After Greenpeace Report, Carrefour Suspends Sourcing of APP Products
Last Wednesday, a day after Greenpeace released a new report airing fresh allegations that the Indonesian paper firm Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is “wreaking environmental havoc” in rainforests and peatlands, French retail giant Carrefour announced that it has suspended sourcing of APP products.
APP is part of the Sinar Mas group, and the Greenpeace report, titled How Sinar Mas is Pulping the Planet, maintains that the paper company is destroying Indonesia’s rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands so that it can feed its Sumatran based pulp mills, which then export pulp and paper products to a variety retailers worldwide.
You may recall that earlier this year, Greenpeace launched an extensive press campaign against Sinar Mars’ illegal and destructive environmental practices, and several leading companies (including Unilever, Kraft and Nestle) already have canceled their contracts with the Indonesian palm oil and paper giant. (Last week Cargill also joined the ranks of wary retailers, announcing that it is now collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. (WWF) to undertake an assessment of its palm oil suppliers in Indonesia as part of its continued commitment to sustainable palm oil production.)
According to Reuters, APP has rejected Greenpeace’s latest allegations as “ridiculous,” and Fast Company ran an article yesterday in which Aida Greenbury, managing director, sustainability and stakeholder engagement for APP, chastises Greenpeace for “attacking private companies in Indonesia for something they didn’t do.”
Nonetheless, it appears that the accusations continue to gain traction among global corporations looking to keep their environmental stewardship records –and their reputations –intact.
After all, it doesn’t seem that Greenpeace will be easing up on the pressure any time soon. In the new report, the group singles out major brands such as Walmart, Auchan and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and claims that because these retailers are still sourcing from Sinar Mas, they’re fueling climate change and pushing Sumatran tigers and orangutans towards the brink of extinction.
