Pulp Matters 2/2022

NEWS

New social responsibility targets lead to record EcoVadis rating EcoVadis has awarded UPM the Platinum level rating based on the company’s sustainability performance in four categories: Environment, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. Only 1% of the 90,000 global companies assessed received the Platinum score. Compared to previous years’ assessments, UPM received an all-time high score of 87/100. “The main improvement steps were taken in the Labour and Human Rights category. We have introduced several new social responsibility targets for 2030, focusing strongly on diversity and inclusion and fair rewarding. We have also developed our human rights due diligence processes and reporting,” says Sami Lundgren , VP, Responsibility at UPM. “The EcoVadis sustainability rating helps our customers assess the responsibility of their suppliers. UPM’s renewed Platinum rating recognises the work we have done to promote sustainability in the whole value chain,” Lundgren adds. EcoVadis assesses the performance of globally operating companies in more than 200 purchasing categories and in more than 160 countries. The rating is based on a comprehensive assessment of the companies’ sustainability operations, including verified, public information about supply chain practices. EcoVadis also carries out a 360° screening of

UPM and Dongsung Chemical to develop products from bio-based rawmaterials UPM and South Korean Dongsung Chemical will form a strategic partnership to develop renewable products using bio-based raw materials, initially for footwear materials. The aim is to develop a renewable polyurethane product based on UPM Biochemicals’ biobased mono-ethylene glycols (MEG) – UPM BioPura™ – produced in the world’s first industry scale biorefinery at Leuna in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Through this partnership, the two companies will actively cooperate in the development of eco-friendly products using Bio-MEG, targeting the Asian market and its vast textile and footwear industries. Dongsung Chemical plans to diversify its portfolio by advancing eco-friendly product lines, integrating UPM’s Bio-MEG into its production. The aim is to apply it first to footwear materials and then expand the field of application to automotive interior materials and adhesives.

Deadwood doubled to increase biodiversity in UPM’s forests in Finland

UPM has set a target to increase the amount of deadwood in its commercial forests from the current level of about 5 cubic metres per hectare to 10 cubic metres per hectare. In UPM’s protected areas and commercial forests where a specific nature management target has been set, the deadwood target is 20 cubic metres per hectare. The new targets are part of the UPM Forest Action responsibility programme. “More than a fifth of Finland’s forest species depend on deadwood at some point in their lives. It is therefore natural to set an ambitious target for the amount of deadwood in commercial forests in order to increase biodiversity. To ensure the sustainable sourcing of wood raw material in the future, we need to safeguard biodiversity in many ways,” says Tuomas Kara , Environmental Manager at UPM Forest. In addition to increasing the amount of deadwood, UPM aims to diversify the deadwood to include more

decaying standing and ground deadwood of different species in the forest. The amount of deadwood in UPM’s forests is based on data from the National Forest Inventory (VMI) of the Natural Resources Institute of Finland for forests owned by UPM. In cooperation with the Institute, the accumulation of deadwood and its impact on biodiversity will also be studied. “Our current forest management guidelines take into account increasing the amount of deadwood by saving existing deadwood and by leaving retention trees as future deadwood. Buffer zones for water bodies and areas that are completely excluded from commercial use also increase the amount of deadwood. Through further studies and modelling in collaboration with researchers, we want to find out how these measures could be further modified or improved,” says Kara.

Sixth graders go to the woods to learn about the sustainable use of forests UPM organised forest trips for sixth grade pupils at its five mill sites in Jämsä, Kouvola, Pietarsaari, Rauma and Lappeenranta, Finland, this August and September. For the sixth year in a row the excursions were organised in cooperation with the Finnish Forest Association and the 4H youth associations. The aim is to offer schoolchildren an experience of forests and to explain the sustainable use of commercial forests in an interesting way. The excursions include expert-led activity trails to learn about wood growth and the carbon cycle, the forest as a recreation area, forest regeneration and planting, and the use of forests as a source for various wood-based products.

the assessed companies based on information and data in the media and other public sources.

30

31

PUL P MAT TERS 02/2022