ESG has arrived in Papua New Guinea with the opening of the country’s first Green Finance Centre, spearheaded by the Bank of Papua New Guinea and the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute.
The institute is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organisation that supports and promotes strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies.
The move is part of a wider push to transform PNG’s financial, forest, and agriculture sectors and involves integrating green finance principles into their core operations and embedding Environmental, Social, and governance (or ESG) principles across the supply chain.
The joint effort is tackling environmental and climate change challenges through innovative and inclusive climate finance and green investment mechanisms within the financial and banking sectors and is part of a government-led commitment to achieving low-carbon, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth while addressing climate change risks.
It is supported by PNG’s ‘Climate Action’ Roadmap, consisting of 30 actions, including climate governance, forestry, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and health, biodiversity, and tourism.
These actions, which must be finalised by 2030, are a key part of PNG’s commitment to progress 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agreed to at the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit. They provide a path towards climate-compatible development, which will reduce PNG’s vulnerability to climate change and contribute to global action on reducing greenhouse emissions.
Joined at the hip with the push towards ESG is PNG Forest Products (PNGFP) – the country’s largest forest product exporter in the Australian and NZ marketplaces, based at Bulolo in the Morobe Province along the PNG north coast.
The engineered wood business employs more than 1350 Papua New Guineans and is committed to building a better future through sustainable manufacturing practices.
All timber is sourced from nationally owned plantations, with PNGFP working with the Department of Environment and Conservation to ensure that the highest standards and best environmental practices are maintained.
The company has achieved PEFC Chain of Custody accreditation for 100% of its forest products. The CoC system tracks the wood source to the final product, ensuring the product originates from legal, noncontroversial, and socially responsible sources.
PNG Forest Products works with the Department of Environment and Conservation, and all timber is sourced from renewable pine plantations restocked from the PNG Forest Authority’s extensive nursery and annual replanting programs in Bulolo and Wau.
The company’s sustainable hydropower stations power the Bulolo sawmilling and manufacturing plants. The combination of renewable timber resources processed with sustainable hydropower makes PNG Forest Products truly 100% green.
