Through its partnership with MVGX Tech, BDO in Indonesia’s client base will be able to kickstart their sustainability journeys and strengthen existing ESG initiatives through MVGX Tech’s Carbon Connect Suite.

The Carbon Connect Suite is a holistic, end-to-end suite of products, software, and services that enable corporations, governments, and institutions to meet their sustainability commitments. Specifically, under the Carbon Connect Suite, BDO clients will be able to leverage the Carbon Management System and Carbon Rating System which allow companies to evaluate and benchmark their carbon emissions against industry peers while accessing qualitative feedback on milestones achieved and progress to date against their sustainability goals. This is done based on the company’s scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and assessed based on eight modules that consider factors such as existing emission reduction measures and investments in carbon reduction projects. Overall, this is essential to keeping organisations accountable, enabling them to effectively track, measure, and monitor the quality of their efforts in line with a customised methodology and risk assessment framework based on internationally-recognised standards.

Speaking on the partnership, Gabriel Wong, Co-Founder of MVGX Tech, said “Whether it’s governments or private enterprises, providing the technological tools that can ease the financial and operational burden of sustainability reporting requirements has always been our core focus at MVGX Tech. Our goal is to provide solutions that empower them to stay ahead of the curve, enabling them to easily abide by new regulatory requirements. Named the world’s sixth-highest fossil polluter in 2022, Indonesia has taken significant steps to mitigate its environmental impact through a combination of government-led and private-sector initiatives. Our partnership with BDO in Indonesia is one of the many initiatives that we hope can help Indonesia establish itself as a leader in the sustainability space.”

Thano Tanubrata, the CEO of BDO in Indonesia, said “BDO in Indonesia, as one of the leading firms in Indonesia, is concerned about world problems and situations, especially climate change which is Indonesia’s and everyone’s concern too. Therefore, BDO in Indonesia, as the Leader of Exceptional Client Service, is proud to help all our clients reduce their carbon footprint and towards achieving Net Zero Emission (NZE), which will have a direct impact on achieving Indonesia’s NZE targets and the world NZE target too. We strongly believe that by collaborating with MVGX Tech, a leading Carbon Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, our support in every effort to achieve the NZE of our client can be even more optimal.”

This partnership comes at an especially critical time for Indonesia amid the accelerated timeline it has set for itself to meet its net-zero targets before 2060. Indonesia is one of the world’s leading exporters of commodities such as steel, with exports in 2022 reaching historical highs of IDR 900 trillion (approximately US$60 billion). Such industries are increasingly coming under fire due to their environmental impact, resulting in new reporting frameworks and guidelines being stipulated by trade partners such as the European Union. This includes the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which aims to limit the import of goods that are produced through carbon-intensive methods by implementing a carbon tariff on heavily-polluting industries. CBAM is part of the European Green Deal and will affect almost 20 percent of Indonesia’s exports once in effect by October this year.

All emissions reports submitted by non-EU exporters will need to be certified by a European Union-recognised Global Validation / Verification Body (“VVB”). With MVGX Tech’s Carbon Connect Suite, BDO in Indonesia clients that are exporters to the bloc will be able to operate with the peace of mind that their carbon disclosures are ISO verified and are certified by globally-recognised sustainability standards providers such as the British Standards Institution BSI and TÜV-SÜD. Furthermore, the use of the Carbon Connect Suite will also prepare them for the implementation of Indonesia’s carbon taxation scheme which is estimated to come into effect by mid-2024.