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Circular economy

Circular economy enables us to address global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity. We use renewable resources efficiently and strive for zero process waste to landfill.

Renewable raw materials from sustainably managed forests

Forests are at the heart of circularity at UPM. They are the source for our renewable, bio-based products and materials. We are committed to climate-positive forestry and making a positive impact on biodiversity in our own forests. We ensure that our forests always grow more than they are used.

Circular by design

Up to 80% of products’ environmental impacts are defined at the design phase. Our Sustainable Product Design concept enables us to develop recyclable products from renewable materials. Together with our customers and partners, we innovate and commercialize new, resource-efficient solutions to promote sustainability and responsible use of renewable and recyclable materials and make the circular bioeconomy a reality. We consider our products’ environmental and social impacts throughout their life cycle from material selection to production, use, reuse and recycling.

Efficient use of resources

Resource efficiency is at the core of circular economy. We strive to use raw materials, water and energy as efficiently as possible, and aim to utilize side streams generated in our production processes, such as bark and wood residues, sludges, crude tall oil, ash, and lime fractions from chemical pulp mills. Some of our products are made from residues, recovered materials, and side streams. Our targets are to send no process waste to landfill and use only recycled nutrients at our own effluent treatment plants by 2030. As forest industry wastewaters are poor in nutrients, we need to add nitrogen and phosphorus to the biological stage of the wastewater treatment to make the bacteria work. The use of recycled nutrients reduces the need for the energy-intensive production of nitrogen and the use of phosphorus, which is a depleting natural resource.

Do you or your company happen to have nutrient-rich side streams? We might be interested.

Efficient use of energy and water

We strive to improve our energy efficiency every year.

Circular economy at UPM

Creating impact through circularity*

83%

of process waste is recycled or recovered as energy

production sites utilize 100% of their process waste

33%

of nutrients used in our own effluent treatment plants come from recycled sources

83%

of ash is recycled

*in 2024

Examples of collaborative success

Arla to bring 40 million wood-based packages into supermarkets

Swedish Arla wants to provide consumers with new opportunities to choose more responsible products. It was the first company in Finland to use renewable, wood-based bioplastics in gable-top paperboard cartons for milk, yogurt, and cooking products. The tall oil-based raw material used is a Finnish innovation by UPM.

UPM Adhesive Materials recycles label waste

Label release liner remains an under-addressed waste stream with low recycling rates worldwide. Label waste from UPM Adhesive Materials' customers and partners is recycled using a variety of RafCycle® recycling solutions.

UPM LinerLoop^™ liner recycling solution

UPM LinerLoop™ is an innovative, closed-loop recycling service for used release liners, bringing the industry closer to its recycling and zero-waste targets. As the only industrial-scale solution of its kind, it operates with a dedicated network of collection partners and a specialized recycling facility.

Paper recycling promotes circular economy

UPM is one of the largest users of recovered paper in the graphic paper industry. We use 0.7 million tonnes of recovered paper, with recycled fibre making up 15% of all fibre used in our paper production. Most paper can be recycled, including used newspapers, cardboard, packaging, magazines, catalogues, greeting cards and envelopes, to give paper a new life.

Wood-based lignin replaces glue

Lignin, a by-product of pulp production and the tree’s own natural adhesive, is used in UPM's WISA BioBond gluing technology for plywood manufacturing. This innovative solution replaces at least 50% of the fossil-based phenol in the plywood's glue. It has now become standard in all UPM's WISA-Spruce plywood.

Breakthrough in recycling ash

Ash from biomass-based energy generation is used in various applications, including soil stabilization and the cement industry. It also serves as fertilizer, a raw material for paper filler, and an internal replacement for caustic soda. 83% of our ash is reused.

Product stewardship

Sustainable product design

Sustainable raw materials

Story | 08/28/2025 07:26:15 | 4 min

Updated Supplier and Third-Party Code clarifies responsibility requirements – and invites dialogue

Story | 08/27/2025 12:31:17 | 4 min

Inside commissioning and ramp-up phase at UPM's Leuna biorefinery

Story | 08/05/2025 08:37:40 | 3 min

Bogdan, HR Reporting Specialist, HR Service Center Kraków

Blog | 07/28/2025 07:55:51 | 2 min