APP takes stock of human rights

Indonesia's largest paper company, Asia Pulp & Paper has committed itself to the forestry industry’s first human rights audit under the auspices of the United Nations, in a move to repair its public image.

According to APP Managing Director, Aida Greenbury, the company is following the UN’s lead with the knowledge that the audit is just the first step. “What’s most important is what we do with the results. We expect we are going to find that there are some areas where we perform very well and others where we need stronger policies and more education throughout our company.

“We are starting down this path with a commitment to make sure that our entire organization understands and respects the importance we place on our people and the communities in which we work,” she says.

The paper manufacturer recently hit headlines when Australian retail chain IGA boycotted its tissue paper products due to claims of rainforest sourced pulp used in production. Orchestrated by Greenpeace the move follows Nestle and Kraft cutting ties with APP over deforestation.

The United Nations framework of ‘protect, respect and remedy’ is designed to guide businesses in assessing and addressing human rights policies throughout its operations. APP has now committed itself to follow this agenda.

“How we act towards and work with our employees as well as the communities in which we do business reflects the moral and ethical character or our company. At the same time, it is a clear indicator of the potential longevity and sustainability of our global business,” says Greenbury.

Mazars Indonesia, APP appointed, will independently assess existing stated policies and operational performance across the company’s eight Indonesian pulp and paper mills and supply chain.

The eight key performance indicators within the human rights audit developed by France-based Mazars include policies and performance around work environment, forced labor, gender equality, community and environment impact and conflict resolution.

James Kallman, president of Mazars Indonesia and leader of the audit team, says within each of the eight main indicators there are as many as 100 different steps to assess and follow through to gauge overall performance across an organization. “This is a very rigorous, intense and invasive audit that looks at every aspect of an organization’s performance.

“A company has to be fully committed to not only the audit itself, but also to the self-improvement process the follows. I have tremendous respect for any organization that opens itself up to this process.

“Society is increasingly concerned about how business activities impact on human rights. Stakeholders expect and demand business to establish transparent policies, practices and communications around human rights performance just as they do around financial, corporate social responsibility and sustainability performance,” he says.