ForestEthics hosts Indonesian roundtable

Indonesia’s forests are an ecological treasure; they are home to 12% of all the mammal species in the world, including endangered species like the orangutan, elephant, and Sumatran tiger. But deforestation is having grave environmental and social impacts in Indonesia, with repercussions worldwide: deforestation in Indonesia accounts for approximately 8% of global carbon emissions annually. The pulp and paper industry is responsible for much of this deforestation, and it is poised for rapid expansion with plans to more than double over the next decade. The industry is now at a crossroads, with an opportunity to make a difference in Indonesia.  

Risks and opportunities in Indonesia

Representatives from about 40 companies attended the roundtable.  These companies spanned the spectrum of the pulp and paper industry, from financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, International Finance Corporation, Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Chase; publishers including Random House and Scholastic; office supply companies Office Depot, Staples, and Corporate Express; printers and print brokers; retailers like Wal-Mart and Limited Brands; paper merchants Unisource and PaperlinX; and paper suppliers from Asia and North America like Asia Pulp & Paper, APRIL, Domtar, New Page, and International Paper.

Fifteen pulp and paper experts, including academics, analysts, and spokespeople from NGOs and industry—including Indonesian logging companies—led sessions on the environmental, social and climate impacts of the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia, as well as on risk analysis and supply chain tracking. Company testimonies from Citigroup, Random House and Staples rounded out the day and covered topics like due diligence and risk management as well as company stories about canceling supply contracts with companies like Asian Pulp & Paper due to environmental problems and failure to comply with agreements.
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For more information email cap@forestethics.org

Testimonials 

From an event organizer:

I thought the Roundtable went extremely well. We had a full house, which included many target participants and it seemed everyone stayed the whole day! I was encouraged by the high interest by the participants on pulp & paper issues in Indonesia, and the animated dialog that took place during the breakout sessions. The speakers were amazing; the breadth and depth of the expertise and experience of our speakers really raised the integrity and authority of the conference on these issues.

From a Company Participant:

I thought it was a great conference the choice of speakers from academia and the Ngo community provided great insight and balance to the issue.  Allowing App and April to both attend and speak was also a good idea.  They both have a lot to do to convince North America that they really have a concern for the environment, neither seemed to show any real concern for action.   They both are visiting the U.S. to tell customers their story we don’t believe it.  The use of a moderator was a nice touch it kept the meeting moving.
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