APRIL2030
Our commitment to deliver a positive impact on climate, nature and people while growing our business sustainably.
By 2030 we will achieve net zero carbon emissions from our land use, positive measurable gains in nature and zero extreme poverty in our communities, while transforming our business for sustainable growth.
Commitments and Targets
Climate Positive
We are implementing science-based solutions to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
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We are taking action on climate through a series of Climate Positive targets that will drastically reduce our carbon emissions based on science-based solutions. These include achieving net zero emissions from land use by optimising carbon sequestration and storage across landscape types including peatland and minimising emissions through science-based landscape management. We will also achieve a 25% reduction in the carbon emissions intensity of our fiber products through investments in science and technology, enhancing our operating systems, and sourcing most of our mill and fibre operation’s energy needs from clean, renewable energy sources.
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Net zero emissions from land use
We will apply science-based solutions to achieve net zero emissions from land use.
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Reducing product emissions intensity by 25%
We will reduce product carbon emissions intensity by 25%.
90%
90% renewable energy for our mill
We will source 90% of mill energy needs from renewables and cleaner energy sources.
50%
50% of fiber operations energy needs from renewable sources
We will source 50% of fiber operation energy needs from renewables and cleaner energy sources.
Thriving Landscapes
We are championing conservation as part of our production-protection landscape management approach.
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We are making sure that a significant portion of our landscape is conserved, protected and biodiverse to deliver Thriving Landscapes. A set percentage of revenue from our plantation forests will go towards forest restoration and conservation. This includes expanding conservation and restoration areas outside our own operating footprint and ensuring zero net loss of protected forest area to achieve measurable gains in ecosystem values. In parallel and to minimize the amount of land needed to meet production requirements, we are investing in silviculture research and technology innovation to achieve a 50% increase in plantation fiber productivity. Tropical peatland science will be advanced through a new research hub and Eco-Camp within our RER restoration area.
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Investing in landscape conservation
Our investment in landscape conservation will be funded by $ 1 USD per tonne of plantation fiber harvested per year.
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Zero net loss of conservation areas
We will ensure zero net loss of conservation and restoration areas.
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Positive biodiversity gains
We will achieve positive gains in biodiversity and other ecosystem benefits.
50%
50% gain in fiber plantation productivity
We will attain a 50% increase in plantation fiber productivity.
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Support wildlife protection in Indonesia
We are supporting wildlife protection and conservation in Indonesia including endangered species through partnerships and collaboration.
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Advance tropical peatland science
We will advance tropical peatland science and contribute to global knowledge and practice.
Inclusive Progress
We are empowering our people and communities through transformative initiatives.
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Inclusive Progress includes targets to empower our people and communities through transformative initiatives in healthcare, education and gender inclusion. Key among them is our target to eradicate extreme poverty in our communities within a 50 km radius of our operations while boosting education and universal access to essential and affordable healthcare. In particular, we will focus on reducing the prevalence of stunting by 50% among children below five years of age in Riau Province. We will also work to boost women’s effective social and economic participation and deliver equal opportunities for advancement.
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Zero extreme poverty
We will eradicate extreme poverty within a 50 km radius of our operations.
10%
Promote quality education
We will achieve 10% above the national PISA ranking in APRIL-supported schools.
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Promote access to healthcare
We are increasing access to primary health care services for targeted villages in Riau.
50%
50% reduction in stunting
We will reduce stunting prevalence by 50% among children below 5 years of age in villages in Riau.
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Advance equal opportunities and participation for women
We will ensure women’s effective participation and equal opportunities for advancement.
Sustainable Growth
We are growing our business through diversification, circularity and responsible production.
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Sustainable Growth of our business will underwrite our investments in climate, nature and people. It will be based on our business becoming more productive, diversified and circular as part of responsible production. As part of that, we will increase material efficiency and chemical recovery through less process water use per product tonne and reducing solid waste. A key target is harnessing advances in technology to source fiber supply from textile waste.
98%
Increased material efficiency and circularity
We will increase our material efficiency and circularity to achieve 98% chemical recovery and 25% less process water use per product tonne.
80%
80% less solid waste to landfill
We will reduce solid waste to landfill by 80%.
