Q&A with Eduward Ginting, APRIL2030 Sustainable Growth Champion and Chief Operations Officer of PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper

Following a strategy of integrating APRIL2030 into our business operations, the APRIL2030 Steering Committee appointed business unit heads as Champions of each of the commitment pillars – Climate Positive, Thriving Landscapes, Inclusive Progress and Sustainable Growth.

This is the fourth in a series that shares the perspectives of these Champions who, since its launch in 2020, have led the integration of the APRIL2030 targets and performance indicators in forestry, manufacturing and other aspects of APRIL’s operations.

In this Q&A article, Eduward Ginting, Chief Operations Officer, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, the operating arm of APRIL Group, outlines how sustainable production is implemented at APRIL’s pulp and paper operations in Pangkalan Kerinci, in Riau province, Indonesia, as part of the company’s APRIL2030 agenda.

Q. Let’s start with a hard question. What is the role of companies like APRIL in addressing climate change and protecting nature?

“Combating climate change and protecting nature are global imperatives, so it is essential that the private sector plays a significant role, and we do. That role is even more important in geographies like Indonesia, where development and sustainability are deeply interconnected, and the role of people and communities are central to protecting nature and biodiversity.

We know from our decades of experience in our operating environment, that companies cannot leave it to governments and civil society to do the heavy lifting alone – particularly those like us with resource-intensive operations. Supporting the government and working with national and international partners are essential to drive progress. Our APRIL2030 agenda is a prime example of this”.

Eduward Ginting, Chief Operations Officer, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, at the company’s operations in Pangkalan Kerinci, in Riau province, Indonesia

Q. Does doing right by climate and nature mean compromising on business goals?

“APRIL has grown significantly in recent years, even as we’ve enacted our most ambitious climate and nature commitments. We fundamentally believe that balancing the production and protection sides of our business makes good business sense, and that sustainability and responsible production can work hand-in-hand.

There is a good synergy between our philosophy of focusing on Quality, Productivity and Cost (QPC) and sustainability. It means less consumption of chemicals and other raw materials. That will reduce cost, and we will use less energy, though investment is often required to achieve more sustainable ways of working.

Sustainable production has other benefits too. Customers are increasingly conscious of the impact of their purchases on the climate and nature. Our sustainability credentials put us in a good position to expand our market share with climate-conscious consumers. It also helps us gain access to finance from lenders with strong criteria on climate and nature.”

Q. How do you engage the 14,000 people working in operations at the Kerinci site in sustainability topics?

“Achieving sustainability improvements through innovation requires strong and sustained leadership, but it can’t just be top-down. It requires input from people at all levels in the company. While we have committed leadership from the top of our business, we also continue to develop a stronger sustainability culture in our mill operations over the past decade or more, connected to our focus on continuous improvement.

We implement continuous development through the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen which emphasises gradual, incremental changes across all aspects of an organisation. At APRIL, that is not just owned by the management but is everyone’s responsibility.

Practical examples include extracting value from waste products or finding ways to recover input chemicals so they can be reused. The combination of Kaizen and innovation in science and technology is powerful and a huge contributor to our increasing sustainability as a business. It’s an approach that we all buy into.”

Q. How is circular production applied at APRIL?

“Circularity has been a strategic driver for many years. From an economic perspective, it makes sense to incorporate as many of the by-products that are generated through our production processes as possible. We apply technology to create more circular production systems that recover and reuse key resources or find value in waste products.

This delivers tangible business benefits through higher productivity and lower cost. Again, circularity is good business. For example, APRIL is turning industrial waste such as zinc sludge and sulfate of potash into fertilizer that can be used in our plantations.

This partly displaces the commercial fertilizer that the planting teams deploy around each seedling they plant to give an early growth boost. The motivation is partly to save cost on fertilizer and reduce waste from the mill, but it also makes us more self-sufficient and resilient to supply chain disruptions.”

Q. What about APRIL’s targets in reducing the amount of solid waste to landfill?

“We are already well on the way to achieving our target of sending 80 percent less solid waste to landfill by 2030. The weight of solid waste per tonne of product is down from 71 kg in 2021 to 32.3 kg in 2024.

That has been achieved by using bottom ash from our power boilers as a sub-base for roads as well as turning brown fibre from pulp production and sludge from our wastewater treatment plant into feedstock to fuel our boiler. Once again, creativity and innovation has led to a more sustainable solution that is saving the business money.”

Q. How would you assess progress in APRIL’s chemical recovery processes?

“This is quite unique in our pulp mill, because there are two chemicals mainly recycled in the process. One is soda and the other one is lime. Our consumption of purchased soda and lime is currently higher than the 2019 baseline, due to the increased volume of fibre we’re processing, which is in turn due to the increases in our plantation productivity.

Due to the increases in production output, APRIL’s chemical recovery figure is set to decrease before future investments come on stream that will bring it back up again, so it’s a work-in-progress and typical of the recalibrations we continue to make as we introduce new innovations and benefit from gains elsewhere in our supply chain.

A new lime kiln is planned for commissioning in 2026. This will improve recovery of lime and get us closer to the stretch target of 98 percent chemical recovery.”

Q. How are you reducing APRIL’s water use?

“Our target is to reduce water use per tonne of product by a quarter. Basic discipline in water usage management is essential. We have also realised that our existing equipment for the washing and bleaching of pulp is nearing the end of its lifetime. We are planning a multi-million-dollar renewal project in the coming years to install new equipment that will be more efficient. At the same time, we are assessing other process equipment to be upgraded to help us achieve our target of using 25 per cent less water”.

Q. Lastly, what gains are you making in energy efficiency?

“We anticipate continuous improvement. Currently, we are focusing on energy efficiency, both in terms of generation as well as usage. For alternative power, we will continue to grow our solar generation capacity. That has been a significant highlight from our APRIL2030 commitments.

We began with no solar panels at our Kerinci site in 2020 and a target of 25MW of installed capacity by the end of the decade. In fact, we exceeded that target six years ahead of schedule, hitting 26.3MW last year. We’ve now doubled the 2030 target to 50MW. At the same time, we’re now rolling out solar power to the facilities in our estates, so reducing our reliance on diesel to power generators.

New technologies are evolving which will help us to cut our carbon emissions in future. The economics of using green hydrogen are challenging currently, but in future it may be a feasible option for powering the mill, which would mean using less coal. I see 2030 as a tipping point in many development areas. At APRIL, we are monitoring it very closely and looking for opportunities to shift towards greener and even more sustainable solutions.”

The recent report – Progress & Pathways: An Update on APRIL’s 2030 Sustainability Commitments and Targets – can be downloaded here.