Asia Pulp & Paper Lays Out Key Milestones On Path to 100 Percent Pulpwood Supply Certification

AKARTA, Indonesia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Indonesian-based Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is expanding internal auditing and certification mandates for its pulpwood suppliers as part of its commitment to achieve 100 percent Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certification by the end of 2020.

“Today, less than 10 percent of the world’s forests are certified. Striving for 100 percent certification of all APP pulpwood plantations is a highly ambitious goal, but one we believe is attainable and essential to the future integrity of our sustainable forest management program”

APP has publicly stated three critical targets that are the foundation of its sustainable forest management program in Indonesia. Those include:

1) To source 100 percent of its pulpwood supply from sustainable plantation stock by the end of 2015;

2) To achieve the government of Indonesia’s SFM certification for APP’s pulpwood suppliers by the end of 2015; and

3) To have all exclusive pulpwood suppliers achieve the comprehensive and voluntary-based LEI (Indonesia Ecolabelling Institute) SFM certification standard by the end of 2020.

“We believe these goals are essential to APP’s commitment to support sustainable forest management programs in Indonesia, China and around the world. They provide a foundation that will assure stakeholders that APP is operating in full legal compliance and continuing to strive to be a global leader in responsible paper production,” said Aida Greenbury, Managing Director of APP Group. “The path to achieving those goals demands rigorous independent auditing of all APP operations as well as our pulpwood suppliers.”

While 100 percent of APP’s pulpwood supply is verified legal under Indonesian law, the company is going beyond compliance in establishing its certification goals.

“Today, less than 10 percent of the world’s forests are certified. Striving for 100 percent certification of all APP pulpwood plantations is a highly ambitious goal, but one we believe is attainable and essential to the future integrity of our sustainable forest management program,” Ms. Greenbury added.

By the end of 2015 the company will require its independent pulpwood suppliers to be certified under the Indonesian government’s Sustainable Production Forest Management (Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi Lestari/PHPL) standard. To date, more than 1.3 million hectares, or about 52 percent of the area managed by APP’s pulpwood suppliers, have been certified.

In that same time frame all APP mills will adopt the Government of Indonesia’s new chain of custody (CoC) certification program, which establishes strict new wood legality and verification systems (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu/SVLK). The company began to roll out the standard in 2009, when APP piloted SVLK CoC certification with one of its mills and associated pulpwood suppliers. Rigorous CoC certification supports Indonesia’s efforts to ensure wood products exported from the country are legal.

In parallel with its commitment to achieve 100 percent pulpwood supply by the end of 2015 APP will require its suppliers to be evaluated against Timber Legality & Traceability Verification (TLTV) requirements. APP has adopted this additional assessment as a stepping stone to achieve full certification for its pulpwood suppliers.

For the Indonesian pulp and paper industry, sustainable forest management and conservation begins with strictly adhering to government of Indonesia spatial planning and plantation development regulations as well as Sustainable Forestry Management certification requirements. These standards define requirements for preserving High Conservation Value Forest, restrictions for development on peatland, and community engagement in the plantation development process.

Beyond Indonesian regulations and standards, APP will continue its support of and auditing toward meeting numerous other forest certification standards. Today, there are many Sustainable Forest Management and CoC certification standards for pulpwood, pulp and paper industries worldwide, such as globally recognized Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

“APP has a policy to embrace all credible certification standards which are relevant to and in support of Indonesia’s policies, law and regulations and we will always strive to meet the highest standards that are expected by our customers and partners worldwide. We will continue to apply standards and principles from other globally recognized certifications, including international TLTV, ecolabelling and PEFC,” Ms. Greenbury said.

To view photos related to this announcement, visit APP’s Flickr channel here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/asiapulppaper/sets/72157625988403751/.