Jakarta. Leading pulp and paper producer APRIL Group, which has substantial operations in Indonesia, has signed up for the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org trillion tree platform, a global sustainability initiative to combat climate change by supporting healthy and resilient forests.

With the launch of the 1t.org global pledge process, APRIL and other international companies, including Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever, have pledged to help conserve, restore and grow more than 2.5 billion trees by 2030.

This is part of the growing global momentum towards the adoption of nature-based solutions to address climate change. 

APRIL has pledged to protect and restore an additional 85,000 hectares of high conservation value forest, which will help the company to achieve its 1-for-1 commitment, where it has committed to the conservation and restoration of one hectare of forest area for every hectare of plantation.

APRIL currently conserves and restores approximately 364,996 hectares of forest area and operates about 448,632 hectares of plantations.

APRIL is the only Indonesian-based company among the initial wave of corporations that has made global pledges to the 1t.org initiative.

Other companies that have made global pledges include: Amazon, APRIL Group, AstraZeneca, Brambles, Capgemini, Cliff Bar, Daterra Coffee, Eni, HP Inc., Iberdrola, Mastercard, Nestle, PepsiCo, Salesforce, SAP, Shell, Suzano, Teck Resources Ltd., tentree, Travelers, Unilever, UPS, VMware, and Zurich Insurance Group.  

“1t.org also allows us to share updates on our own journey to champion thriving landscapes, as part of our production-protection approach, and on the progress we have made against our long-term sustainability commitments," Craig Tribolet, the head of sustainability operations at APRIL Group, said in a recent statement.

APRIL’s 1-for-1 commitment is part of an integrated production-protection approach, where production delivers the financial and technical resources to support the conservation and restoration of forest areas.

As of December 2020, the company has achieved 81 percent of this commitment.

APRIL - which manufactures the well-known PaperOne range of paper products - has pledged that it will identify an additional 85,000 hectares of restoration forest to achieve its 1-for-1 ratio by 2030 or earlier, dependent on the identification of appropriate restoration area, collaboration with local communities and compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

This commitment complements several others as part of APRIL’s Sustainable Forest Management Policy and its APRIL2030 commitments.

Under its Thriving Landscapes commitment, APRIL is investing in landscape conservation by pledging to invest US$1 per tonne of fiber supply to the mills into forest conservation and restoration, supported by additional community conservation and restoration opportunities. 

Private Sector Role

With more than half of annual global GDP, or $44 trillion, potentially threatened by nature loss, businesses have clear incentives to protect and support the planet

“The private sector has a key role to play in bringing their expertise to the table and investing in natural climate solutions, such as restoration," Nicole Schwab, Co-Director, Platform to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions, World Economic Forum said.

"It is encouraging to see more and more companies embracing this needed transition towards net-zero, nature-positive business models.”

Healthy and resilient trees and forests are one part of the efforts needed to combat climate change. Studies have shown trees can reduce urban heat island effects by up to 5°C and energy costs by $7.8 billion a year. 

Globally, sustainable management of forests could create $230 billion in business opportunities and 16 million jobs worldwide by 2030.

From a health perspective, trees absorb 17.4 million tons of air pollutants a year, helping to prevent 670,000 cases of asthma and other acute respiratory symptoms annually.