Banks| Dodgy Deals| Map| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Join our Active Allies list
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2020-12-22 00:00:00
Blog: In 2020, the Equator Principles struggle to remain relevant
2020-12-14 00:00:00
The battle to stop Line 3 is heating up on the ground and across the US
2020-12-14 00:00:00
Corporate accountability and the just transition: Frameworks for holding corporations accountable for climate change
2020-12-12 00:00:00
Five years since the Paris Agreement, are banks' 2050 pledges enough to reign in fossil fuel finance?
2020-09-24 12:53:20
Oscislowo open-pit coal mine cancelled
2020-09-08 13:07:41
Strengthened OECD guidance on responsible banking
2020-02-25 10:35:27
JPMorgan Chase Coal and Arctic Policy a step forward but fails to match its climate responsibility as the world’s #1 Fossil Bank
2020-02-18 17:27:23
Civil society groups welcome Royal Bank of Scotland preparing to exit fossil fuels
Connect
2020-11-30 00:00:00
Soft Commitments, Hard Lessons: an analysis of the Soft Commodities Compact
2020-11-24 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part II
2020-11-18 00:00:00
Crude Risk: Risks to banks and investors from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
2020-09-16 00:00:00
Principles for Paris-Aligned Financial Institutions: Climate Impact, Fossil Fuels and Deforestation
2020-08-17 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part I
2020-03-18 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Change - Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2020
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Home › News
APRIL announces new sustainability policy after campaign pressure on its financiers
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: BankTrack
2015-06-08
Nijmegen

Share this page:

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

Related banks

ABN AMRO Netherlands

active

Banco Santander Spain

active

Credit Suisse Switzerland

active

Related Dodgy Deals

Companies

active

APRIL Indonesia

Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills
There are no companies active for this item now.
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
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