7 July 2023

Environmental Paper Network (EPN) released a report titled “Pulping Borneo” on 23 May 2023. The report alleged that wood chips received by Asia Symbol from PT Balikpapan Chip Lestari (PT BCL) in 2021 and 2022 have been obtained from companies that have committed deforestation.

As noted in our response to EPN, Asia Symbol’s Wood and Pulp Sourcing Policy and Sustainability Policy comply with RGE’s Forestry, Fibre, Pulp & Paper Sustainability Framework which commits the RGE group of companies to No Deforestation and to responsible sourcing of pulp and wood chips. We apply responsible sourcing across our fibre supply chain and are prepared to terminate any supply relationship that cannot or will not meet the objectives of our Wood and Pulp Sourcing Policy.

The EPN report explicitly acknowledged that its claims have not been independently verified and that none of the companies mentioned in the report has breached any law or regulations. However, we take any allegations of deforestation seriously and have been engaging with our supplier, PT BCL, on these issues.

The EPN report claimed that three fibre suppliers to PT BCL have committed deforestation – PT Adindo Hutani Lestari (PT AHL), PT Fajar Surya Swadaya (PT FSS) and PT Industrial Forest Plantations (PT IFP). On PT AHL, APRIL Group (Asia Symbol’s sister company) has refuted the allegations based on spatial analysis, ground verification and third party audit .

On PT FSS, in consideration of recent findings published by the Forest Stewardship Council in April 2023, Asia Symbol has instructed PT BCL to suspend any sourcing from PT FSS indefinitely.

On PT IFP, which supplied only to Asia Symbol through PT BCL, our rapid investigation concluded that some land cover change took place in their concessions between 2016 and 2022. Based on this, we have also asked PT BCL to suspend sourcing from PT IFP indefinitely.

In addition, Asia Symbol has engaged PT BCL to implement the following:

• To continue as a supplier to Asia Symbol, PT BCL has to align its wood and fibre sourcing policy with Asia Symbol’s Wood Chip and Pulp Sourcing Policy and strictly adhere to Asia Symbol’s zero tolerance for deforestation.
• PT BCL has been required to put in place a robust due diligence system and conduct regular field verification for all wood sourced.

Asia Symbol has also further strengthened its own Wood Chip and Pulp Sourcing Policy, focusing on eliminating deforestation and conversion in its fibre supply chain, and adherence to human rights and the International Labour Organisation’s fundamental principles.

We will continue to work with PT BCL and our fibre suppliers to further strengthen policies, improve processes and reinforce strict adherence to Asia Symbol’s wood sourcing policy and sustainability framework.

For any further questions on this matter, please contact Yin Liang, Asia Symbol (Shandong) Head of Sustainability, at 该邮件地址已受到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它需要在浏览器中启用 JavaScript。.