switzerland is proud to have partnered with IFC since 2011 in providing technical assistance to mainstream green building practices in Indonesia. We are happy that together with IFC and the Green Building Council, we have been able to achieve several milestones in Indonesia, including: The introduction of Green Building Codes in Jakarta and Bandung; The issuance of Green Building regulations by the Central Government; as well as the adoption of the voluntary certification system EDGE by both the private and public sectors. Today more than 20 million square meters of floor space in Indonesia comply with green building principles, with significant resource savings. In June 2018, it was estimated that the carbon emission reduction amounted to more than 900 thousand tons, which is more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the Maldives. The electricity savings are equally staggering: consumers will save more than 1 million megawatt hours or more than 90 million dollars. It is great to see that green building practices are gaining ground in Indonesia.

In Switzerland, we introduced the first voluntary sustainable building standard in 1998, called Minergie. Today, it is recognized globally for its effectiveness in achieving lower energy and resource consumption. A Minergie building consumes around 60 percent less energy than a conventional building. So far, more than 52 million square meters of floor space have been certified in Switzerland. This has allowed us – over the past 20 years – to cut down on energy consumption by more than 50 billion kilowatt hours and decrease CO2 emissions by more than 10 million tons. Our experience with green buildings has been a truly positive one. I am convinced that resource-efficient buildings are the way toward greener development.

Switzerland is therefore excited to team up with IFC and the Green Building Council to advance the construction of green buildings in Indonesia through EDGE. The Green Building Business Cases show that if we build green and more resource-efficient, we can lock in energy and water savings for many years to come. And this can be done at a surprisingly low cost. The incremental cost of building green pays off – on average – after 2-4 years already! Building sustainable does not only make sense from an environmental but also from a financial perspective.

The EDGE portfolio in Indonesia is one of the most comprehensive ones, from low-income public housing to hospitals. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate IFC and commend you for the solid partnership with the Green Building Council Indonesia. Also, we are pleased that the Swiss company "Asia Green Real Estate" (formerly known as previously Diener Syz) is one of the EDGE champions and actively promotes green investments in Indonesia. One of its major projects showcased in the Business Cases is Ecoloft in Bekasi. With 80% utility cost savings per year, it is one of the most resource-efficient EDGE-certified buildings worldwide. I would like to convey our warmest congratulations to Asia Green Real Estate for this impressive achievement.

Indonesia is not the only place where Switzerland supports IFC in implementing EDGE. Colombia – where I was posted before moving to Jakarta – is another pioneer when it comes to building green. By collaborating with Bank Colombia (Bancolombia), IFC has revolutionized the building sector. The main success factor is that IFC provides funding to Bancolombia to provide green building financing for their clients. The main requirement to tap into this loan is to have the project certified with EDGE. Every month, they have more than 10 new projects registered with EDGE. I am confident that we can use a similar approach here in Indonesia. Increased availability of green finance will lead to the construction of more resource-efficient buildings and move Indonesia towards a greener development path.

To conclude, I truly hope that our collaboration with IFC and the Green Building Council will boost the construction of more green buildings and contribute to a sustainable development in Indonesia.

Thank you – Terima kasih!"