Asia Pulp & Paper facts for kids

Asia Pulp & Paper

Type	Private
Industry	Pulp and paper
Founder	Eka Tjipta Widjaja, Singgih Wahab Kwik (Kowik)
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Packaging, paper, tissue
Parent	Sinar Mas Group

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is a very large company from Indonesia that makes pulp and paper. It is one of the biggest companies of its kind in the world. APP was started by Eka Tjipta Widjaja in 1972, first known as Tjiwi Kimia. It is part of a bigger group called Sinar Mas Group. Asia Pulp & Paper was officially formed in 1994 when Sinar Mas combined its paper and pulp businesses.

How APP Started and Grew

Early Days of Tjiwi Kimia

Asia Pulp & Paper began as Tjiwi Kimia. Its founder, Eka Tjipta Widjaja, used to refine coconut oil. In 1972, he teamed up with investors from Taiwan to create Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia. Their goal was to make paper. Widjaja already ran the Sinar Mas Group, and he started Tjiwi Kimia because he was successful in other businesses.

Expanding Across Asia

In 1976, another company called Indah Kiat was formed. It was a partnership between an Indonesian company and two Taiwanese paper companies. Sinar Mas later bought most of Indah Kiat's shares. Tjiwi Kimia's shares were listed on the stock markets in Jakarta and Surabaya starting in 1990. By 1992, Tjiwi Kimia began setting up paper factories in China. This led to several new paper mills being built there.

Becoming Asia Pulp & Paper

In 1994, Sinar Mas created Asia Pulp & Paper in Singapore. This brought together its paper and pulp businesses from Tjiwi Kimia and PT Inda Kiat Pulp & Paper in Indonesia. The next year, APP's shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company invested a lot of money to become a leader in the paper industry. By 1999, APP was making over four million metric tons of paper and packaging each year.

Facing Challenges and Moving Forward

Around 2001, APP faced financial difficulties. However, the company worked to solve these issues. APP moved its main office back to Indonesia. By 2010, Asia Pulp & Paper was running five of the top paper mills in Indonesia. Its main operations were in Indonesia and China. Indonesia produced 13 million tons of paper annually, and China produced 6.4 million tons.

How APP Works and Its Impact

Working with Environmental Groups

Asia Pulp & Paper has sometimes been criticized by groups like Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network. These groups raised concerns about the company's logging practices in natural forests.

APP has since made agreements with non-profit organizations (NGOs) to check its efforts in being sustainable. When APP announced its "zero deforestation plan," groups like Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network welcomed it. They were hopeful that the company would truly stop cutting down natural forests. Greenpeace even paused its global campaign against APP for a while. However, in 2018, Greenpeace ended their agreement, saying APP was not serious enough about stopping deforestation.

In 2003, APP signed an agreement with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This agreement ended a few months later. APP also partnered with Rainforest Alliance in 2005 to find and monitor important conservation areas. This partnership ended in 2007, but Rainforest Alliance worked with APP again in 2014 to check on its conservation policy.

Focusing on Sustainability

In 2012, APP announced its "Sustainability Roadmap Vision 2020" plan. The company promised to get all its raw materials from special tree farms. It also aimed for all its suppliers to follow High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) standards by 2015. Independent groups checked their progress. By 2012, all of APP's mills in Indonesia had a special certification. This certification ensures they only use wood from legal sources.

By February 2013, APP had stopped clearing natural forests in its supply chain. That same year, APP worked with The Forest Trust and Greenpeace to create its Forest Conservation Policy. They also monitored and reported on the company's progress. APP's policy even allows outside groups to check its work, which was a new step for the company and the industry. They also started finding natural forests through special assessments in all their land areas in Indonesia.

In 2014, APP worked with the Indonesian government and NGOs. They started a plan to restore and protect 2.5 million acres of rainforest in Indonesia. In 2015, APP received another important certification called PEFC.

Protecting Nature

In 2010, APP created the Senepis Buluhala Tiger Sanctuary. This is a large area of 106,000 hectares (about 260,000 acres) designed to help protect the endangered Sumatran tiger.

APP has continued to work on improving forest conservation. In February 2013, they made a strong commitment to this, calling it their Forest Conservation Policy.