“APR Releases Inaugural Sustainability Progress Report”

Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) has released its inaugural Sustain-ability Progress Report covering the first 18 months of its operations from January 2019 to June 2020. Formally inaugurated by Indonesia President Joko Widodo in February 2020, APR is a vertically integrated operation from renewable fibre plantations to highvalue textile manufacturing facilities, located in in Riau, Sumatra.

APR’s effort to report on its sustainability performance underscores the company’s commitment to responsible viscose production. The report, themed ‘Creating Sustainable Value, From Plantation to Fashion’, details APR’s sustainability efforts which are focussed on clean manufacturing, sustainable sourcing, and initiatives in support of employees and communities.

Basrie Kamba, APR Director, said: “In our first 18 months of business, we focussed on laying a strong foundation by embedding sustainability in the way we operate – whether as a manufacturer, an employer, a member of the local community or a global corporate citizen. Our operations are guided by our sustainability policy. We sought to actively monitor our performance so as to develop a baseline from which to improve on, and to benchmark ourselves against industry peers, with the aim to be a top quartile viscose producer.”

As Indonesia’s leading integrated viscose producer, APR contributes to the transformation of the country’s textile industry, supporting the realisation of Indonesia’s ‘Industry 4.0’ vision. APR actively partners local fashion stakeholders to promote viscose as an enabler for sustainable fashion and launched “Everything Indonesia” as a catalyst to revitalise Indonesia as a global centre for textile manufacturing. The company’s blockchain-based ‘Follow Our Fibre’ platform provides transparency and traceability of its viscose from seed to bale.

“It has been our great pleasure to work with APR on its first sustainability report. As a new player in the man-made cellulosic fibre industry, APR has an opportunity to bring innovation and solutions that can help shape a more sustainable textile and apparel industry. The transparency and accountability that sustainability reporting brings is incredibly important for APR to build trust and engage stakeholders in its sustainability efforts, as well as to continuously improve on its sustainability performance,” said Thomas Milburn, Corporate Citizenship Director.**