Despite its well-publicised commitment to “No Deforestation”, Indonesia’s Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group, one of the world’s largest pulp and paper companies, still has deforestation in its pulp supply chain. RGE is also now linked to a new mega-scale pulp mill under construction in northeast Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is expected to threaten some of the world’s largest tropical rainforests.
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This report aims to raise awareness about the risks that RGE’s current and planned operations pose for rainforest destruction in Kalimantan and Papua. RGE is the world’s largest producer of viscose, which is used in the manufacture of synthetic textiles and is also a leading producer in the global pulp, paper and packaging sectors through its subsidiaries Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) in Indonesia, Asia Symbol in China, and Bracell in Brazil.
This investigation reveals that RGE’s pulp mill in China has been using wood from companies that have recently cleared large tracts of tropical rainforest in Kalimantan, Indonesia’s territory on the island of Borneo. Much of the rainforest, before it was destroyed, was habitat for endangered Bornean orangutans, according to data published by Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
Download the report in English: Pulping Borneo
Download the report in Bahasa Indonesia: Babat Kalimantan