Building a Competitive Industry Through Sustainable Growth

As climate risks intensify and pressure on planetary boundaries grows, sustainability is becoming increasingly connected to a more fundamental question for business: how can Indonesia continue to grow while strengthening the competitiveness of its industries? 

At the MIND ID Group Sustainability Learning and Workshop, Chief Operating Officer of IBC, William Sabandar, shared perspectives on how businesses can respond to this challenge by moving sustainability beyond compliance and embedding it into how companies invest, innovate, operate, and create long-term value.

For IBC, sustainability and the energy transition are closely linked to Indonesia’s broader economic competitiveness. Energy affects production costs, investment quality, industrial productivity, job creation, and Indonesian companies' ability to participate in increasingly low-carbon global value chains. This means the transition cannot be viewed solely as an environmental agenda. It must also become part of the industrial agenda.

Indonesia has significant advantages, from renewable energy resources and critical minerals to a large domestic market and a growing manufacturing base. The challenge is turning these assets into competitive industries, bankable projects, stronger domestic capabilities, skilled talent, and quality employment.

William highlighted that this transformation requires strong leadership, effective and consistent policies, market-driven action, and a culture of sustainability embedded across organizations. Corporations also have an important role through innovation, good governance, and long-term investment.

The same message was also reflected in his recent engagement at the SBM ITB Summit, where he emphasized the importance of building a competitive industrial ecosystem to support Indonesia’s energy transition and national development.

Ultimately, sustainable growth should not force businesses to choose between competitiveness and environmental responsibility. Done well, it can strengthen both. The future of growth is therefore not only about how much value Indonesia creates, but whether that value strengthens businesses, society, and the country’s long-term resilience.