How voluntary commitments are used — and abused It is now official: after more than a decade of presenting itself as a deforestation-free company, the pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) has effectively abandoned its own sustainability policy. APRIL’s Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP 2.0) emerged in response to years of […]
Read MoreIn today’s global economy, sustainability sells. Corporations proudly promote “deforestation-free” commitments, and consumers increasingly expect ethical sourcing behind their everyday products. What happens when those claims don’t match reality? A recent investigation by The Gecko Project exposes a troubling pattern: major corporations may be maintaining clean reputations on paper while quietly benefiting from environmental destruction […]
Read MoreA troubling pattern of criminalizing forest defenders is once again unfolding in Indonesia. While large-scale deforestation continues in West Kalimantan, a traditional leader who sought to protect his community’s ancestral forest now finds himself facing criminal charges. Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the traditional leader of the Indigenous village of Lelayang (Kualan Hilir, West Kalimantan, Indonesia), recently […]
Read MoreOn January 20, 2026, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered the revocation of business permits for 28 companies operating in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The decision followed catastrophic floods and landslides that struck Sumatra in late 2025, killing at least 1,200 people, leaving 143 missing, and forcing more than 114,000 to flee their homes. […]
Read MoreOn Tuesday, December 9, the West Kalimantan police tried to forcibly arrest Mr. Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the Traditional Head of Lelayang Hamlet, Kualan Hilir Village, Simpang Hulu District, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. For years, the community has resisted the encroachment on its customary land and the deforestation—largely illegal—carried out by the logging company PT […]
Read MoreOn 22 September 2025, security forces from PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL), a sister company of APRIL, assaulted an indigenous village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, amid an ongoing land conflict over customary territories. According to the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), hundreds of TPL workers and security personnel stormed the villages of […]
Read MoreSeptember 10, 2025 – Environmental Paper Network (EPN) International and Jikalahari, an Indonesian network of NGOs, released a paper highlighting the failure of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) to implement their green policies. The paper is being released as APP, one of the world’s largest companies, unveils a new sustainability policy in Jakarta — essentially […]
Read MoreThe Environmental Paper Network, along with a coalition of civil society organizations from Indonesia, the U.S., and Canada, is condemning the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) decision to lift its suspension of Asia Pulp & Paper’s (APP) Remedy Process. This premature move undermines the FSC’s own commitments to transparency and accountability and risks enabling greenwash for […]
Read MoreAerial image showing deforestation on carbon-rich peatlands in PT Mayawana Persada’s pulpwood concession, July 2023 © Auriga Nusantara The uncertifiable cannot be certified, this seems to be an obvious statement. It is not. Earthsight and Auriga released demands to the most recognized forest certifying scheme, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to terminate negotiations aimed at bringing […]
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