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For APRIL's Fire Awareness Community Coordinator, Riana Ekawati, the most interesting yet challenging part of her job is to find long-term solutions to prevent land and forest fire in Indonesia.

In 2019, Riana took part as a fellow for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Development Program under the theme of Sustainable Development and the Environment. This program provides the opportunity for young leaders from Southeast Asia to spend six weeks in the United States to work directly with American counterparts.

She was selected to join the YSEALI after writing an essay on the Fire-Free Village Program (FFVP), a community-based initiative started in 2014 to target the root causes of fire and encourage alternatives to slash-and-burn agricultural practices.

APRIL Group is officially certified to use the European Ecolabel logo on its paper product in the “Graphic Paper” category. This certificate is a recognition of the company’s production of environment-friendly products.

The EU Ecolabel certificate was published by the Belgium Competent Body, an independent organization responsible for evaluating, presenting awards, and managing the national application of EU Ecolabel.

The Certification & Compliance Team (C&C) Department started the journey of obtaining this certificate. The team studied EU Ecolabel standards for the paper itself, developed the system to fulfill the criteria, and then collected supporting documents including the certificate schematic similar to the Government’s Green Industry Certification.

APRIL Group’s commitment to running a sustainable business has once again been recognised, with its Energy Management System at its pulp and paper mill recently receiving the ISO 50001:2018 certification from SGS Indonesia.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, which is itself accredited by Accredia, Italy’s national accreditation body.

The ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management Systems Certification signifies that the pulp and paper production processes at Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) are operating effectively while saving on operational costs and energy, contributing to minimum impact on the environment.

As with other certifications, the ISO 50001 follows a ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ cycle to ensure continuous improvement in operations.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are a key driver of economic growth in many countries, especially developing ones. In Indonesia, MSMEs stimulate the creation of jobs and spark innovation which help to reduce poverty, drive development, and increase prosperity.

Unfortunately, due to the global economic crisis amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, many of these companies have been significantly affected. The implementation of various government policies, such as restrictions on large-scale social gatherings aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus have greatly affected the supply of raw materials for MSMEs. This has also caused fluctuations in supply and demand for these businesses, ultimately affecting their overall health.

In view of this, APRIL Group has taken steps to focus on assisting affiliated MSMEs with protection and recovery schemes through its partner program.