UPM annual report 2014

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Responsible use of water

UPM ensures that all wood and wood fibre is sustainably sourced

Water plays an important role in UPM’s pulp and paper production and hydropower generation. UPM’s target is to minimise the impacts of operations on local water resources and safeguard the natural water cycle in forests. UPM’s main production plants are located in areas where there is sufficient water available. UPM uses water responsibly in terms of the company’s water consumption and effluent quality. All of UPM’s pulp and paper mills are required to have both a mechanical and a biological effluent treatment facility. The optimisation of operating models continued at the UPM Pietarsaari pulp mill’s effluent treatment plant, completed in 2013. A working group established as part of the Clean Run campaign participates in the optimi- sation of all effluent treatment plants by shar- ing good operating models and preparing for exceptional situations. During 2014, UPM participated in develop- ing the ISO water footprint standard and joined the WBCSD Water Cluster’s WASH Pledge programme as the first forest

UPM’s process wastewater volumes m³/t

RESPONSIBILITY 45–59

UPM uses third-party verified chains of custody and forest certifications in its wood sourcing.

UPM’s global biodiversity programme

Wood is a renewable material and the primary raw material for UPM’s businesses. UPM is both a major forest owner and a purchaser of wood. Global forest loss, which is caused by the growing need for food production and wood, particularly in the tropics, is of particular concern to the whole forest sector. UPM recognises this global challenge and responds to it in its own operations and by actively participating in the WBCSD Forest Solutions Group. UPM does not use wood from tropical rainforests as raw material, or accept wood from plantations that have been established by destroying rainforests. UPM does not operate in areas where the rights of indig- enous peoples are threatened or endangered. UPM continued its participation in the WWF New Generation Plantations platform and is committed to develop and promote sustain- able plantation practices. UPM manages its forests with a view to enhancing biological diversity, natural ecosys- tems and the carbon storage, and operates according to the principles of sustainable forest management. At the end of 2014, UPM owned 765,000 hectares of forest in Finland and 75,000 hectares in the USA. In December, UPM sold all 7,100 hectares of its forest land in the UK to The Church Commissioners for England. In Uruguay, UPM owns 235,000 hectares of plantations. Forests owned by UPM include approximately 43,000 protected sites with a total area of 121,000 hectares. In addition, the company manages 1.6 million hectares of privately owned forests and 65,000 hectares of plantations. All of UPM’s forests and eucalyptus plantations are certified according to the FSC and/or PEFC certification schemes. In addi- tion, UPM has an FSC and PEFC Group Certificate in Finland and a UKWAS Group Certificate in the UK which private forest owners can sign up to. In 2014, UPM was selected as sector leader for the materials industry in the CDP’s forests programme. This was the second time UPM received this acknowledgement.

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The aim of UPM’s global biodiversity pro- gramme is to maintain and increase biodiver- sity in forests and to promote best practices in sustainable forestry. In connection with the biodiversity programme, UPM carried out several projects with stakeholders in 2014. In one of the long-term projects that has already been running for ten years, UPM has participated in monitoring the insect species found in retention trees in Janakkala, Fin- land. The project is being carried out in co-operation with researchers and the Finnish Environment Institute. UPM is also a network partner in the Biodiversity in Good Company initiative in Germany and the FIBS Business & Biodiver- sity programme in Finland, both of which contribute to the UN Convention on Biologi- cal Diversity. UPM also co-operated with IUCN in 2014.

■ per tonne of chemical pulp ■ per tonne of paper

UPM has reduced wastewater volumes per tonne of paper by 25%, and per tonne of chemical pulp by 17% over the last ten years.

More graphs available on page 139.

VIDA SILVESTRE PROMOTES BIODIVERSITY IN URUGUAY

products company. As a participant in the WASH Pledge programme, UPM is committed to ensur- ing that all its water, sanitation and hygiene in the work- place. By 2020, UPM aims to reduce its wastewater volume by 15% and its COD load by 20% in pulp and paper produc- tion, as compared with the 2008 level. The project has been so successful to date that the 2020 target was tightened in 2012. employees have access to clean

“Our work aims to preserve nature and the diversity of ecosystems and species, by working together with different groups in society,” declares Oscar Blumetto, President of Vida Silvestre, discussing the objectives of the organisation. Vida Silvestre and UPM’s plantation forestry company Forestal Oriental have entered into a three-year co-operation project on the conservation of the environment. This is the first time a forestry company and an NGO have established such a partnership in Uruguay. The main purpose of the co-operation is to contribute to the sustainable development of natural resources in the long term. UPM and Vida Silvestre are also looking for partner- ships with other public or private stakehold- ers to facilitate more efficient management of biodiversity. “We very much appreciate UPM’s recent initiative to create and protect native species in conservation areas that are found in the company’s eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay. We are participating in this process by assisting UPM in selecting these areas before plantations are created,” adds Blumetto.

Read more on UPM’s wood sourcing (p. 39).

83% OF UPM’S PAPER IS PRODUCED USING FIBRE THAT MEETS THE CRITERIA OF FSC OR PEFC FOREST CERTIFICATION SCHEME

SEA TROUT AND WHITEFISH RETURNING Sea trout and whitefish are good indicators of the efficiency of modern wastewater treatment and the improving state of nature. The species are now returning to their spawning locations in the Rauma river and Pitkäjärvenoja creek, which runs into the sea through the UPM Rauma paper mill site in Finland. “The development is encouraging as the species are classi- fied as ‘very endangered’ in the Baltic Sea region. Reproduc- tion may be tiny, but it is important to guard the genetic her- itage of the species,” explains Juha Hyvärinen, head of environmental protection in the city of Rauma. The seaside in front of the Rauma area has been systemati cally monitored from the late 1960s. Nowadays, one joint wastewater treatment plant operated by UPM purifies also all wastewater from Rauma municipality and Metsä Fibre pulp mill. The development of the wastewater treatment system has improved the water quality significantly since then.

Certified wood supplied to mills %

100

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PROCESS WASTEWATER HAS DECREASED

The average share of certified fibre supplied to UPM’s mills increased to 83% (80%). By 2020, UPM aims to increase the share of certified fibre to 85%. UPM’s 2020 target was increased in 2012 because of the good progress made.

17% PER TONNE OF CHEMICAL PULP OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS