(UPM, Helsinki, 17 May 2017 at 09:00 EET) - UPM and the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) announce a global strategic partnership to develop solutions for advancing the uptake of FSC in the market. UPM and FSC signed the partnership agreement on the 16th of May 2017 during the FSC international members meeting in Karkkila, Finland. The partnership aims at delivering benefits to forest owners through FSC certification and to increase the FSC-certified wood supply.
UPM has actively cooperated with FSC both on international and national level for several years. The company has been involved in developing the FSC certification in order to enhance its applicability to the fragmented private forest ownership in Finland. This work will be strengthened through the newly agreed partnership.
"We are delighted to formalize our collaboration with UPM. It is vitally important that FSC has a strong relationship with sustainability leaders of the paper and forest products industry to expand the FSC footprint globally. We agree on the importance of FSC for all parties in the value chain from forest owners to consumers. UPM and FSC also share a common understanding of the importance of responsible forestry and the sustainable use of wood in the bioeconomy", says Kim Carstensen, Director General, Forest Stewardship Council.
"UPM's customers take a growing interest in the company's environmental performance and the sustainability of its operations. Third-party verified certificates give them useful information about the responsibility of UPM products", says Heikki Vappula, EVP, UPM Biorefining.
"The global partnership is a natural continuation to UPM Biofore strategy and to our valuable cooperation with FSC. FSC certification is an excellent tool for promoting responsible forestry. Our joint target is to extend the use of the FSC system in general as well as to develop UPM forest management and solutions for group certification to expand in the Finnish private smallholder structure", Vappula continues.
To promote the certification of privately owned forests in Finland, UPM established an FSC group certification scheme in 2012. In 2016, the scheme (FSC C 109750) grew to cover about 300,000 hectares of private forest.
For more information, please contact:
Sauli Brander, UPM, SVP, Wood Sourcing and Forestry, tel. +358 40 567 4155
Alex Dunn, FSC, Media Manager, a.dunn@fsc.org, tel. +49 228 367 6688
UPM
Through the renewing of the bio and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Paper ENA and UPM Plywood. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. We serve our customers worldwide. The group employs around 19,300 people and its annual sales are approximately EUR 10 billion. UPM shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. UPM - The Biofore Company- www.upm.com
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FSC
FSC works to take care of our forests and those who rely on them by protecting plant and animal species, Indigenous Peoples rights, forest workers' safety, and much more. This is achieved through FSC certification, ensuring forests around the world are responsibly managed. FSC was established in 1994, and currently, over 190 million hectares of forest are FSC certified, in over 80 countries worldwide. FSC's global headquarters are in Bonn, Germany, with a network of national offices in over 30 countries.
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