Certification is part of APRIL's commitment to continuous improvement and product and process assurance for stakeholders such as customers, bankers and governments. The company currently holds a diverse portfolio of national and international certifications that provide end-to-end assurance in the areas of efficiency, quality and sustainability. This portfolio covers mill and plantation operations and extends to finished products.
Rigorous Legal Compliance
APRIL has maintained strict compliance with all relevant Indonesian legal and regulatory requirements related to its operations. Our code of conduct is rigorously enforced to ensure all employees of the company act lawfully. The company has maintained a comprehensive wood "Chain of Custody" system that ensures no illegal wood enters its supply chain.
During the period of this report, APRIL was not subject to any adverse rulings against it on any matters related to its corporate conduct or legal compliance with Indonesian law.
Chain of Custody and Legality Assurance
APRIL has a clear position against illegal timber use and has implemented rigorous systems to ensure that no wood from illegal sources enters its wood supply at any point. To this end APRIL has a policy and a Chain-of-Custody (CoC) system for sourced timber, with third party audits of the CoC system undertaken to assure its integrity. As a forest manager and wood supplier to its mill, APRIL has adopted a number of wood certification and CoC schemes.
We have strict policies on the purchase of only legal wood for use in our mill. These policies are implemented through contracts that are signed before delivery. Wood is supplied from APRIL’s own plantations, supply partners and community plantations (Community Fibre Farms). Suppliers are required to demonstrate that they have a valid cutting permit, transport permit etc. Our commitments to sustainable fibre sourcing and the methods we use to ensure accurate sourcing are outlined in section 3.9 (Fibre Sourcing).
International Certifications
APRIL’s operations in Riau Province, Indonesia are certified under OHSAS 18001 (Safety Management Systems), ISO 9001 and (Quality Management Systems), and ISO 14001 (Environment Management Systems).
Since 2010, APRIL’s production facilities have been certified under Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Chain of Custody standards, ensuring that all raw materials coming into the mill are from non-controversial sources.
In October 2011, APRIL successfully passed audits for certification under Bureau Veritas’ standards for Origins and Legality of Timber (OLB), the first industrial plantation company in Asia to do so. Certificates for OLB Standards for Forestry Companies covering APRIL’s plantations and production facilities were issued in the first half of 2012. RAPP supply partners also successfully passed audits under OLB "Chain of Custody-Acceptable Wood" standards.
Bureau Veritas’ OLB certification is recognized by the Netherlands’ highly respected Kerhout Legal System. Forest management certification is assessed against the requirements of the Dutch government for sustainable forest management. The Kerhout framework was developed in response to the needs of various European governments to assess that timber has been produced, processed and traded in a legal manner.
APRIL is also certified under the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme (HKGLS) for selected plantation-based paper products including PaperOne™ (All Purpose, Presentation, Copier), Laser and Copy brands. In addition to the certifications and audit processes highlighted above, APRIL continues to work actively towards additional certifications including the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) forest management certification via the new Indonesian certification body being established under the PEFC system, the Indonesian Forestry Certification Cooperation (IFCC).
In Indonesia, adoption of sustainable forest management (SFM) is a mandatory obligation for forest operators, as stipulated by the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No.41/1999 on Forestry. This law recognises that an effective implementation of SFM will help ensure that the country’s forest resources continue to provide ecological, economic, social and cultural services in an optimal, balanced and sustainable way. The aim of the law is to promote SFM by allowing forestry stakeholders to assess the progress a company is making toward achieving certification.
National Certifications
Since 2006, APRIL has been certified for Sustainable Plantation Forest Management (SPFM) under the Indonesian Ecolabel Institute’s (LEI) standards. In late 2011, APRIL successfully re-certified under SPFM-LEI for the period of 2011-2016.
LEI has received increasing recognition in global markets including in Japan, where its standards are recognised in the Green Procurement Policy of Japan (Green Ko Nyuho) and are a requirement for Indonesian pulp and paper exporters to Japan. Various LEI-labeled products are also recognised in Europe and the US.
APRIL was the first industrial plantation company in Indonesia to certify under Sustainable Production Forest Management and Timber Legality Verification (PHPL/SVLK) standards from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.
PHPL/SVLK certification was jointly developed and will be endorsed by the European Union (EU) through the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) programme between EU and the Government of Indonesia. This was developed in preparation for the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licensing requirements which came into force in March 2013.
