Legal Adequacy of Green Zakat Environmental Impact Reporting in Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the normative adequacy of Indonesia’s zakat legal framework in mandating transparency and environmental-impact reporting for “green zakat” programs. It draws comparative insights from Malaysia’s dual structure of zakat regulation and Islamic sustainable finance to propose an integrated legal standard for ecologically accountable zakat governance.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The study employs doctrinal legal research combined with functional comparative law. It undertakes a systematic analysis of Law No. 23/2011 on Zakat Management and its implementing regulations, reads them alongside Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, and contrasts the Indonesian setting with Malaysian state zakat enactments and federal-level frameworks on value-based intermediation, green sukuk and Islamic SRI.

Findings

The findings show that Indonesian zakat law has significantly institutionalised financial and social transparency but remains normatively silent on environmental reporting. In contrast, environmental law and sustainable finance regulations operate in a separate, parallel regime. Malaysia exhibits a similar gap for zakat, but its more advanced Islamic green finance ecosystem demonstrates that integrating environmental objectives into Islamic financial governance is both doctrinally sound and operationally feasible.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is confined to textual and policy sources and does not empirically measure implementation or institutional capacity, suggesting the need for future empirical and mixed-methods research.

Practical implications

The paper proposes concrete elements for statutory and regulatory reform, including explicit environmental reporting obligations, maqāṣid-based indicators and tiered implementation for zakat institutions.

Social implications

Highlights the broader societal or community impact. Strengthening environmental impact reporting for green zakat enhances public trust, mitigates greenwashing risks and aligns Islamic social finance with broader sustainability agendas.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to assess the legal adequacy of green zakat environmental reporting and to construct a maqāṣid-grounded, comparative legal framework for ecologically accountable zakat governance.