Jakarta. APRIL Group, a leading Indonesian producer of pulp and paper, was last week recognized as the overall winner at the Sustainable Business Awards. The award acknowledged the range of the company's commitments to sustainable business and to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Riau-based company also received awards for Best in Strategy and Sustainability Management, Best Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality, Best in UN SDGs and special recognition for its contribution to UN SDG 4 - Quality Education.

The SDGs have acted as a framework for businesses to integrate both socio-economic and environmental impacts into their operations.

National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa directly presented the overall winner award to Lucita Jasmin, APRIL Group's director of sustainability and external affairs, and Ibrahim Hasan, president commissioner of Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), the operating arm of APRIL Group.

"These awards encourage us to build on this momentum and continue our progress as we move on to the next level of commitments for 2030 which we will announce soon. We need to continue championing the SDGs in Indonesia and also respond to the need for a more positive impact on climate and nature," Lucita said on Friday.

Shinta Kamdani, the president of Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development, said Indonesia's sustainability goals would not be achieved without the ongoing input and leadership of private companies.

"They have resources, specialized skills, cutting edge technologies and innovations. This is why we welcome initiatives such as the SBAs, which highlight the different ways in which private sector companies are implementing sustainability into their operations," Shinta said. 

The best strategy and sustainability management award acknowledged APRIL's implementation of its Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2.0 across its supply chain.

APRIL was also recognized for its robust stakeholder engagement with suppliers, employers, customers and regulators.

"We are fully committed to sustainable forest management as part of our production-protection model, where socio-economic development is integrated with environmental protection in line with both the government's goals and UN SDGs. This model recognizes that development and sustainability are two sides of the same coin in Indonesia," Triana Krisandini, APRIL Group's sustainability assistant director, said.

Meanwhile, the SDGs award was a result of APRIL's in-depth assessment of its priority SDGs and the baseline social and economic impact on the areas where it operates, carried out in cooperation with PwC and UNDP Indonesia, using the SDGs as a framework.

Held by Global Initiatives and the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD), the annual awards aim to increase awareness of sustainable business best practices and demonstrate how sustainable business can benefit companies, the environment and stakeholders.