BOI Research has supported organisations conducting environmental research in Indonesia for the past four years. Forest fires, deforestation, pollution, and energy insecurity raise questions about corporate and government competence and accountability. Understanding how people experience these issues, and what they expect in response, is an important part of this work.
BOI Research supports research design, questionnaire advice and development, and analysis for several organisations focusing on the environment, while Surveyou! provides sampling for these projects. Together, this support helps organisations research public understanding, identify priorities, and assess expectations of government and business.
Understanding Gen Z’s environmental priorities
BOI Research has advised Kawula17, the flagship programme of the Pelopor Pilihan 17 Foundation, on research design for its recurring National Kawula17 Survey (NKS) and National Benchmark Survey (NBS). Research that often touches on environmental research in Indonesia. Through the Surveyou! panel, we provide online samples drawn from across Indonesia, including urban and rural areas.
The quarterly NKS, annual or semiannual NBS, and issue-specific quick polls examine young Indonesians’ views on public issues, including the environment. Their findings are available through Kawula17’s publications.
The findings identify concrete environmental concerns. In NKS Q2 2026, young Indonesians selected damage from mining, the appropriation of customary forests, palm-oil expansion in Papua, and deforestation among the environmental problems requiring government action.
Young Indonesians also expect action and accountability. In Kawula17’s Climate Quick Poll, conducted in May 2026, 50% selected protecting forests from deforestation as a necessary policy response, while 41% selected stronger law enforcement. These findings show a demand for government action to protect the environment and enforce the rules.
Expectations of government and confidence in delivery
Those expectations are not always met. In the NBS H1 2025, 78% assessed the government’s role in addressing environmental problems as below or far below their expectations.
Kawula17 also tracks broader confidence in the government’s ability to fulfil its programmes. In June 2026, 49% were not confident or very unconfident, compared with 22% who were confident or very confident. This measure concerns government programmes generally, but provides context for examining environmental accountability: what people expect, how they assess performance, and whether they believe the government can deliver.
Research on energy transition, energy insecurity, and forest fires
Our work extends to focused studies on energy transition, energy insecurity, and forest fires. One study examined public understanding of energy transition, preferences concerning fossil and renewable energy, affordability, reliable supply, and whether benefits and burdens are shared fairly.
Another investigated experiences of rising costs and power disruptions, alongside perceived causes of forest and land fires, their consequences, responsibility, and preferred government responses.
This work forms part of BOI’s social and economic impact research, which examines people’s experiences, stakeholder perspectives, and the outcomes of programmes and policies.
Asking questions that distinguish knowledge, experience, and expectations
These projects require careful questionnaire design. Having heard of energy transition does not necessarily mean understanding it. Considering an environmental problem important is different from experiencing its effects. Supporting a policy is different from believing the government can deliver it. Our advice and analysis help clients distinguish these questions.
How respondents express their assessments also matters, particularly when survey findings enter public debate. BOI Research has been helping Kawula17 refine its wording and response scales. Four-point Likert scales offer a clear way to express satisfaction or support, but leave limited room for differences in intensity. Kawula17 uses a ten-point scale to capture how young Indonesians rate government performance, giving respondents more room to express the strength of their assessment.
Research by Preston and Colman supports considering longer scales: their study found improvements in several measures of scale quality up to around seven categories, with respondents preferring the ten-point format.
For the past four years, BOI Research and Surveyou! have supported organisations researching environmental issues in Indonesia. We remain committed to helping them understand people’s experiences, priorities, and expectations of those responsible for addressing these challenges.
