Indonesian paper manufacturing giant Asia Pulp and Paper is awaiting the results of its decision to allow assessment of its progress to eco-friendly business, with an independent evaluation of its Forest Conservation Policy scheduled to be published at the end of the year.
The world's second biggest paper manufacturer, which will soon take number one spot, announced 18 months ago a dramatic policy shift, essentially agreeing to zero tolerance on environmental breaches and transparency to show the world it was serious.
The evaluation by environmental organisation Rainforest Alliance of the paper manufacturing giant’s 18-month-old commitment – which includes zero deforestation, full transparency of its operations, and severe penalties for suppliers found breaking the rules – will assess how well the company is complying with its stated objectives so far.
ProPrint visited members of the evaluation team in the field earlier this week and will report on their process and findings after the report is released late this year.
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The three months of field research at 21 of APP’s 38 concessions, more than one million hectares of the total 2.6 million ha area, ends this week, and the eight-man team will soon begin compiling a report by team leader Keith Moore, an experienced auditor and respected Canadian forester.
Rainforest Alliance has a long history of doing formal audits of forestry operations around the world, such as the FSC certification, and has brought that experience to the evaluation.
High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock assessments of APP concessions by Asia-Pacific Consulting/Ekologica and The Forest Trust respectively are also due out by year’s end, which will likely determine how much of its land is able to be used for plantations and how much will be restored to forest.
The FSC on Tuesday released an update on its informal discussions with APP on ending its disassociation, saying it would only consider begining formal talks after the report is released.
A three-stage process would potentially then begin to secure FSC re-association with a view to APP then regaining the certification after the usual formal supply chain audits are completed.
"Under current FSC rules on conversion, most of APP’s plantations in Indonesia would not be eligible for full forest management certification," the organisation says, indicating it believes there is still much work to be done.
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APP sustainability managing director Aida Greenbury says the Rainforest Alliance evaluation is an ‘additional layer of scrutiny and assurance’ to improve transparency and will be useful for the company to know for itself how it is doing and help improve the FCP.
“What’s most important about the audit is to get the facts out there. We might do the wrong thing, but what is the system that we put in place going to do to fix it?” she says.
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