Social Responsibilty - Environmental Paper Network

New violence by an Asia Pulp and Paper controlled company against indigenous women in Sumatra

What started as a normal, quiet day in the country village of Suluk Bongkal (in Sumatra), turned into a horrific afternoon and evening. On December 18th 2008, a small army of policemen, private security and paramilitary groups attacked the village, and suddenly, all hell broke loose: tear gas grenades exploding in grey puffs, women screaming, […]

Can certification save the world’s last remaining forests?

In the lead up to the International Day of Forests on 21st March, a new Greenpeace study goes beyond the discussion of specific failures and weaknesses of individual certification schemes, and raises the question of whether certification is still a useful tool in its current format, or if new paths towards forest protection should be […]

188 groups say it’s time to ‘make the throw-away go away’

Before the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of the products we produced and consumed were built to last. Milk bottles made of glass were returned and sterilized for re-use, restaurants offered ceramic plates and stainless-steel cutlery and the plastic bag was yet to be invented. But since then, as technology progressed we have developed an […]

The capture of policy-making by the pulp and paper industry is driving mega-fires in Portugal and land grabbing in Mozambique

This article is a guest post by Oliver Munnion, Global Forest Coalition, Portugal. It was originally published in Forest Cover 63, December 2020. Global Forest Coalition will host a webinar on Thursday 21st January at 3pm Amsterdam time (CET) to explore their new report on corporate-capture as a driver of deforestation. REGISTER HERE. Presentations will look […]

Paper giant APP evades voluntary forest protection pledges, binding safeguards by banks and buyers needed

Jakarta/Berlin, 3 December 2020 – New evidence indicates that buyers and banks’ ineffective due diligence systems have allowed Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a global market paper supplier, to ignore its own forest conservation and human rights pledges, with the result that conflicts and violence continue unabated in the Indonesian regions where the company produces and […]

Promising the moon: APRIL’s track record of empty promises and unmet pledges

On November 17th, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), the second biggest paper company in Indonesia, held a webinar to announce a new set of 10 year goals for social and environmental sustainability known as APRIL 2030. The webinar was led by Anderson Tanoto, president of the family conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), that controls […]

Indigenous Mapuche Forest Activist Murdered in Chile by Police

Antonio Treuquil was a werkén, the traditional Mapuche spokesperson, in the We Newén community. Mapuche indigenous people are in a longstanding conflict with the forest industry that grabbed most of their land during the dictatorship. Also the We Newén community is involved in a land dispute over traditional territories, with the pulp and paper company […]

Social conflict, abuses and intimidation in the Jambi region, Indonesia – a chronology of pulp industry actions and events

Tension is increasing around global paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) pulpwood concessions in Indonesia. Lately, Indigenous communities have been facing recurrent acts of intimidation, criminalisation and episodes of violence have escalated, contributing to a climate of insecurity and constant threat. Despite a commitment taken back in 2013 to respect local communities land rights, […]

Statement in Solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives

The Environmental Paper Network joins with our member organizations to unequivocally speak and stand in solidarity and support of Black lives, and against racism, oppression and inequality in all forms. We join with those demanding action and justice and who are outraged by the institutional injustice in the killing of George Floyd and so many […]