Earlier in the year, RE100 team members Maddy Pickup and Toby Walker spent a few weeks in Indonesia as part of our efforts to expand policy advocacy activities into new priority geographies. Here they tell us about the key outcomes of the trip and what this means for RE100s work in Indonesia going forward.
Why did RE100 pick Indonesia?
With over 264 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most densely populated nation in the world and growing. Indonesia used over 240TWh in electricity alone in 2020 and had 14% share of renewables in its power generation the same year. Renewable energy is vital for Indonesia to continue its growth trajectory and with many actors already engaged in the space, it was therefore crucial to understand how RE100 could best support.
Building on our policy paper developed alongside the World Economic Forum, KADIN (the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce) and Accenture, the purpose of our trip was to understand how and where RE100’s unique value proposition could best be used to accelerate the energy transition. We therefore set out to:
- Develop on the ground insights to refine our country approach.
- Establish partnership and agree delivery plan of the RE100 campaign in Indonesia.
- Cultivate relationships with key stakeholders and trigger ecosystems around RE100.
- Promote RE100 and our policy messages where opportunities arise.
On the ground insights
Having undertaken scoping research and conversations ahead of our trip we had a good idea of the general landscape. In person meetings were invaluable to advancing our work and ensuring we use the right approach and narrative to maximise our impact.
We built a strong picture of the opportunities to influence policy, which barriers RE100 should focus on, and crucially how RE100 should approach policy engagement activities. Key takeaways that have helped us to refine our approach include an enhanced understanding of the best modes to engage with the government, and which narratives or policy focuses are likely to land.
Establish partnerships and delivery plans
Local partners are fundamental to our work in any given country, so a core focus for us was to build upon prior conversations to establish local campaign partnerships. It’s important for us to pick partners whose work aligns with the RE100 mission. We’re currently formalising our relationship with two prospective Local Campaign Partners (LCPs).
Relationship building and ecosystem triggers
Meeting in person allowed us to begin cultivating relationships with wider stakeholder groups including suppliers, PLN (the state utility company), international development agencies, and Civil Society Organisations among others. Thanks to generous information sharing, we managed to develop a picture of the existing activities in the space and how RE100 can bring added value to the existing conversation. We’re excited about prospective opportunities to collaborate with the wider NGO and third-sector community in Indonesia.
One of the key levers of influence for RE100 are our members, so we were particularly interested in how we might build the domestic demand signal by encouraging local companies to join. Indonesian headquartered companies are starting to show an interest in decarbonising and renewables, but there is a need to further educate companies on the routes to achieving commitments such as RE100. Equally as important was understanding the role of local ownership of any messaging that RE100 may deliver. These insights have helped us define early-stage activities that will support future local membership and enhance the RE100 voice.
RE100 and our Global Policy Messages
Thanks to how much work is already taking place in the country, we were able to participate in several events to help to promote RE100 and showcase why we’re establishing a local presence. These included RE100 member Heineken’s Cut the Tosh event where we met many local representatives of our global members. We also had the opportunity to present at an event run by the Indonesian Centre for Renewable Energy Studies (ICRES).
Thanks to a meeting with USAID-Sustainable Energy for Indonesia’s Advancing Resilience (SINAR), we presented at an event co-hosted with the Director General for Electricity, focusing on Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This was a fantastic way to raise awareness of RE100, but also ensure that our members needs are factored into the conversation as the JETP takes shape.
Convening and speaking to our members on what we had learned is crucial for our work. We had the opportunity to test out whether we were hitting the issues and angles most important to RE100 members during the trip which proved invaluable for guiding our strategic direction. We were pleased to hear much of what we had heard aligned with our members concerns and priorities for RE100, and we’re grateful to those members for helping us to refine our direction.
What’s next?
RE100 is looking forward to formalising our in-country partnerships and working with them to finalise and kick off our strategy for policy engagement in the country.
Please get in touch if you would like to know more or contribute to our work.
