NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mr. Teguh Ganda Wijaya, Chairman of Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP), today joined a number of companies, governments and NGOs to sign the New York Declaration on Forests at an event at the UN Climate Summit 2014. The declaration is an unprecedented international, multi-sector commitment to safeguard the world’s forests and to help tackle climate change.
All signatories of the Declaration have committed to a vision of slowing, halting, and reversing global forest loss while simultaneously contributing to economic growth, poverty alleviation, rule of law, food security, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.
The declaration, which was formalised at an event hosted by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, highlights that reducing emissions from deforestation and increasing forest restoration are key to tackling climate change. Partners are called on to work together to:
- At least halve the rate of loss of natural forests globally by 2020 and strive to end natural forest loss by 2030
- Restore 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and significantly increase the rate of global restoration thereafter, which would restore at least an additional 200 million hectares by 2030
- The full list of commitments have the collective target of achieving a reduction in emissions by 4.5-8.8 billion tons per year by 2030.
Teguh Ganda Wijaya, Chairman of APP said: “United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has done the planet and some of its most critical ecosystems a great service in convening this ground-breaking meeting of governments, global business leaders and NGOs. Business can take the lead in delivering these commitments, but we must work closely with all stakeholders including governments and NGOs to truly tackle deforestation and climate change. One of the most effective ways to do this is by conserving forest, planting trees, and protecting the natural forest that surrounds.
“We at APP also believe that forest-based products can help in this regard because they retain carbon, are recyclable and, when sourced from responsibly managed plantations, are often more sustainable than the alternatives."
Aida Greenbury, APP’s managing director of sustainability added: “We have shown through our own Zero Deforestation policies that ambitious targets to protect the world’s remaining forests can be agreed, implemented and achieved by companies operating in emerging economies. Our view is that wherever a company is involved in the forest supply chain, they should be implementing these policies immediately. There is no time to waste.”
APP announced its Forest Conservation Policy and zero deforestation commitment in February 2013 and over the last 18 months, has been working successfully to implement this policy. Earlier this year, the company made a further commitment to support the protection and restoration of one million hectares of tropical rainforest landscapes in Indonesia, one of the most ambitious conservation commitments ever made by a private company.
Notes to Editors
The New York Declaration on Forests is an important milestone in the journey to the UNFCCC COP 21 meeting in Paris in December 2015.
As part of the Forest Conservation Policy Asia Pulp and Paper have been implementing high carbon stock and high conservation value assessments across their entire supply chain. Renowned environmentalist Tony Juniper visited APP’s facilities to see the assessments being conducted, and created a series of short videos which illustrate how the commitments outlined in the FCP can be practically delivered. The videos can be viewed on the links below.
Asia Pulp and Paper: Sustainability and the Growing Demand for Paper
Asia Pulp and Paper’s Forest Conservation Policy
Asia Pulp and Paper: High Carbon Stock Assessments
Asia Pulp and Paper: Landscape Conservation
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 from all over the world.
Started in 1972 with Tjiwi Kimia producing caustic soda, now we run operations across Indonesia and China with an annual combined pulp, paper, packaging product and converting capacity of over 19 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 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 we also are eager to embrace the modern values of innovation and efficiency.
Maintaining the integrity of our supply chain is also crucial to APP’s operations as well as our commitment to our Sustainability Roadmap Vision 2020. Learn more about APP’s path to operational excellence by reading our Sustainability Reports and Forest Conservation Policy.