Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) announced that its production mills are achieving SVLK certification under Indonesia’s new Wood Legality Verification System in a major stride towards addressing requirements to supply to countries such as the US and those in the EU. Source: Lesprom
So far three APP mills have secured certification and the company’s remaining Indonesian mills anticipate securing certification before the end of the year.
SVLK certifications provide chain of custody verification, administered by independent agencies and in line with government protocols, to ensure the products coming from APP mills are from legal and sustainable sources.
The certification also addresses US law through country-of-origin verification requirements mandated under a 2008 amendment to the Lacey Act, the conservation law designed to protect against import of illegal timber-based products.
In April 2011, through a Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Indonesia, SVLK became recognized as the credible system to guarantee the legality of timber from Indonesia.
Certification is provided through the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) and independently monitored by the Forestry Independent Monitoring Network, which consists of civil society and forestry industry experts.
APP’s SVLK certification audits are being conducted by an independent testing and assessment organization, PT TUV Rheinland Indonesia. The company is a member of TUV Rheinland Group headquartered in Cologne, Germany.
AAP is a brand umbrella for paper products produced by various mills in Indonesia and markets its product to more than 120 countries.
