An ALLIANCE culture to safeguard Africa's forests

EDITORIAL
In 2017 we launched our first sustainability
report: our plan to make ‘SUSTAINABLE
HARDWOOD, MADE IN AFRICA' the standard.
Our criteria for action?
Quantifiable goals that are measured by independent
third parties.
Our means?
Innovative projects and partnerships.
Our goals?
To guarantee our customers a supply of 100%
sustainable timber. To create a supply chain that
has minimal impacts on the forest, a positive
carbon footprint and reduces poverty.
This report highlights some of our activities and
achievements during the 2017-2019 period, and
includes data from 2014-2016 for comparative
purposes.
It shows that, with the support of our customers
and partners, we are making an impact on the
ground and driving change in the sustainable and
certified African timber industry and value chain.
88% of our overall timber supply already comes
from third party verified sustainable sources.
Various sources, including Pope Francis in his
encyclical "Laudato si'", remind us of the urgency
to take action against global warming. It is high
time to base our economic systems on a system
of social, ecological and economic ALLIANCES.
We need a true ALLIANCE CULTURE that links
all the relevant actors: our employees and their
families, customers and suppliers, civil society
and the local population, companies/private
actors, States and politicians, the financial
sector, scientists, NGOs and finally the private
consumer who makes the decision to purchase
sustainable and certified TIMBER materials.
INTERHOLCO has entered into this ALLIANCE
with the forests of the Congo Basin by complying
with the 10 Principles of the United Nations
Global Compact focusing on human rights, labour,
environment and anti-corruption. The economic
success that puts the human being at the heart
of the action is then transformed into a positive
force for change.
We owe it to ourselves to respond to the needs of
the world. Our wish is to contribute to promoting
the common good through the creation and
development of our goods and services, and in
particular by showing solidarity with the poor
and people in difficulty.
As a company, we have a big role to play in this
expected change. The vision of the ALLIANCE
as conceived by INTERHOLCO is to make
"SUSTAINABLE HARDWOOD, MADE IN AFRICA"
no longer a simple product derived from forests,
but a forest of solutions.
This is why we have a mission: no longer to
accept the current situation; to slow down the
rate of climate change and reduce the use of
energy-intensive materials such as concrete and
aluminium, and to mark a radical turning point;
to give value to natural forests, promote social
equity and build the future with a renewable,
recyclable, sustainable, traceable material with
a favourable carbon footprint, “SUSTAINABLE
HARDWOOD, MADE IN AFRICA", a material
capable of improving living conditions and
keeping the functions of natural ecosystems
intact.
allows us to progress and evolve. Our progress is
undeniable.
Sustainability is at the heart of INTERHOLCO's
work and that of the more than 1,000 employees
who are our core strength. I am extremely
grateful to them for making sustainability a
reality as part of their daily activities.
This second sustainability report is a testament
to their passion, expertise and dedication -
essential elements in making “SUSTAINABLE
HARDWOOD, MADE IN AFRICA" the standard.
Our commitment and impact are driven by a
fierce desire to succeed given the vital issue
of the task at hand. We gladly welcome all
comments and offers of support.
What are we most proud of? INTERHOLCO's
performance in 2020, ranked number 1 in the
world by SPOTT in the field of tropical forestry.
However, we remain humble given the magnitude
of the task at hand. Not all of our objectives
have been achieved, but we are learning, which
Ulrich GRAUERT
CEO INTERHOLCO
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