APRIL Answers Greenpeace Claim with Sustainable Forest Management

Greenpeace recently made claim about APRIL, the palm oil giant in Indonesia, being the main culprit in the biggest deforestation in Indonesia. However, APRIL answers the claim by showing its successful sustainable forest management progresses, proving that the company has been one step ahead among other similar companies in Indonesia. APRIL also demands Greenpeace to be more objective in its reports, since the palm oil company has achieved significant progress in sustainability programs. APRIL answers Greenpeace claim by showing the progress it has achieved in sustainability program.

APRIL Sustainable Forest Management Responsibilities

In order to avoid ecological destruction because of palm oil industry, APRIL applies sustainability policy in all its stages of production, from opening the concession land to palm oil and its derivatives production. The policy has been applied for the last several years, with satisfying result. The sustainable efforts in keeping the level of damage as low as possible are, such as:

• Reducing the risk of forest fire, which has been big issue among the palm oil companies that open new concession land. APRIL has managed to suppress the numbers of forest fire in its operations.

• Reducing the damage in land opening by choosing forest areas with low conservation values, and planting trees as replacements for cleared areas in high conservation value forest.

• Improving the way the partner farmers work so they can apply sustainability principles when opening and working on their lands. APRIL also educates local communities around the facility and concession areas so they can also protect the environment and apply sustainability principles.

• Planting trees with certain numbers every year in order to protect the environment and restore the conservation forest. Currently, APRIL plants 150 millions of trees every year, and it struggles to keep the numbers as minimum every year.

Basically, what APRIL does is trying to keep the numbers of concession lands and conservation forest areas balanced, reducing environmental damage and improving the size of conservation areas.

How APRIL Answers Greenpeace Claim

By making the sustainability reports and study results made by independent researchers, APRIL urges Greenpeace to be more objective in its reports about palm oil companies in Indonesia, and not lump APRIL together with other companies that have actually damaged the forest more. Sustainable forest management results are published by APRIL on APRILDialog, official website, and various publications for objective evaluation about environmental damage by environment organization, media and public.