APRIL is committed to providing its customers, including APR, with 100% legal, certified and sustainable products produced by world-class plantation and manufacturing operations. It continues to report on its progress and challenges transparently and will adhere to the supplier requirements of APR when APRIL commences supplying dissolving pulp to it in 2019.
Canopy has released its latest Hot Button Ranking of Global Viscose Producers report which includes sweeping and unsupported statements that negate important facts regarding APRIL’s comprehensive commitment to sustainability and the nature of its supply to viscose producer Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) when it commences operations in 2019.
Under its Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP), APRIL is absolutely committed to: no deforestation and no new development on peatland, evidenced by independent third party audit from KPMG and oversight from APRIL’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC); extensive landscape protection and peatland forest restoration programs, including a commitment to conserve and protect one hectare of forest for every hectare of plantation and the active restoration of 150,000 hectares of ecologically important forest in Riau Province as part of the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) program; and the implementation of a Peatland Roadmap in conjunction with the Independent Peatland Expert Working Group (IPEWG) supported by ground-breaking research into greenhouse gas emissions.
Since 2015, APRIL and Canopy have met multiple times and APRIL has shared perspectives and a contextual understanding of the landscapes in Sumatra where it operates. Canopy has also visited APRIL’s operations and the RER restoration area. This engagement has been led by APRIL’s Chairman Bey Soo Khiang and included representatives from APRIL’s SAC, IPEWG and conservation and restoration advisors with the aim of enabling an informed understanding of APRIL’s progress and challenges in the implementation of its sustainability commitments. Given this extensive positive dialogue, APRIL is disappointed with the assessment Canopy has arrived at.
The basis of Canopy’s assessment is a restricted definition of what constitutes “Ancient and Endangered” forests, exemplified by how the entire land mass of Sumatra in Indonesia is marked on Canopy’s map as ancient and endangered and therefore implying a controversial source of fibre supply.
This blanket categorisation does not reflect the reality on the ground in Sumatra where more than 50 million people live and today participate in a developing economy that supports a wide variety of sustainable agricultural land uses and manufacturing activities. This position essentially renders any sustainable agricultural and forestry land use pursuit in Sumatra as high risk, regardless of its legal standing or compliance with international standards, which is not a constructive basis for helping to drive sustainable businesses forward.
Canopy’s application of this framework also neglects the wider development imperative in Indonesia where it is important that economic, community and environmental needs are balanced to sustain growing populations and promote sustainable business and protect ecosystems across the landscape.
The premise that forest conservation and restoration can sit side-by-side with responsible development has long been widely accepted by many other NGOs, civil society groups and certification programs.
APRIL believes this can be achieved through a production-protection-inclusion model that includes deep commitment to responsible peatland management, forest restoration and conservation backed by science-based practices and research. Indeed, through its forest restoration efforts, APRIL is very much aligned with Canopy’s conservation initiatives, highlighted by the company’s US$ 100 million investment over ten years to conserve or restore ecologically important peatland forest areas on the Kampar Peninsula and Padang Island in Sumatra, Indonesia.
The facts regarding APRIL’s sustainability commitments are:
- APRIL’s SFMP commits it to no deforestation and no new peatland development across its supply chain[1], whether from its own sources or from suppliers. Annual independent third-party assurance audits have shown that APRIL has adhered to these commitments and it continues to evolve its policies and practices in response to stakeholder expectations.[2]
- All of APRIL’s wood supply – and supply of dissolving pulp that will be supplied to APR once it commences operations – comes from renewable plantation sources that are certified under global forest management standards.[3]
- Based on accepted industry frameworks including High Conservation Value (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS) and other assessments, APRIL is conserving or restoring 369,420 hectares of forest in Indonesia, including 150,000 hectares of peat forest as part of the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau program – and aims to reach a 1-for-1 target where it protects one hectare of conservation forest for every hectare of plantation.[4]
- Some of APRIL’s concession areas and plantations are on peatland.[5] APRIL has gone to significant lengths to effectively and scientifically manage peatland to maintain HCV areas and to manage water levels. It continues to improve those practices as the science evolves and the outcomes of its research into GHG emissions are realised.[6]
- The Independent Peat Expert Working Group (IPEWG) was formed in 2016 to support APRIL by providing science-based recommendations on its responsible peatland management strategy.[7] The IPEWG consists of six peatland scientists from UK, Finland and Indonesia. To guide its work with APRIL, the IPEWG developed a Peatland Roadmap[8] that has three key components:
- Science-based understanding and minimising impacts based on science.
- Responsible peatland operations designed to minimise fires, optimise yields, improve community livelihoods and minimise subsidence.
- Developing a long-term peatland vision based on a combination of responsibly-managed production, restoration and rehabilitation.
- APRIL has not established a new pulp mill and has only converted one of its pulp production lines to dissolving pulp. All wood supply needs must be met in compliance with its sustainability policy.
- Despite complex land ownership and mapping processes in Indonesia , APRIL has no major social or community disputes. All grievances filed with the company are documented on its Sustainability Dashboard, and APRIL is working directly with the parties involved and with government to resolve outstanding land claims.
- Through its operations and SFMP commitments, APRIL has and continues to make a significant contribution to development opportunities for local communities including creation of thousands of jobs and improvements in community infrastructure, education and healthcare. These are outlined in APRIL’s Sustainability Report.[9]
The most recent audit of APRIL’s implementation of its sustainability policy was completed by KPMG PRI Canada in July 2018.[10] As with all APRIL’s assurance reports, the findings were published for all stakeholders’ review in line with the company’s commitment to transparency.
APRIL is committed to providing its customers, including APR, with 100% legal, certified and sustainable products produced by world-class plantation and manufacturing operations. It continues to report on its progress and challenges transparently and will adhere to the supplier requirements of APR when APRIL commences supplying dissolving pulp to it in 2019.
APRIL remains keen to engage in a constructive dialogue with Canopy, along with other stakeholders and industry players, to help shape a vision for sustainable viscose that is balanced, inclusive and is mindful of the needs, rights and aspirations of the local people in Indonesia.
[1] See: Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2.0, Section I and II
[2] ‘Report on APRIL Group’s Implementation of Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2.0,’ KPMG Performance Registrar Inc., July 2018
[3] See: ‘Report on APRIL Group’s Implementation of Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2.0,’ pp.17-26.
[4] ‘Empowering Development: APRIL Sustainability Report, 2017,’p.6.
[5] ‘Empowering Development: APRIL Sustainability Report, 2017,’p.6.
[6] ‘Empowering Development: APRIL Sustainability Report, 2017,’p.17.
[7] See: APRIL Sustainability Dashboard, ‘About IPEWG’
[8] See: APRIL Sustainability Dashboard, ‘Peatland Roadmap’
[9] ‘Empowering Development: APRIL Sustainability Report, 2017,’pp.23-27
[10] ‘Report on APRIL Group’s Implementation of Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2.0,’ KPMG Performance Registrar Inc., July 2018.
