JAKARTA , 17 September, 2015 - Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), one of the largest paper companies in the world, today joined leading global companies in committing to CDP’s ‘Road to Paris’ Initiative. Signatories of the initiative pledge their commitments on fighting climate change and can disclose their progress in fulfilling those commitments through the CDP reporting mechanism. By doing so, APP and other members of the ‘Road to Paris’ initiative will call for a universal climate agreement in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris in December.
APP is committing to the ‘Removing Deforestation’ pillar of the ‘Road to Paris’ initiative. All signatories of the deforestation pillar in the initiative are demonstrating their climate leadership by making a commitment to removing commodity-driven deforestation from all supply chains by 2020. APP itself implemented its zero deforestation commitment across its supply chains in February 2013, thereby making APP well ahead of the deadline.
“Companies making this commitment are taking the first step toward removing deforestation from their supply chains, which is key to creating sustainable, resilient ‘deforestation-free’ supply chains,” said Sara Law, vice president of Global Initiatives at CDP. “Addressing deforestation in supply chains is a crucial means of abating climate change, protecting watersheds and conserving biodiversity. We are excited to lead this initiative as part of CDP’s role in the We Mean Business Coalition. We hope to continue this important climate change initiative through Paris and beyond.”
APP’s commitment to the ‘Road to Paris’ initiative follows its pledge to the United Nations New York Declaration on Forests last September. Through the Declaration on Forests, APP joined world leaders in the groundbreaking commitment to endorse a global timeline to cut natural forest loss in half by 2020, and strive to end it by 2030. This Declaration was endorsed by dozens of governments, some of the world’s biggest companies, and more than 50 influential civil society and indigenous organizations. This is in addition to APP’s further commitment to support the protection and restoration of one million hectares of tropical rainforest in Indonesia; one of the most ambitious conservation commitments ever made by a private company.
“As a signatory to the ‘Road to Paris’ initiative, we have demonstrated our continued commitment to protecting the world’s remaining forests,” said Aida Greenbury, APP’s managing director of sustainability. “Ambitious targets such as zero deforestation can be agreed to, implemented and achieved by global companies, many of those operating in emerging economies. Our view is that wherever a company is involved in the forest supply chain, they should be committing to fight climate change and deforestation. We look forward to working with CDP and the We Mean Business Coalition to help spread this message during Climate Week in New York as well as the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.”
About Asia Pulp & Paper
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is a trade name for a group of pulp and paper manufacturing companies in Indonesia and China. APP is responsible for delivering quality products to meet the growing global demand for tissue, packaging and paper. On any given day, our products find their way into the hands of consumers in various branded forms all over the world.
Started in 1972 with Tjiwi Kimia producing caustic soda, we now run operations across Indonesia and China with an annual combined pulp, paper, packaging product and converting capacity of over 20 million tons per annum. Today, APP markets its products in more than 120 countries across six continents.
Over the years, we have expanded our operations significantly through the acquisition and expansion of several of our pulp and paper mills. It’s our commitment to customer satisfaction that enables us to grow our share in paper sales worldwide and to broaden our presence through offices in many countries. We believe ‘tradition and modernity go hand in hand’ which means we value long term relationships as part of our Eastern traditions, while also embracing modern values of innovation and efficiency.
Maintaining the integrity of our supply chain is crucial to APP’s operations. APP launched itsSustainability Roadmap Vision 2020 in June 2012 and announced its Forest Conservation Policy in February 2013, both designed to further improve APP’s environmental performance, biodiversity conservation, and protection of community rights. Key objectives of the Roadmap are to ensure that APP pulpwood suppliers protect areas of High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS), manage peatlands responsibly, and are 100% Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certified by 2020.
In April 2014, APP launched its commitment to support the protection and restoration of one million hectares of forest in Indonesia. To date, APP and its suppliers have allocated approximately 600,000 hectares for conservation within its suppliers’ concessions and for ecosystem restoration.
Learn more about APP’s path to operational excellence by reading our Sustainability Reports and Forest Conservation Policy on: www.asiapulppaper.com
About CDP
CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. CDP works with market forces, including 822 institutional investors with assets of US$95 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. CDP now holds the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and forest risk commodities information and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. Please follow us @CDP to find out more.
About We Mean Business
We Mean Business is a coalition of organizations working with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses and investors. These businesses recognize that the transition to a low carbon economy is the only way to secure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all. To accelerate this transition, We Mean Business has formed a common platform to amplify the business voice, catalyze bold climate action by all, and promote smart policy frameworks. We Mean Business coalition partners include BSR, The B Team, CDP, Ceres, The Climate Group, the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
About the “Road to Paris” Initiative
CDP, along with the “We Mean Business Coalition,” is offering this “Road to Paris” platform for companies to act and be recognized for their work in fighting climate change. Companies leading by taking action on climate change will be highlighted during Climate Week in September in New York City, and in other locations around the globe leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.