UPM-Biofore-Magazine-1-2017-ENG

Sustainably,

smaller components that have to be dismantledmanually.” E-waste contains hazardous but also valuable and scarce materials that are thrown away and end up in landfills or forgotten in drawers. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, fewer than 10% of mobile phones are dismantled and reused. Enjoy print! Comparing the advantages of print and electronic media, Eichiner states that both have their place in the current media world and ideally they can round each other out in fields such as advertising. “According to statistics, the return on online advertising investments is 62% higher and the return on TV advertising campaigns 37% higher when they are combined with direct marketing by mail,” she reveals. “One reason for this is that 70% of consumers keep sales catalogues in their homes for over one month, and 34% keep them for over a year. They like to keep the catalogues and read them to seek information and inspiration over and over again,” she reflects. Eichiner is very confident that paper has a bright future due to all of the ecological advantages offered by print media. “The paper industry has a long tradition using well-established ecolabels for forest management and paper production, guaranteeing that the end products fulfil the highest environmental standards. The process of tracing the entire supply chain for electronic devices is much less developed,” she notes. “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of these environmental topics and are actively searching for products that are produced in a sustainable way. I believe they can enjoy print media with a clear conscience, because paper remains one of the most sustainable products on the market,” concludes Eichiner. 

effects much depend on the user behaviour. In Germany, a newspaper is read on average by three consumers, whichmakes it ecologically more favorable then e-news. “The ecological footprint of print media consumption is even lower when there are several people who read the same newspaper or magazine within a household — a very typical situation — and then recycle the paper afterwards. In this respect, print outperforms online devices. This is especially true in countries like Germany, where we have a lot of coal-fired power plants for producing energy,” says Eichiner. She adds that paper manufactures are important producers and users of renewable energy. Renewable energy accounts for 54% of the power used for paper production. UPM is the second largest generator of biomass-based electricity in Europe, with biomass-based fuels accounting for up to 69% of the fuels used. Circular economy in action Paper offers an excellent example of the circular economy in action. In Europe the paper recycling rate is over 70% on average. “This is an outstanding achievement, but I believe there’s still room for improvement. Even in Europe there are several countries that could increase their rate significantly through awareness andmore efficient recycling systems,” emphasises Eichiner. She adds that sustainability issues are also being prioritised in the design and development of new printing processes, coatings and inks in order to enhance the recyclability of the end product. But not even paper can be recycled endlessly. “We have to add also virgin fibre at some stage. Wood fibre can be recycled up to seven times, but after that it gets too short and weak to form paper anymore. Then it can be burned

naturally

UPM is the world’s largest user of recovered paper in the production of its graphic papers, consuming 2.8 million tonnes of recovered paper in 2016.

Paper is one of the most widely used products within the circular economy. It ticks all the boxes for sustainability: paper is made from fully renewable raw materials, it is highly recyclable, and can be used for bioenergy generation at the end of its lifecycle. We trace all fibres used in UPM papers and utilise resources efficiently. We believe in fair treatment and sustainable practices, and uphold high standards of corporate responsibility in the communities and societies in which we operate.

to generate energy.” UPM is the world’s largest user of recovered paper in the production of its graphic papers, consuming 2.8 million tonnes of recovered paper in 2016. Recycled fibre represents one third of all fibre materials used in UPM’s paper production. Commenting further on recycling, Eichiner notices that the amount of e-waste is growing steadily – andmost of it is anything but degradable. In 2014, around 42 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide — but only a tiny part of it ends up being recycled sustainably. “Unfortunately, most countries lack an effective recycling system for electronic devices. Part of the problem is that computers, phones and other devices are becoming increasingly complex andmade of smaller and

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