Jakarta-based Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), one of the world’s largest pulp and paper producers, joined Indonesia’s leading trade associations and companies involved in exporting wood-based products to pledge its support of and commitment to Indonesia’s national timber legality and traceability standards. The unified industry group also called on countries worldwide to adopt national procurement policies recognizing and endorsing Indonesian standards.

“We are here today representing the Indonesia Pulp and Paper Association (APKI) and its membership across Indonesia with a simple message and call to action: APKI members are jointly committed to 100 percent adherence to Indonesia’s National Standard for wood legality. We want to send a message to the world that we will not tolerate, nor will we accept illegal wood entering the Indonesian pulp and paper supply chain,” said Ms. Aida Greenbury, APP Managing Director.

Indonesia’s chain of custody (CoC) certification program, enacted in 2009, establishes strict wood legality and verification systems (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu/SVLK) to ensure wood products exported from the country are legal and traceable to verified points of origin. SVLK certification is designed to ensure that the industry will only receive and process timber from legal sources according to the regulations of Indonesia, covering aspects of licensing, harvesting, transporting and processing for the industry. SVLK is an important step in the effort to achieve full Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certification.

Ms. Greenbury, speaking at a forum in Jakarta Thursday (March 10), said foreign countries importing wood-based products from Indonesia should have complete confidence that Indonesian products certified under SVLK guidelines adhere to the highest standards for wood legality and support SFM principles. These standards should be accepted and considered equal to those legal requirements created by countries with the intention to protect their own natural forests and mandate sustainable plantation forestry practices.

“Based on these principles, we must be granted the opportunity to engage in free and fair trade with countries around the world, with governments respecting our sovereign right to develop a healthy pulp and paper industry for the benefit of our citizens. We need a level playing field, with fair trade granted on a reciprocal basis and where governments refrain from passing legislation that effectively restricts Indonesia’s right and opportunity to compete,” said Ms. Greenbury.

A vibrant and growing pulp and paper industry is essential to Indonesia’s emerging economy. Forestry and related industries contribute approximately $18 billion of Indonesia’s GDP, or 3.3 percent. That’s more than triple the average across Asian countries of 1.1 percent. The pulp and paper industry, which is estimated to be responsible for approximately 250,000 of Indonesia’s 600,000 jobs in forestry and related industries, also generates an estimated half of the US$7 billion annually that the forestry sector contributes to state income.

“The Government of Indonesia has a strong commitment to help reduce poverty as part of its support for UN Millennium Development Goals. And the pulp and paper industry plays a critically important role in that effort, both through direct job creation as well as community development and empowerment programs,” Ms. Greenbury said. “APKI members across Indonesia work in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, government leaders, local NGOs and community leaders to help create a positive environment to help advance our efforts to attain SFM certification.”

At the forum attended by a wide range of public and private forest industry stakeholders from Indonesia, the European Union, the US, Australia and Japan, Ms. Greenbury outlined APP’s path to 100 percent certification of its pulpwood supply, CoC and Legal Origin Verification and Traceability systems. She also provided a preview of a new program APP is embarking on to map its future leadership path. In addition to SFM and certification standards, the roadmap will incorporate efforts across the organization to address climate change and carbon reduction measures in forestry and manufacturing operations, clean water programs, and community and social development programs to address poverty alleviation.

“We are creating a roadmap for sustainable forest management and paper manufacturing with a vision to take APP to 2020 and beyond,” said Ms. Greenbury. “Core pillars of APP’s 2020 vision will include sourcing 100 percent of our pulpwood supply from sustainable plantation stock by the end of 2015, achieving the government of Indonesia’s mandatory SFM certification for APP’s pulpwood suppliers by the end of 2015, and having all exclusive pulpwood suppliers achieve the comprehensive and voluntary-based LEI (Indonesia Ecolabelling Institute) certification standard by the end of 2020.

“These goals form the foundation of a sustainable forest management program that should instill confidence in customers worldwide that Indonesia and APP are serious about our commitment to SFM principles and protecting our supply chain from illegal wood.”

About APP

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is the brand umbrella for paper products manufactured by a number of mills in Indonesia, inter alia PT. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, PT. Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mills, PT. Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia Tbk, PT. Lontar Papyrus Pulp & Paper Industries, PT. Ekamas Fortuna and PT. The Univenus. APP is headquartered in Indonesia and markets its products to over 120 countries. The majority of APP’s production facilities hold Chain-of-Custody certification from LEI and PEFC.

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