Social Responsibilty - Environmental Paper Network

Paraguay, the next catch of the pulp industry

Landscape in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay, May 2004. Photo by Ilosuna. Creative Commons Attribution 1.0 (Generic). After taking over vast tracts of land in all South America, the pulp & paper industry is now expanding in Paraguay. Paracel, a joint venture between a Paraguayan oil trader and foreign entities, is constructing a pulp mill and […]

After winning new markets with promises, Asia Pulp and Paper picks up its old deforestation habit again

A new report released by the NGO coalition, Eyes on the Forest, has exposed a new case of deforestation by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) via its controlled timber suppliers PT Arara Abadi and PT Sekato Pratama Makmur (SPM). The report finds that the company cleared natural forest and other natural habitats to develop new […]

Flushing the Climate: Which U.S. Stores are Still Selling the World’s Most Destructive Toilet Paper?

9 years after their highly publicized Forest Conservation Policy was announced, monitoring by Indonesian and international NGOs finds Asia Pulp and Paper is failing to keep its promises, damaging the climate and harming local communities in Indonesia. EPN-North America and partners contacted 27 major U.S. grocery stores and retailers who currently or have recently sold […]

Indigenous Rights, Paper Giants and Armed Squads. Scenes from Land Conflicts in Brazil

Several Indigenous communities, who had reclaimed their ancestral lands taken away by companies, have recently been targeted by armed fazendeiros (agrarian latifundists) mobs in different regions of Brazil. The official recognition of these areas as Indigenous land can be an arduous process. It’s often hampered by legal actions carried out by the fazendeiros, and the […]

Stolen land and fading forests in Chile

A new report from the Environmental Paper Network reveals another case of “Conflict Plantations,” this time in Chile. Since May 7th the military police have been sent again to garrison Araucania, Southern-central Chile, where the pulp & paper industry is embroiled in a longstanding conflict with the Mapuche indigenous people. This is not a good […]

Korean Paper Company Plunders the Last Rainforests While Continuing to Claim Operations are Eco-Friendly

Year long Investigation Reveals Deforestation Throughout Pulp & Paper Supply Chain Merauke, Papua, Indonesia (15 March, 2022) — A new investigation released today by Environmental Paper Network (EPN), Mighty Earth, Pusaka, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) and Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL) details the devastation of pristine forests […]

Domtar Deal, Deforestation and Abuses: Whose Side are Banks On?

Last July, Andrea Paul received a letter containing a drawing of an Indigenous person and a Black person hanging from a tree. The caption said, “This is what I think of Natives and Blacks. You think you rule the world.” Miss Paul is the traditional Chief of the First Nation of Pictou Landing, who just […]

Walking for forests: local communities’ weeks long march to protest their land destruction

Togu Simorangkir lives in North Sumatra. A postgraduate from Oxford University, he is an author and environmental activist. Over the past weeks, he marched for 42 days, walking with friends across Sumatra for approximately 1500 km, and reaching Jakarta a few days ago. He did not do it for sport but as a call for […]

Indonesian paper giant APP takes over North American Domtar, putting the company’s credibility at risk

For the pulp and paper industry, it is the take-over of the decade. Domtar shareholders decided today to sell their shares to Paper Excellence and delivered the major North American uncoated freesheet paper producer (with 21 manufacturing facilities around the world, 6,400 employees, and customers in 50 countries) to one of the most controversial paper […]