By Chris Soh
In a stinging report, a website which focuses on sustainability matters have asked if it is just too late for Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest pulp producers.
The story, found here, reminded readers that the company “has a legacy of forest destruction, conflicts with hundreds of local communities, and an historic US$13.9 billion default on its corporate debt, the largest in emerging markets history.”
Authored by leading NGOs Woods & Wayside, Hutan Kita Institute, Wetlands International, Eyes on the Forest Rainforest Action Network and Yayasan Auriga, the writers charge that while APP receives a lot of positive attention for championing sustainability issues, it has done so in a manner that conveniently overlooks the fact that the company is again expanding its operational footprint in ways that are fundamentally unsustainable.
The writers point to the company building one of the world’s largest pulp and paper mills through its subsidiary PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province and goes on to say that even before the mill starts production trials as early as October 2016, the US$3 billion project “has already caused considerable environmental degradation and social disruption, and there are compelling reasons to believe it will continue to do so for decades to come.”
The writers also charge that “APP is building the OKI mill without first establishing a sustainable wood supply. The new mill will depend on fiber supplied from acacia plantations predominantly developed on drained peatlands, which pose significant environmental impacts and financial risks, according to a report released by 12 international and Indonesian NGOs in April 2016.
In Singapore, APP’s products like Paseo and Livi are still off the shelves but it is expected that the company will subscribe to a new eco-labeling system being set up by the Singapore Environment Council. The new label was announced by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli earlier this year. Any inability for APP to agree to the terms of the new label will only mean that there is a continued loss of revenue for APP.
APP’s products have been off the shelves for a year since they were suspended from using the Singapore Green Label last year at the height of the haze.
