Decoupling Business Growth from Deforestation as Indonesia Builds Back Better
APRIL Group is committed to sustainable growth, one of the four main pillars of APRIL2030, which is the company’s action agenda to drastically reduce carbon emissions, champion conservation in production–protection landscapes, promote inclusive progress and grow the business through circularity and diversification.
Key APRIL2030 targets include net zero emissions from land use, reducing product emissions intensity by 25%, increased use of renewable energy by up to 90%, zero net loss of conservation area, positive biodiversity gains and zero extreme poverty in its communities.
As the global community strives to build back better from the pandemic, APRIL will again make a significant investment in Riau to demonstrate that growth can be decoupled from deforestation while also contributing to Indonesia’s economic recovery. This planned investment will drive the production and export of higher value-added, bio-based products and generate thousands of jobs. It will also spur the company’s shift towards renewable energy sources, including the installation of 20MW solar panels at its operations site. When completed in 2025, this will be one of the largest private sector solar panel installations in the country.
APRIL has recently undertaken a rigorous Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) process under Indonesian government requirements as part of plans to grow its business through further diversification. This process includes public consultations and other approval procedures.
Fibre supply to meet any future increase in production capacity will come from 100% plantation fibre sourced from APRIL’s current supply chain and, as embedded in its Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP 2.0), will continue to meet strict commitments to no deforestation. The company has posted a 29% increase in fibre yield, gained over the past three years. Integral to this achievement are the combined strategies of sustainable intensification, land optimization and production efficiencies.
APRIL has also secured this year the capability to achieve fibre self-sufficiency from APRIL’s owned and Supply Partners’ concessions for its current pulp production capacity of 2.8 million tonnes per annum. This is based on APRIL’s long term fibre supply plan which has been independently reviewed by Finnish forest consultancy company Indufor. Results of this review and an updated fibre supply plan, which were presented to the APRIL Stakeholder Advisory Committee in 2019 and again in 2020, confirm the achievement of self-sufficiency by mid-2021.
Moreover, the company targets a 50% gain in fibre plantation productivity over the next decade under its APRIL2030 commitments. This means it will achieve significant further productivity gains from the same concession footprint through continued investment in science, leading edge R&D, deployment of better performing species and improved silvicultural practices.
Meanwhile, improvements in its production processes for wood conversion have already delivered a reduction of up to 10% in fibre required per tonne of pulp production.
APRIL also maintains a network of preferred open market suppliers which the company has been engaging to build compliance with its SFMP 2.0. These open market suppliers are also covered by the annual audit conducted by KPMG on APRIL’s SFMP 2.0 compliance.
APRIL’s sustainable growth is inextricably linked to its commitment to forest protection and increased investment in nature. Under APRIL2030, USD$1 per tonne of plantation fibre supply per year is committed to the funding of existing and further forest conservation and restoration activities. This results in a commitment of more than $100 million for investment in nature over this decade.
