SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--APP-China has published its latest sustainability report covering its operations in 2010¹. The report aims to keep stakeholders informed of its policies, management, actions, and performance in sustainability throughout resources integration, operation efficiency maximization, and further CSR efforts to seek a balance between environmental, economic, and social development.

APP-China’s 2010 sustainability report adopted all of the core and complementary indices of B+ level of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Version 3.1. In this report, APP-China also adopted the ISO26000 Guidelines on Social Responsibility set by the International Organization of Standardization for the first time.

The report was certified by the leading independent auditor SGS-CSTC Standard Technical Service Co. Limited (SGS) to ensure inclusiveness, materiality and completeness. APP-China also commissioned Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to conduct an independent study on perceptions, expectations and recommendations for APP’s key stakeholders. Waste and discharge of products were found be top concerns, and thus APP-China chose to specifically highlight this part of information in its latest sustainability report.

In 2010, APP-China continually improved its efficiency in resource and water management, the proportion of by-products recycled, whilst decreasing industrial waste.

Key report findings include: (The data disclosed below refers to the sum of those entities specified in the scope of the report)

• Water management: Water consumption, wastewater discharge and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) emissions per product unit all decreased in 2010. APP-China achieved an average rate of 95.9% on its water reuse rate. Hainan Gold Hongye/Hainan Gold Shengpu both carried out water balance analysis, and improved their recycle and reuse rates which increased to 98.5%. The two mills intend to continue their efforts to build a zero-wastewater-discharge system.
• Energy management: In comparison to 2009, the use of black liquor and bio fuel increased by 19% and natural gas increased by 48.9%, which is the equivalent of 290,000 tonnes of coal.
• Recycled paper: Pulp produced from reused and recycled paper has reached 579,900 tonnes, equalling 16.4% of APP-China’s total pulp consumption in 2010. The ratio of collected paper pulp used as raw material was 33% and 50% respectively for Ningbo Zhonghua and Ningbo Asia Pulp & Paper. Recycling not only saved raw material, water and energy, but also reduced waste discharge.
• Employment opportunities: In 2010 APP-China provided 28,552 job opportunities and generated further jobs for the local community through industries such as logistics.
• Volunteer work: In 2010 APP-China employees spent 45,116 hours on volunteering work. This figure has increased by almost 50% since 2009.

2010 marked a significant year for the paper industry in China as it recovered from a global financial crisis, and continued to grow rapidly. APP-China has achieved a total sales turnover of 5.99 billion USD, 10% more than in 2009. During the year, APP-China also continued its sustainability pledge - “Paper Contract with China” manifesto, making its total environmental investment over 869 million USD to-date.

Mr. Teguh Ganda Wijaya, Chairman & CEO of APP-China, said: “In the light of intensified market competition, the integration of strategies and resources will be crucial to APP-China’s sustainable development in the next three to five years. Given the global environmental changes and the National Twelfth Five Year Plan², APP-China will look into product life cycle to leverage our integrated plantation-pulp-paper model, and continue to make improvements on the efficient use of resources and promote a recycle economy with sustainable development.

Download APP-China sustainability report 2010:

• Chinese: http://www.app.com.cn/chinese/promise/20119/a7084730.html
• English: http://www.app.com.cn/files/2011-11/app2010%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87final-11-28.pdf

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 38,900 employees, APP-China had a total production capability of 8 million tons per year in 2010. By the end of 2010, APP-China had spent RMB 5.5 billion (USD 869 million) in environmental protection facilities and RMB 600 million (USD 92.3 million) in various charitable causes and community development projects across the country.

In June 2008, APP-China launched the Paper Contract with China manifesto, to showcase the company’s sustainable development strategy and its long-term commitments to China. For more information, please visit www.app.com.cn and www.rainforestreallities.com.

¹ Sustainability report 2010 is APP’s fifth report since its launch in 2006. The indices covered APP-China head office, 8 pulp and paper mills, APP-China Forestry, and 5 forestry business sub-units.

² The five-year plans of China are a series of economic development initiatives shaped through the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and national congresses. Twelfth Five Year Plan runs from 2011-2015.

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