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2012-08-10


Pulp and Paper Industry Contributes to Sustainable Economic Development under ’Blue Economy’

 APP Launches 2012 Second Quarter Paper Contract with China Report

 

Shanghai, 1 August, 2012 – The contribution of China’s pulp and paper industry towards furthering the development of sustainable economies under ’Blue Economy’ principles are highlighted in the latest edition of the ‘Paper Contract with China’ (PCwC) Report from APP-China.

 

Proposed by Belgian researcher Gunter Pauli1, the ‘Blue Economy’ ideology emerged as a critical response to the dilemma of trying to strike a balance between rapid economic development and environment protection. 

 

Compared to the widely accepted ‘Green Economy’ concept, which advocates balancing economic development with the consumption of environmental resources, the ‘Blue Economy’ philosophy advocates a model of development that generates economic returns under restorative cycles of economic activity. Within the ‘Blue Economy’, waste is seen as an input, thus eliminating the notion of undesirable by-products. As a result, this model consumes less resources and has the smallest impact on the environment.

 

Professor Zhu Dajian from Tongji University’s Institute of Sustainable Development and Management Research said: “the Blue Economy in practice is a sustainable and cyclic economy that is also profitable.”

With respect to exploring the principles espoused by the ‘Blue Economy’ ideology, the modern pulp and paper enterprises have continued to make encouraging progress helping to further sustainable economic development in the country, this ‘Paper Contract with China’ report affirms.

 

Under the premise of the ‘Blue Economy’ model, existing resources are fully used in cycles of economic growth in which waste is seen as input, similar to living ecosystems. Following this ideal, the pulp and paper industry has put the principles of the ‘Blue Economy’ to use in the area of raw material processing, and most notably the controlled utilization of Mixed Tropic Hardwood (MTH2) in the production process.

 

In Indonesia, the government commissions degraded or logged-over land for use as industrial plantation forests, which also allows residues of MTH produced as part of the plantation development process to be utilized by industries such as the pulp and paper sector.

 

Taking cues from the ’Blue Economy’ model, this is in line with the consensus that the most environmentally productive use of these residues is to incorporate them into industrial manufacturing to generate value, as opposed to leaving them to degrade leading to more CO2 emissions.

 

As one of the largest global pulp and paper companies, APP fully supports Indonesian government policy to allow up to 5% of its fiber supply to come from legally-sourced wood waste or residues. APP has strict policies and practices in place to ensure that only residues from legal plantation developments and sustainable wood fibers enter the supply chain, while ensuring MTH residues used in its production are transparently reported and fully subjected to High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) assessment.

 

The pulp and paper industry has further applied the concepts of the ‘Blue Economy’ by adopting innovative technologies that facilitate the use of renewable materials. In this regard, pulp mills operated by APP systematically recycle the by-product of pulp processing called “black liquid” (mainly composed of lignin and alkaline) by concentrating and burning it to produce steam that in turn generates electricity, while effectively minimizing pollution.

 

 “From the standpoint of an enterprise, the ’Blue Economy‘ model allows us to cut costs and conserve resources, while enhancing efficiency at the same time to achieve higher returns,” said Sophy Huang, PR Director of APP-China. “In this way, ecological balance is achieved without sacrificing economic growth, and this is sustainability in the truest sense.”

 

As a leading member of the pulp and paper industry, APP-China’s recent awards and recognitions are also highlighted in the latest ‘Paper Contract with China’ Report, including being honoured with the “Best Corporate Brand Image” award. APP’s Gold East Paper was also recognized by the China National Light Industry Council as one of the “Top Ten Chinese Light Industrial Paper Enterprise for 2011”. 
 

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Gunter Pauli is a serial entrepreneur, author and initiator of the Blue Economy. He authored the book “The Blue Economy”, with the twin aims of stimulating entrepreneurship while setting up new and higher standards towards sustainability.


2 Mixed Tropical Hardwood (MTH) is wood fiber with vessels having anatomical features consistent with numerous tropical species types which appear different from typical temperate species, according to independent testing laboratory IPS. 


 

About the Paper Contract with China (PCwC)

APP-China launched its upgraded Paper Contract with China manifesto in August 2011. Building upon its previous manifesto released in 2008, the updated version further outlines the company’s sustainable practice and future objectives, and meanwhile calls for the entire pulp and paper industry’s collective efforts in building a sustainable industry. The reinforced manifesto covers three key areas of APP-China including sustainable plantation development, cleaner production and corporate social responsibility.


 APP-China invites all parties that share concerns for a balanced approach to paper manufacturing to share their thoughts with the company, as well as to visit its facilities and assess and supervise its operations. For more information, please visit www.papercontract.com.

About APP-China

Registered in Singapore in October 1994, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is one of the world’s leading pulp and paper companies and is ranked one of the largest vertically integrated pulp and paper producers in Asia. Since APP started investing in China in the early 1990s, it has over 20 pulp and paper mills in the form of subsidiaries or joint ventures, as well as forest plantations with a total area over 300,000 hectares. With over 39,200 employees, APP-China had a total production capability 9.5 million tons in 2011. By the end of 2011, APP-China had spent RMB 6 billion (USD 937.5 million) in environmental protection facilities and RMB 600 million (USD 93.75 million) in various charitable causes and community development projects across the country. For more information, please visit www.app.com.cn.