TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Private sector innovation plays key role in pursuit of sustainability
Change Size
With its wide reach and substantial resources, the private sector plays a very significant role in reducing global carbon emissions via nature-based solutions.
The sentiment was conveyed by Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group managing director Anderson Tanoto at the B20 Summit on Saturday, which was held as part of the Group of 20 Summit in Bali.
Speaking in a plenary session titled "Creating a sustainable resilient economy through innovation", Anderson highlighted the innovative efforts of RGE Group business unit APRIL, which focuses on optimizing the use of renewable energy sources in its operations as part of its emissions-reduction efforts.
APRIL is a fiber, pulp and paper producer that is integrated with sustainably managed industrial plantation forest concessions. One of APRIL's flagship products is PaperOne paper, which is sold in 70 countries.
Currently, APRIL is building a 20 megawatt (MW) solar panel project that is expected to be complete in 2025 to reduce its dependence on fossil-fuel energy. With this development, the use of renewable energy in APRIL is expected to amount to 90 percent for mill energy needs, while at the same time supporting joint efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Anderson added that with the current business trends, capital expenditure for solar panel construction had gone down while fossil-fuel energy prices had experienced significant increases. This situation, he continued, compelled APRIL to open up options to increase the capacity of solar panels to above 40 MW by 2025.
“You don’t need crazy innovation to actually implement sustainability. Take practical solutions that are in existence, and private sector firms like us in Indonesia can actually make a big difference,” he said during the panel.
At the same time, APRIL also launched a nature-based innovation during the COP 21 Summit in Paris, consisting of a one-for-one commitment to conserve or restore a hectare of land for every hectare of industrial plantation forest (HTI) managed.
One concrete form of this commitment is the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) initiative, which covers an area of 150,000 ha, similar in size to the city of London, located on the Kampar Peninsula and Padang Island in Riau province.
Through the program, RER protects and maintains the largest intact peat swamp forest ecosystem in Sumatra, including its biodiversity and carbon potential.
"My point being is, you don’t need crazy innovation. Take proven technologies, existing frameworks. It’s not perfect, but not doing anything is not a solution," he said.
APRIL Group itself is known for its active participation in climate-mitigation efforts, especially in supporting the government to achieve net sinks by 2030 from the Forest and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink.
In its upstream process, this commitment is carried out by conserving areas, protecting biodiversity and implementing a zero-tolerance policy on deforestation. Downstream, APRIL Group is currently making a shift to the use of renewable fuels and investing in circular technology.
As a producer of sustainable bio-based products, APRIL Group’s APRIL2030 sustainability commitment stipulates Climate Positive as one of its main pillars.
At the same time, APRIL works with a range of partners on many sustainability-related initiatives, to draw on expertise and experience including Fauna and Flora International, SMERU and WCS. APRIL is working closely with KPMG Performance Registrar Inc. to provide assurances on land management governance and its commitment to sustainability.
This article was published in collaboration with APRIL Group.
