UPM_Biofore_Magazine2016_ENG_160623_e-magazine_72dpi

Kaolin from the Amazon Petri Heinonen, Manager, Supply Chains, recently conducted a supplier audit in eastern Brazil, where he scrutinized the operations of Imerys, UPM’s kaolin supplier. UPMuses kaolin in the paper production process. Imerys was selected for auditing due to certain risks related to mining and landmanagement in Brazil. Petri: Imerys Rio CapimCaulimCo.’s production facility

On-site visits are one way of assessing suppliers. Petri Heinonen recently conducted a supplier audit in eastern Brazil, where he scrutinized the operations of Imerys, UPM's kaolin supplier.

is located in Barcarena in the state of Pará. The actual open-pit mines are located 160 kilometres inland in the middle of the rainforest. Thousands of hectares of land have been reserved for extraction, but only a fraction of the rainforest area has been cleared for extraction. We were keen to look into how the extraction permits were obtained and what happens to the land after all the kaolin has been extracted. In the mining area, we saw a tree nursery where native tree species were being grown. This way rainforests are being restored in areas where extraction has been completed. Nina: Had restoration already started? Petri: Yes, it had, and everything seemed to be going well. Nina: Tell me about the people. What are the local surroundings like? Petri: There are nine poor neighbourhoods, favelas, around Barcarena. Imerys has created a social programme for the residents providing support such as remedial education and activities for children as well as dental care and water workouts. In the jungle around the open-pit mines there are villages that are even poorer than the favelas. The company also helps the village residents by providing health education and buying vegetables from them for their canteen. Nina: What about the factory itself? Can you tell me about the working conditions there? Petri: I talked to some of the factory workers at random. I asked themwhether they had had holidays and whether the company had paid them their wages. I also reviewed the employee register and working hour tracking system. I found everything to be at a good level. The company also had a programme to employ people with disabilities.

Wood sourcing has been under the microscope all over the world for a long time.

Chinese, so we had experts on our teamwho understood Chinese. Nina: And you found there were major issues concerning safety at work? Kimmo: The employees lacked safety boots and respirators even though a lot of dust is generated during production. The company corrected all the issues that we pointed out to them. They installed an epoxy floor in the chemical store, which reduced the amount of dust. They also labelled all the chemical barrels and provided employees with safety equipment. Nina: Asian Sage is an excellent example of a supplier willing to invest in improvements. They also had capital earmarked for such investments. Kimmo: Exactly. They knew they did not meet the demands of western companies and they wanted to improve. They were grateful for the “free consultation.” Nina: What about holidays?Were the employees given enough time off? Kimmo: The employees wanted to work longer hours so that they could have time off to help at home during the harvest. We told the company about western requirements and persuaded them to upgrade their holiday pay, for example. Fibre from around the world UPMhas been assessing the origin of wood sourced fromRussia for several decades now. The origins of UPM’s pulp fibre are also subject to scrutiny. But why should the origin of wood and fibre be monitored in the first place? Hasn’t wood sourcing been under the microscope all over the world for a long time already?

“In fibre sourcing, raw material supply chain management has been

revolutionized over the past 20 years. It would be great if the same level of performance was achieved for other raw materials as well. That’s our goal,” says Nina Norjama.

Imerys has created a social programme for the residents providing support such as remedial education and activities for children.

Paper machine parts from China Kimmo Ståhlberg, Director, Chemical & Consumables, RawMaterial Sourcing, recently audited the Hebei Asian Sage Industry’s machine workshop in China. Asian Sage supplies doctor blades for the UPM Changshu paper mill. The family business located in Hengshui manufactures products from carbon fibre and has around 50–100 employees. Kimmo: The Changshumill has used products made by Asian Sage for a long time now, and we wanted to see whether we could also use them in Europe and the United States. 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. The company’s documents were in

22 | BIOFORE

2/2016  | 23