20%
20% recycled textile used in viscose fiber
We will source 20% of our cellulosic fiber for viscose from recycled textile.
Questions & Answers
Why is APRIL announcing this now?
We began this process in early 2019 and have been meaning to launch since April this year. Responding to the pandemic has taken our time and focus understandably as we needed to secure the health and safety of our employees and our communities. While Covid-19 remains a concern, we also need to keep a long-term view. In addition, a strong recovery from the pandemic can only be founded on even bolder investments in nature, climate and sustainable development.
How did the company arrive at its targets?
We started with the recognition of the global imperatives – to achieve the 2030 development agenda, meet climate targets of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C, and support the call for greater protection for nature. These were the bases for the key commitment pillars: Climate Positive, Thriving Landscapes, Inclusive Progress, and Sustainable Growth.
We then reviewed industry benchmarks and also consulted very closely with our leadership team so we could define the level of ambition for the targets. These targets need to be on par with global and national ambitions, are stretched and challenging for our company, while also achievable. The draft targets were then presented to our operational management teams in an internal workshop for review and validation. Finally, we conferred with our advisors and key stakeholders for their inputs.
Once the targets were set, we then identified the key metrics and established the baselines using 2019 data for assurance by KPMG PRI. So all in all we have four commitment pillars, 18 targets and 35 indicators.
Are the APRIL2030 commitments aligned with the goals of the Indonesian Government?
APRIL2030 aims to support the Indonesian government in achieving its climate, biodiversity conservation and development goals. Given our operational presence, our support will be mainly through implementation on the ground at the district and village levels.
HOW DO THE APRIL2030 TARGETS ALIGN WITH THE SDGs?
APRIL2030 supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level in Indonesia and more importantly at the village level in the province of Riau. Since 2018, we have been working with PwC Singapore on a process to identify our priority SDGs and have selected 4 as Core (SDGs 12, 13, 15 and 17) and three as Catalytic (SDGs 3, 4, 6) priorities. The alignment of our targets against relevant SDG targets are presented here.
Does APRIL2030 replace SFMP 2.0?
APRIL2030 builds on our Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) 2.0 and on the progress made in its implementation over the last five years. We will continue to adhere to these commitments, with our performance reviewed and reported on by the Stakeholder Advisory Committee and an independent assurance party.
How is APRIL establishing baselines for its targets?
For each of the 18 targets under the four commitment pillars, we have defined performance indicators, resulting in 35 performance metrics for the whole of APRIL2030. In order to measure progress against the targets, we have established the baseline for most of the indicators using 2019 data. These baselines have been independently verified by KPMG PRI Canada as being fit for purpose and accurate.
Who is responsible for achieving these targets? Where does accountability lie within the company?
APRIL2030 is owned at all levels of APRIL. The senior leadership team has been part of the process from the beginning, setting the levels of ambition, providing strategic guidance, and committing the necessary resources from the development phase in 2019 through to implementation over the next 10 years.
Each commitment pillar has a Champion who is a senior member of management and each Champion has formed working groups for the key targets. These working groups have developed action plans that will be part of the operational and management plan starting in 2021. This means APRIL2030 targets will already be embedded in the individual KPIs and in the regular monitoring and reporting done within our company.
How will APRIL track its progress?
Reporting on the performance against the targets will be part of the operational monitoring and reporting., and progress reporting in our annual Sustainability Report, as well as specific milestone reporting potentially in 2023, 2025 and 2030.
Are APRIL’s carbon emissions targets achievable?
Achieving net zero emissions from land use and the 25% reduction in product emissions intensity is absolutely challenging but we are committed to meeting these targets.
We support science-based target setting and have signed-up with The Science-Based Target Initiative to learn and contribute to the network, particularly in the land use sector. For close to four years now, we have been measuring our GHG emissions in our peatland plantations and recently, in our mineral soil plantations through the four GHG eddy covariance towers that we have installed. Using the primary data that we have generated and other inputs, we have measured our carbon footprint (scopes 1 and 3).
We will employ a range of emissions reduction and mitigation strategies both in our forestry and manufacturing operations to achieve our targets, including, for example, more continuous improvements in responsible peatland management, increased conservation and restoration initiatives, and shift to renewable energy sources. We do not claim to know all the answers or have all the solutions right now but we are willing to be part of this process of developing solutions with other stakeholders or partners in the coming years.
How will APRIL achieve its mill emissions reduction targets?
We will reduce our product carbon emissions by using more biomass fuels and reducing energy consumption per tonne of product manufactured. We are targeting 90% of mill energy from renewables.
We will source 50% of our fiber operations energy needs from renewables and cleaner energy sources. We are already implementing B30 diesel which is 30% biomass, and we are converting some of our log transport trucks to natural gas engines as a test towards a lower emission future. Achieving our mill emission targets involves using a higher percentage of biomass and reducing the mill’s energy needs to become more efficient.
Is APRIL2030 binding on long-term and short-term or open market suppliers?
APRIL2030 covers our own operations and our supply partners. We will also engage our entire value chain in support of our 2030 targets, and we hope to encourage and influence others to pursue the same level of ambition.
Why hasn’t APRIL addressed fire prevention in its APRIL2030 targets?
Fire prevention and management is already embedded in our operations. Our Fire Free Village Program has proven its effectiveness over the past five years and continues to be scaled through the Fire Free Alliance. With this operational infrastructure firmly in place, we can focus on other areas of importance through APRIL2030.
How will APRIL advance tropical peatland science?
We have just completed the construction of an Eco Camp for our Restorasi Ekosistem Riau programme which will also serve as the Tropical Peatland Science Hub. We want to encourage and support tropical peatland science research by national and international scientists and academics. We also welcome stakeholders who wish to experience ecosystem restoration work on the ground.
This is part of APRIL’s commitment to peatland conservation and advancing the scientific understanding of tropical peat-swamp forest landscapes. It builds on existing research infrastructure, including access to greenhouse gas towers and ongoing research on carbon dynamics, hydrology and subsidence. It also complements the work already being undertaken by our Independent Peat Expert Working Group.
Will the company continue to plant on peatland under APRIL2030?
Our forestry plantation concessions are significantly on peatland ecosystem and we have obligation to manage this landscape responsibly. Evidence shows responsible management of peatland landscapes are crucial in preventing unmitigated emissions particularly from lack of proper water management, burning and continued encroachment of natural forests. Our experience also demonstrates that the key is in maintaining a balance between production, protection and social needs on the landscape.
We have been investing heavily in science to guide our peatland management practices for both plantations and conservation/restoration areas. And we will continue to advance tropical peatland science as a key target under APRIL2030.
How can APRIL say it is climate positive when the company still operates on peatland?
We acknowledge that there are greenhouse gas emissions from peatland operations, so in recent years we have been generating primary data using the latest science to measure our emissions. This is helping to determine what levers we can pull to reduce our emissions. Emerging data shows that emissions from well-managed plantation operations are much less than what current published data suggests, and that proactive water management and plantation cycling allow us to further reduce the emissions by between 30% and 40%. This work continues.
Meanwhile at a landscape level, we know that responsible peatland management is key to emissions mitigation. This means proactive fire prevention and best-in-class water management. These have resulted in our peatland landscape being one of the better, if not the best managed in the region. We also commit to mitigating any emissions through our conservation and restoration projects, starting with our Restorasi Ekosistem Riau project which restores more than 150,000 hectares of peatland forest on Riau’s Kampar Peninsula.
Anderson Tanoto
Director, RGE
Wang Bo
President, APRIL Group
Bey Soo Khiang
Chairman, April Group
A Letter to Stakeholders
from Our Leaders
Continued investment in climate, nature and sustainable development assumes even greater urgency if we are to achieve a strong recovery. As challenging as the current situation is, it presents businesses with an opportunity, if seized decisively, to boldly transform the future for the better.
APRIL2030 supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level in Indonesia and more importantly at the village level in the province of Riau where our operations are located.
No company’s sustainability vision can be truly enduring if communities are left behind. As a company based in a developing economy, the responsibility to function more sustainably while still delivering essential progress for communities is greater than ever.
APRIL2030 builds on the commitments embedded in our Sustainable Forest Management Policy and on the progress made in its implementation over the last five years.
