APRIL Sustainability Commitments Showcased in UNGC-Accenture CEO Study

Article source: Inside RGE

APRIL Group was prominently featured in the 12th edition of the United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study on sustainability. It showcased a successful case study where Praveen Singhavi, former President of APRIL Group, shared the Group’s efforts in achieving its sustainability goals and commitments, and gave his views on why companies need to proactively address climate issues.

“It’s important that geopolitics doesn’t stall the climate agenda. As companies, we need to keep climate change front and centre as an issue that we all must address,” Mr. Singhavi said.

The 65-page study draws on insights from more than 2,600 CEOs across 18 industries and 128 countries, including 130 in-depth interviews. It provided a wide-ranging review of the sustainability landscape and how companies from across the globe are performing in terms of hitting their sustainability and climate goals. APRIL was one of 11 multinational companies featured as a case study.

The study observed how CEOs are increasingly realizing that sustainability action can drive operational competitiveness, excellence, and efficiency while providing potential business growth avenues, spurring innovation and attracting top-tier talent. Mr. Singhavi pointed out: “Achieving our sustainability goals improves our costs, grows our business and provides jobs and growth opportunities alongside the benefits to climate and nature.”

The comprehensive case study on APRIL highlighted the Group’s efforts in workforce sustainability education, as well as how it is achieving its APRIL 2030 goals. APRIL 2030, the company’s vision for meeting the challenges of the next decade, comprises four commitments – Climate Positive, Thriving Landscape, Inclusive Progress and Sustainable Growth, which together have 18 progressive targets.

Before presenting these targets, APRIL conducted a series of workshops with management teams to ensure buy-in, as well as to create strong company alignment to a values-based culture, engaging all levels of the workforce in their sustainability commitments. This process helped to educate the teams on how sustainability targets could sustain and even improve business performance and fostered recognition of the contribution APRIL 2030 makes to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

APRIL completed the workshops over 18 months, involving managers and their teams across the organization, to understand joint aspirations and innovate actions, all designed to have a positive impact on climate, nature, and people by 2030. This included the identification of champions to own each commitment and related targets.

The company continues to track and demonstrate its performance against the targets as part of its commitment to transparency and disclosure, supported by cascaded awareness-driven communications.
Since setting out its sustainability targets, APRIL has already made a significant impact. With APRIL 2030, the company became one of the pioneering Indonesian enterprises in any sector to commit to net zero emissions from land use. It also joined a global community of progressive companies working to achieve a positive impact on climate, nature and people with a sense of urgency and ambition. APRIL’s efforts continue to be recognized, including by the Global Compact Network Singapore, which awarded the company with a Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Award in 2022.

Find out more about APRIL’s 2030 sustainability commitments at https://april2030.aprilasia.com/.

Read the full United Nations Global Compact-Accenture study here. The APRIL case study is on page 35.