UPM Annual Report 2016

First page Previous page 64-65 Next page Last page

Stakeholders

In brief

Strategy

Businesses

Governance

Accounts

UPM’s COD load kg/t

07 10 09 08 ■ Per tonne of chemical pulp ■ Per tonne of paper

11 12 13 14 15 16

The COD load has decreased by 23% per tonne of paper, and by 40% per tonne of chemical pulp, over the last ten years. However, in 2016 load increased due to production increase of chemical pulp.

UPM’s AOX load per tonne of bleached chemical pulp kg/t

0.20

0.15

UPM FRAY BENTOS PULP MILL DOES NOT IMPACT ON URUGUAY RIVER

0.10

0.05

The recent report by CARU (Comisión Administradora del Río Uruguay) confirms that the UPM Fray Bentos mill fulfils the strictest environmental criteria and the operation of the pulp mill does not have an impact on the Uruguay river. CARU published its monitoring results in November 2016, corresponding to 50 inspections carried out since 2011. The monitoring work includes the mill’s effluent discharge to the Uruguay river as well as water quality in the river itself and at the mouth of the Gualeguaychú river. The cumulative environmental data proves that the mill fulfils all the environ- mental criteria set by the authorities. All together there have been 67 inspections up to December 2016. UPM is pleased that the results are finally published by CARU. For UPM, it is important that the performance of the mill has been ratified. The performance is in line with the environmental results of all of the monitoring processes conducted by government and independent sources and which have been publicly available on the company’s website since the start-up of the mill in November 2007. At the same time, UPM further reinforces its commitment to comply with Uruguayan law and international standards, sharing mill-related information transparently. CARU is a permanent joint organisation between Uruguay and Argentina that directs and regulates the objectives and interests of both countries in the shared segment of the Uruguay river. In addition, a report on a 10-year study of the water quality and biology of the Uruguay river was published in 2016. The results show that there have been no differences in fish number, abundance or biomass between the reference areas and the receiving area adjacent to the pulp mill effluents. The study was conducted by the Faculty of Sciences of Uruguay and international experts and reviewed by the National Environment Directorate of Uruguay (DINAMA).

10 09 08

11 12 13 14 15 16

AOX indicates the amount of halogens bound to the organic compounds present in the effluent. Over the last ten years, the AOX load per tonne of bleached chemical pulp decreased by 43%. However, in 2016 load increased due to production increase of chemical pulp.

Responsible water use

Water resources and the natural water cycle have a significant impact on UPM’s operations in forests, plantations and the production of energy, pulp and paper.

at Finnish mills in collaboration with partners found through the Baltic Sea Action Group (p. 69). The FinnishMinistry of the Environment has granted funding for a joint project established by UPM together with Yara to develop nutrient recycling. Funding has been granted for 2017–2018. The school project called Local waters, originally launched in Rauma, was expanded to other UPMpulp and paper mill locations in Finland. The purpose of the project is to encourage pupils’ interest in natural sciences through hands-on research carried out at waterways. In addition to UPM, the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the organisation puhdasmerivesi.fi and local Rotary Clubs are involved in the project. Hydropower plays an important role in UPM’s versatile energy production portfolio. In many areas, constructing hydropower facilities has affected the reproduction opportunities of migratory fish species. This has traditionally been compensated by fish planting obligations and fish management fees set by authorities. UPM is currently participating in a two-year project aiming to determine suitable means for restoring migratory fish stocks and supporting their natural reproduction. The project began in 2015 and is administered by the Natural Resources Institute Finland. The ecological state of the effluent discharge areas at UPMpulp and paper mill sites has been studied using a number of bio- indicators.

The company’s target is to minimise the impact of its operations on water resources, safeguard the natural water cycle in forests, and maintain the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. All UPM’s largest production plants are located in areas where there is sufficient water available. The water used by UPMplants comes from rivers, lakes or groundwater resources. UPMuses water responsibly in terms of the company’s water consumption and effluent quality. This has also been acknowledged by the CDPWater Programwhich has rated UPMwith a score of “A-“. This is a leadership position in CDP’s ranking. CDP’s Water Program annually identifies companies that have proven their leadership in the sustainable management of water through concrete actions. Responsibility targets for 2030 encourage forward Using less water also means using less electricity, chemicals and thermal energy. The water used in different processes is recycled to the extent it’s reasonable. All of UPM’s pulp and paper mills are required to have both a mechan- ical and a biological effluent treatment. In order to ensure the best possi ble treatment result and share best practice, UPM’s wastewater treat ment facility team continued its work in 2016. The results have been good and the number of incidents has decreased steadily. The company’s pulp and paper mills began their planning work for achieving the 2030 targets set last year (learn more about the UPM Changshu paper mill research programme on page 38). In order to achieve its nutrient recycling target, UPMhas launched nutrient tests

UPM’s process wastewater volumes m³/t

UPM has reduced wastewater volumes per tonne of paper by 11% and per tonne of chemical pulp by 22% over the last ten years.

10 09 08

11 12 13 14 15 16

Read more: www.upm.com/responsibility, www.upm.uy (es)

27%

TARGETS 2030

Reduction in effluent load since 2008

■ Per tonne of chemical pulp ■ Per tonne of paper

CONTENTS

UPM Annual Report 2016

Made with FlippingBook HTML5