APP Sets Path to 100% Pulpwood Supply Certification
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Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), Jakarta, Indonesian, reported this week that it is expanding internal auditing and certification mandates for its pulpwood suppliers as part of its commitment to achieve 100% Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certification by the end of 2020. APP has publicly stated three critical targets that are the foundation of its sustainable forest management program in Indonesia. Those include:
- Source 100% of its pulpwood supply from sustainable plantation stock by the end of 2015
- Achieve the government of Indonesia's SFM certification for APP's pulpwood suppliers by the end of 2015
- Have all exclusive pulpwood suppliers achieve the comprehensive and voluntary-based LEI (Indonesia Ecolabeling 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."
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% 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.
In parallel with its commitment to achieve 100% 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.
Beyond Indonesian regulations and standards, APP says it will continue its support of and auditing toward meeting numerous other forest certification standards.
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