Asia Pulp & Paper bags two major accolades at ESGBusiness Awards 2023
The global pulp-and-paper company won both the Sustainable Product Design Award and the Economic Empowerment Award.
Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has proven its efforts on sustainability and economic empowerment by clinching both the Sustainable Product Design Award - Indonesia and the Economic Empowerment Award - Indonesia at the recently concluded ESGBusiness Awards 2023. The company was lauded for its exceptional contributions to sustainable product design and economic empowerment, underscoring its dedication to environmental responsibility and community well-being.
In a world where finite natural resources are increasingly strained by escalating production and consumption, APP has emerged as a pioneer in the drive toward a circular economy. The company’s innovation, FOOPAK Bio Natura, sets a new standard for sustainable packaging solutions. Launched in 2017, this eco-friendly paper packaging is designed to replace conventional plastic lining in the food service industry, contributing to a reduction in environmental waste.
FOOPAK Bio Natura is manufactured from certified wood sources and is free from optical brightening agents (OBA). The paperboard is specially designed to comply with plastic-free conformity and is certified by Flustix in Germany. In the case of its functionality, the paperboard has excellent edge wick properties, compatible with serving hot and cold beverages applications, as well as high-temperature resistance packaging applications. FOOPAK Bio Natura is designed to meet PFAS (Per- or Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances/”forever chemical”) free and complies with food safety regulations, including those of the US FDA, European Union, and China. In the case of the environmental aspect, FOOPAK Bio Natura is designed to meet with biodegradable, compostable and ecotoxicity aspects and can also be recycled and repulped.
The versatility of FOOPAK Bio Natura is exemplified by its availability in sheets, rolls, and bobbins (slitting rolls). This wide range of formats allows for various end applications, including hot/cold cups, food trays and containers, rice bowls, noodle cups, soup cups, food buckets, snack cups, trays, sandwich boxes, lunch boxes, horticultural pots, utensils, and adhesive-free paper straws.
On the other hand, APP demonstrates its commitment to sustainable business practices through its Sustainable Roadmap Vision (SRV) 2030, launched in 2020. One of the pillars of this SRV is the company's dedication to forest conservation and community well-being has led to the implementation of the Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA) programme, based on an integrated forestry and farming system concept.
The DMPA programme aims to empower village communities surrounding APP’s operations by actively involving them in sustainable forest management through agro-forestry and non-fire farming practices. The programme has covered to encompass villages in five provinces: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan.
DMPA operates on six key objectives, which include participatory mapping of resources, transferring technology and knowledge, protecting and maintaining forest areas, resolving and preventing local conflicts, partnering in product marketing, and improving forest management and livelihoods.
By the end of December 2022, the DMPA programme was running in 421 villages with a budget of US$3,500,442, benefiting 80,000 people and partnering with 223 BumDes, 9 corporations, and 189 farming groups. The programme has a target to add 30 more villages in 2023. In addition, 135 women's groups have been actively involved in the women's empowerment programme since 2018. These initiatives include creating paving blocks from processed palm plastic waste and promoting coffee-based tourism and compost production.
Over the last two years, APP has collaborated with Yayasan Doktor Sjahrir and Indonesia Womanpreneur Community to increase the competitiveness of MSME products and boost income, particularly in agricultural and fishery products. Notable achievements include a group of women farmers in East Kalimantan creating paving blocks from processed palm plastic waste, enjoying high demand for their product. In Jambi, women's groups are promoting coffee-based tourism, tourism sites, and compost production used by PT. Wira Karya Sakti, one of APP’s suppliers.
Through its DMPA programme, APP has positively impacted the local economy, created employment opportunities, and played a crucial role in preventing and reducing harmful farming practices, such as the use of fire for land clearance.
The ESGBusiness Awards is presented by ESGBusiness. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].
