APP Group pledges US$30 million a year to restore 1 million hectares of Indonesia’s rainforests
It also unveils its new Forest Positive Policy, a more rigorous and structured framework for sustainability
[SINGAPORE] Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Group has launched a new sustainability platform, Regenesis, and pledged US$30 million annually for the next 10 years to restoring and conserving one million hectares (ha) of critical ecosystems across Indonesia.
The aim is to go “beyond conservation to actively restoring ecosystems, supporting communities, and innovating across our value chain”, said Elim Sritaba, chief sustainability officer of APP Group.
Bernard Tan, chairman of APP Group’s sustainability committee, said the commitment is in line with Indonesia’s national sustainability goals of restoring 2 million ha of peatland, rehabilitating 12 million ha of degraded land, and having its forestry and other land uses sector become a net-carbon sink by 2030.
“Because of that, we can also operate under a much more favourable regulatory environment,” he added.
Under Regenesis, APP Group also introduced its Forest Positive Policy on Wednesday (Sep 10). It builds on the company’s 2013 Forest Conservation Policy and puts forth a more rigorous and structured framework for sustainability.
Structured around three core pillars – forests, people and value chain – the new policy aims to ensure positive ecological outcomes through landscape management, empower communities via inclusive development, and create shared value by way of responsible supplier management.
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The earlier policy had signalled APP Group’s commitment to no deforestation, and laid out the principle of free, prior and informed consent with local communities.
The group said that since 2014, it has maintained 89 per cent of natural forests across its concessions in good condition.
Still, a 2023 review by Greenpeace found there were 46,000 to 75,000 ha of deforestation in supplier concessions or companies connected to APP Group since February 2013.
Remedying FSC relationship
The announcement also comes as APP Group continues its long journey to remedy its relationship with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a globally recognised standard for responsible forestry.
FSC disassociated from APP Group in 2007 due to destructive forestry practices. The company’s remedy process to address past environmental and social harm was suspended in January this year, but resumed in July.
APP Group stated the new policy is closely aligned with the emerging expectations of the FSC Remedy Framework.
To ensure transparency and accountability, the group will establish an independent restoration unit to manage the implementation of these conservation programmes. This unit will be guided by independent experts, including conservation and peatland specialists.
Additionally, the company will implement an internal audit programme, and progress will be reported publicly through an annual sustainability report and a dedicated dashboard.
The committed funds are currently positioned as catalytic capital, with official plans expected to be announced over the next 12 months.
APP Group is developing mechanisms to deploy these financial resources transparently, and these funding mechanisms will be announced in due course as well, it said.
Noting the platform’s importance in enabling partnerships, Tan said: “The financing and scale of the projects can be much larger if people join us to do it. If we do get more financial and operational partners... we can achieve much more.”
He added: “Part of the whole idea of launching Regenesis... is really a search for partnerships.”
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