At least one of the companies under the umbrella that includes the parent company for Woodfibre Natural Gas has been a target of criticism for its environmental practices in Asia.
Both Greenpeace Canada and a concerned local citizen who has been examining the issue say that doesn't necessarily mean the company proposing to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facility on the site of the old Woodfibre pulp mill is predisposed to taking liberties on the environmental side of things.
However, a forest campaigner for Greenpeace said the firms under the Royal Golden Eagle International (RGEI) banner of Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto have a very worrying track record that deserves close scrutiny wherever they do business.
The April Group, one of the companies that make up Tanoto's RGEI empire, has come under fire for its role in the destruction of environmentally and culturally sensitive forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Pacific Oil and Gas, the parent company of Woodfibre Natural Gas, is another of the companies that make up RGEI.
In January, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development put the April Group on probation and gave it one year to achieve compliance with an internationally recognized set of sustainable forestry practices, Toronto-based Greenpeace campaigner Shawn Moffatt wrote in an email to The Chief.
April responded with a 'sustainability' policy which is essentially a licence to continue rainforest clearance, Moffatt wrote. Glaring loopholes include allowing current suppliers to continue to destroy forest and peatlands for nearly a year, and giving April another six more years until it would stop using rainforest fibre.
On Jan. 28, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company had reiterated a previously stated plan to cease clearing forests by the end of 2014. However, the company also said it would continue using some wood from old-growth forests in Sumatra for up to six years.
April Group president Praveen Singhavi defended the company's plan, telling the Journal, I don't see there is a boycott situation here. Some companies are more than pleased with the policies, while others have questions.
Tanoto, whose empire has been valued at some $12 billion, is guided by his principle that all business should be conducted in a manner that is good for the people, good for the country and good for the company, states a Tanoto biography posted on the website sukantotanoto.net. Tanoto ensures that each of his businesses undertakes responsible environmental and social stewardship by embracing and integrating the concept of corporate social responsibility into its business.
The situation with the April Group shows those words aren't always put into practice, Moffatt said.
While Sukanto Tanoto's operations overseas continue on such an environmentally unsustainable path, I expect Canadians will keep asking hard questions about the impact of his projects in this country, he said.
Sharon Gosnell, a Squamish resident who has been looking into the Woodfibre Natural Gas parent companies' record, agreed. She said while there are a few degrees of separation between the April Group and Woodfibre Natural Gas, locals need to be aware of RGEI's record.
Woodfibre Natural Gas officials recently staged a series of meetings at which officials encouraged community input on the project and for the ongoing environmental assessment process. The company is undertaking a series of studies to establish baseline information on the current state of the local environment and socio-economic situation, officials said in the company's consultation guide.
Gosnell, part of a Smoke Bluffs neighbourhood group that has been meeting to talk about the LNG proposal, said she's among those who feels a comprehensive management plan for Howe Sound is needed to better evaluate such proposals.
I'm mostly concerned that [Premier] Christy Clark is pushing this through so fast without a lot of thought put into it, she said.
We need to step back and look at this beautiful sound and try to showcase best practices and if we develop something, make it something that we can stand behind, Gosnell said.
As for the environmental record of RGEI and its subsidiaries, she said, If these companies are doing these things, we need to be aware of it and be talking about it.
