UPM has become the first Finnish company to comply with the Forest Stewardship Council standard.
The certification covers around half of UPM’s forests in Finland. UPM’s forests are already PEFC certified.
The first UPM products manufactured from FSC-certified Finnish fibre will be available on the market in the autumn.
An agreement on the new Finnish FSC standard and its requirements was concluded in autumn last year and a certificate of compliance with the new standard has been available for Finnish forests as of May. UPM started certification preparations at the beginning of this year. The FSC certificate was granted by Soil Association Woodmark.
“WWF and UPM have been working closely for a long time and I am pleased to see that UPM is setting an example in FSC certification for other Finnish companies. We hope that more forest owners will start to adhere to the more ecologically stringent FSC standard,” said WWF Finland president Liisa Rohweder.
Timo Lehesvirta, UPM’s director, environment, said FSC certification was a natural continuation for the development of the company’s forestry. “We want to develop sustainable forest management and make our business more transparent,” he said.
In 2010, 79% of the fibre used by UPM was certified. All forests owned by UPM have a PEFC, FSC or SFI certificate.
