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TEXT HELEN MOSTER

PHOTOGRAPHY TUOMAS UUSHEIMO,

JANNE LEHTINEN, PETRI HEINONEN

“If we are carrying out audits abroad and really want to review everything thoroughly, we always need to have someone with us who speaks the local language and knows how to carry out audits,” says Kimmo Ståhlberg.

“Sometimes it takes months of discus- sions for us to gain permission to carry out a supplier audit at a certain production facility. We always give reasons for why we want to visit them on-site. But our perseverance pays off,” says Nina Norjama.

“We audited the production process, our first priority being to

ensure quality output. During the same visit we also checked the working hour logs, employee conditions, wages, safety and other responsibility related issues,” says Kimmo Ståhlberg.

“Audits are always about improvement. We have to agree with the supplier on the direction and actions that need to be taken so that we can continue working together,” says Petri Heinonen.

“We don't expect any big surprises in the chain of custody in Russia, because forest-related issues have been under the microscope for such a long time. The concept of responsibility has shifted more and more towards social responsibility and there may be lessons to be learned there,” says Tuomas Niemi.

I f anyone understands the principles of responsible sourcing, it’s Petri Heinonen, Tuomas Niemi, Nina Norjama and Kimmo Ståhlberg . Their daily work involves auditing UPM suppliers to ensure that they comply with the strict requirements that UPM sets for its suppliers as a forest company committed to operating responsibly. The primary goal of these supplier requirements is to recognize and reduce risks related to business operations. But that’s not all: they also aim to support suppliers in their continual improvement efforts. On-site visits are one way of assessing suppliers. Heinonen and Ståhlberg have travelled the world carrying out such audits. Niemi in turn monitors pulp suppliers’ operations mainly based on documents. In the following, they recount their experiences in Brazil, China and Russia, with added expert commentary fromNorjama, Director, Responsibility Development and Support.

UPM expects all 25,000 of its suppliers to operate responsibly. But what is responsibility and how can it be assessed? A round table of UPM experts share their insights on this complex topic.

Responsibility in action

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