JAKARTA, Indonesia - Thursday, April 4th
2013 [BUSINESS WIRE/ ME NewsWire]
Correction...by Asia Pulp & Paper
Please replace the release dated April 3,
2013, at 11:01 p.m. PT / April 4, 2013, at
2:01 a.m. ET with the following corrected
version due to multiple revisions.
The corrected release reads:
TFT VERIFICATION REPORT SHOWS ASIA PULP &
PAPER MORATORIUM INTACT
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) has issued a
report showing that allegations of its
Forest Moratorium being violated are
unfounded.
The report has been issued following a
complaint received from a consortium of
local NGOs (Relawan Pemantau Hutan
Kalimantan / RPHK) that two of its suppliers
were clearing natural forest in West
Kalimantan Province, in direct contradiction
to APP’s Forest Conservation Policy
announced on February 5th. The cornerstones
of this policy are a commitment to zero
deforestation throughout APP’s supply chain,
and a clear grievance procedure.
On the day of the complaints, APP stated,
“We, and our partner TFT, are investigating
these allegations, and in the interests of
complete transparency, will publish our
findings as soon as they are available.” The
company added that it could not draw a
conclusion until it had all the facts to
hand.
APP has now received The Forest Trust’s
(TFT) full technical report available here.
It includes accurate GPS mapping of the
areas under investigation, records of
discussions with the contractors on-site,
and analysis of ground level activity as
well as examination of inter-company
relationships.
The two allegations made are related to
activities carried out by DTK (PT Daya Tani
Kalbar) and ATP (PT Asia Tani Persada), both
of which are suppliers to APP. In both cases
there was clearance of natural forest being
undertaken, but in neither instance was the
clearance related to APP. Therefore neither
APP, nor its suppliers, are in breach of its
moratorium.
In both cases, however, the over-riding
issue is concession overlap. So far as DTK
is concerned, clearance was for the
development of a palm oil plantation owned
by a company, Gerbang Benua Raya (GBR).
There is evidence of old land clearance, and
there are oil palms that are about 18-months
old.
In the case of ATP, TFT found canal
construction through forested peatland,
being carried out on behalf of a Bauxite
mining business, Karya Utama Tambang Jaya
(KUTJ), a company unrelated to APP.
Additionally, this activity is taking place
outside the APP moratorium area, according
to mapping data.
In neither case is there any evidence of
cross-ownership between APP’s suppliers and
both companies (GBR and KUTJ). APP and TFT
are therefore confident, based on the
evidence in the report, that on this
occasion the allegations made that suppliers
were in breach of the APP Forest
Conservation Policy are unfounded.
Aida Greenbury, APP’s Managing Director of
Sustainability, said, “We committed to full
transparency and to independent
investigation through our Grievance Protocol
of any alleged breach in our moratorium on
natural forest clearance. This is an example
of our commitment in action. Despite
unsubstantiated commentary by some parties,
we said from the start that we would not
speculate before the facts were known. We
will continue to adhere to our grievance
procedures. Where there are concerns, we
urge communities and NGOs to bring them to
our attention and we promise we will be
thorough in our investigation, as we have
been in this case. We also reiterate the
fact that if a supplier were found to be in
breach of our Forest Conservation Policy, we
will not hesitate to take swift action.”
“There is a wider issue at stake,” she
continued. “Licensing and concession overlap
is not uncommon in Indonesia. It is clear
that there must be greater precision in
governance. Currently, APP and TFT are
mapping all overlapping areas in our
suppliers’ concessions. Once we have all the
details, we will adopt a strategy to resolve
this and protect the integrity of the
natural forests in the areas, together with
other stakeholders, national government and
provincial legislatures. We urge other
forest dependent businesses, communities and
NGOs to join us in helping to make this
happen.”
ABOUT APP
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is a trade
name for a group of pulp and paper
manufacturing companies in Indonesia and
China. The APP Group of companies is one of
the world’s largest vertically integrated
pulp and paper companies, with an annual
combined pulp, paper, and converting
products capacity of over 18 million tons.
APP-Indonesia and APP-China currently market
their products in more than 120 countries
across six continents. The majority of APP’s
production facilities are Chain-of-Custody
certified by SVLK, LEI and PEFC.
APP launched its Sustainability Roadmap
Vision 2020 in June 2012 and its Forest
Conservation policy in February 2013, to
further improve its environmental
performance, biodiversity conservation, and
protection of community rights.
For more information about the APP
Sustainability Roadmap Vision 2020, please
visit http://www.rainforestrealities.com or
www.asiapulppaper.com.
The APP Forest Conservation Policy is
available on www.asiapulppaper.com.
ABOUT TFT
Established in 1999, The Forest Trust (TFT)
is a global non-profit that helps businesses
bring responsible products to market.
Responsible products improve peoples’ lives
and respect the environment at all stages of
the product lifecycle. TFT helps its more
than 90 members worldwide build responsible
supply chains by identifying and addressing
embedded social and environmental issues.
Having established a strong record of
achievement in timber supply chains, TFT has
expanded its work into palm oil, leather and
stone. TFT has offices in 15 countries, and
an on-the-ground presence in many more,
http://www.tft-forests.org.
Contacts
APP Indonesia
Redita Soumi, (62-21) 3929266 Ext. 2832
redita_soumi@app.co.id
or
Aniela Maria, (62-21) 392 9266-69 Ext. 2834
aniela_maria@app.co.id