UPM-Biofore-Magazine-3-2016-EN

TEXT MATTI REMES   PHOTOGRAPHY UPM; COURTESY OF THE INTERVIEWEES

Due to global population growth and growing consumption, the planet’s limited resources need to be used more efficiently, states Petri Jokinen, Senior Principal at PöyryManagement Consulting. More renewable resources should be used instead of increasing made of sustainable rawmaterial is an ecologically sustainable solution compared to many other alternatives.” Klinga believes that the range of pulp-based products will expand in the future because pulp is such a versatile and renewable rawmaterial. Pulp- basedmaterials can be used to replace oil-based plastics, for instance. Pulp is also used in biomedical innovations such as UPM’s GrowDex® hydrogel, which is used for cell culturing in laboratory environments. consumption of non-renewable natural resources. “Pulp that is

Why responsible investment is a win-win strategy

More and more investors are investing in responsible businesses – and with very good reason. Ethical companies are usually more efficient at risk management and yield more stable long-term profits.

Tonnes of trust

The majority of UPM’s pulp customers are growth-seeking industry leaders with a need for ever-increasing volumes of rawmaterials. “Such customers want to do business with a reliable supplier who is able to deliver pulp of uniform quality to meet their growing needs,” says Anssi Klinga, Senior Vice President at UPMPulp. Advanced technical customer service is one of UPMPulp’s business cornerstones. “We collaborate with our customers to find solutions to help them optimize their production and improve their competitiveness. Our technical specialists know the challenges that paper manufacturers face and ensure that our customers are able to create the best possible products using our pulp.” Klinga emphasizes that customer expectations must be met every single day. “UPMPulp’s customer promise can be summarized in these words: ‘Tonnes of trust’.” Partnering expands portfolio One of UPM’s strengths is its extensive portfolio of pulp products. The range includes northern softwood pulp, birch pulp and eucalyptus pulp. “UPM’s position on the global pulpmarket has been strengthened by our collaboration with Canadian pulpmanufacturers Canfor Pulp,” says Klinga. The two companies entered into a sales andmarketing collaboration agreement in 2014. As a result, UPM’s pulp sales network represents Canfor Pulp products in Europe and China, while the Canadian company sells UPMpulp products in North America and Japan. The next step will be expanding the collaboration to South Korea, where both companies are already doing business. As of January 2017, Canfor’s sales company in Seoul will begin selling UPMpulp in South Korea. “This is a unique collaborationmodel that offers our two companies the opportunity to provide customers with a wide range of northern softwood pulps, birch and eucalyptus pulp andmechanical pulp. Our customers benefit from the wide range of technical customer service available via both our companies,” Klinga concludes. 

A ccording to a study conducted at Aalto University, responsible environmental and social practices and good governance have positive effects on a company’s long-termfinancial performance. “However, this is only true of companies whose corporate sustainability strategy is put into action rather than just remaining at the

Pulp-based materials can be used to replace oil-based plastics.

level of empty words,” says Hanna Silvola , Assistant Professor at the Aalto University School of Business. According to Silvola, the benefits apply particularly to companies that are industry frontrunners in sustainability. The rewards of doing the right thing Companies that operate responsibly can benefit inmany different ways. For starters, it fosters a

positive image that generates further market interest in the company’s products and services, thus providing a competitive advantage. The corporate executives interviewed by Silvola’s research group also stated that responsible companies find it easier to secure funding. “When a company openly discloses information on its operations and risks, the cost of capital is lower.” Silvola points out that responsibility initiatives are most profitable when incorporated into the company’s operative management, using score cards and rewards, for example. Setting clear objectives andmeasurement of the results is essential. Hanna Silvola

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