BANKS DODGY DEALS CAMPAIGNS
About BankTrack
20 years of BankTrack – Our history
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-09-18 00:00:00
New report and blog: Barclays' bond with Adani
2023-08-23 00:00:00
Decarbonization: steel not making the cut
2023-07-27 00:00:00
Two months ago 62 organizations and 3 Goldman Environmental Prize winners wrote an Open Letter to the TNFD: No one responded
2023-07-13 00:00:00
The Sustainable Steel Principles: One step forward when leaps are needed
2023-09-15 17:34:10
The number of major banks refusing to support EACOP reaches 24
2023-07-31 14:30:01
Equator Principles recognise projects’ risk to climate for the first time
2023-05-17 14:30:30
EACOP Financial Advisor SMBC is no longer involved with the project
2023-03-28 13:43:00
French bank Société Générale withdraws from Rio Grande LNG
Connect
2023-09-18 00:00:00
Barclays' bond with Adani
2023-06-26 00:00:00
How should financiers align with the Global Biodiversity Framework? Five Key Principles
2023-04-13 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2023
2023-04-12 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 4
See all publications
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate
Banks and Human Rights
Banks and Nature
Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA
End Coal Finance
Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine
Banks and steel
Tracking the Equator Principles
Tracking the PRBs
Find a Better Bank
Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack 20 years of BankTrack – Our history Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Login
Home › BankTrack news ›
BankTrack News

APRIL announces new sustainability policy after campaign pressure on its financiers

2015-06-08 | Nijmegen
By: BankTrack
2015-06-08 | Nijmegen
By: BankTrack

Last week the Indonesian pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL) announced a new Sustainable Forest Management Policy which includes an immediate moratorium on logging in natural forests. The move comes after an intensive campaign by a group of environmental organisations, focused on pressuring both the company and its financiers to address the company's long standing social and environmental conflicts.

Of the three major European banks known to be financing APRIL, two announced earlier this year that they would not provide the company with any new loans unless it significantly improved its policy and procedures. The Spanish bank Santander was the first to announce this in February, after receiving a Greenpeace petition with more than 145,000 signatures. Two weeks later ABN AMRO followed with a similar statement. The third bank, Credit Suisse, did not make any such statement and remained prepared to finance APRIL, despite extensive lobbying from an alliance of NGOs at its AGM, and a BankTrack analysis showing that the bank was breaching its policies and procedures in financing the company.

Campaigners cautiously welcomed the new policy, but emphasised that changes must now be seen on the ground before it can be judged successful .

Woro Supartinah, Coorindator of Jikalahari, a Sumatra based network of NGOs, said that APRIL's revised new policy "remains weak from some aspects such as peat protection and restoration of damaged peat forest, while it is also not showing a strong willingness to solve community conflict." "We remain in doubt that APRIL will stop clearing peat forest, especially on Pulau Padang", she continued.

Lafcadio Cortesi, Asia Director with Rainforest Action Network, said: "APRIL's policy commitment must be supported by a transparent, time bound implementation road map, decisive actions and independent monitoring and verification of outcomes on the ground. This would mark a significant contribution to the conservation of Indonesia's rainforests and respect for local communities and their rights."

"We commend APRIL for agreeing to end its deforestation, although we will be watching closely to make sure that today's announcement leads to real change on the ground," said Bustar Maitar, Head of Greenpeace's Forest Campaign in Indonesia. "Today's commitment from APRIL and the RGE Group is yet more proof that forest protection is the way forward for plantation companies in Indonesia."

"Those banks that withdrew from financing APRIL while it remained involved in deforestation sent clear signals to the company that it needed to clean up its act", said BankTrack's forests campaigner, Merel van de Mark. "However, true proof of APRIL's commitment lies in the full implementation of its policy, which will need time to evaluate. The company has broken its own policies before, so financiers are advised to keep monitoring APRIL closely. Furthermore, the banks which financed APRIL should review their own policies and due diligence processes to ensure they avoid financing companies involved in large scale deforestation and numerous social conflicts in future."

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Banks

ABN AMRO

Netherlands
Active

Banco Santander

Spain
Active

Credit Suisse

Switzerland
Active
Dodgy Deals
There are no active company profiles for this item now.
stdClass Object
(
    [id] => 11121
    [item_id] => 471
    [item_table] => ci_companyprofiles
    [position] => 0
    [link_id] => 822126
    [_table] => ci_images
    [_type] => cover
    [_data] => 
    [_visible] => 1
    [tag] => 
    [title] => 
    [file] => credit_ulet_ifansasti_and_greenpeace_crop.jpg
    [description] => Clearing of natural forest inside a PT RAPP pulpwood concession in Riau, Indonesia
    [ownership] => Ulet Ifansasti and Greenpeace
    [filetype] => 
    [hidden] => 0
    [croporig] => 11120
    [cropdata] => {"x":0,"y":23.255813953488374,"w":600,"h":337.4999999999958,"targ_w":600,"targ_h":337.4999999999958,"r":2.3255813953488373}
    [tags] => 
    [rights] => 0
    [updated_at] => 2022-08-20 11:33:40
    [created_at] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00
    [dimension] => 
    [mime] => 
    [16:9] => 1
    [210:297] => 0
    [border] => 1
)

APRIL

Indonesia
Company
on record
Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills

APRIL

Indonesia
Sections
Banks Policies Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate Banks and Human Rights Banks and Nature Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA End Coal Finance Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine Banks and steel Tracking the Equator Principles Tracking the PRBs Find a Better Bank Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack 20 years of BankTrack – Our history Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Contact@banktrack.org
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter
©2023 BankTrack
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted