UPM’s wood veneer is being used for hotel key cards by delegates attending the Copenhagen climate change conference.

UPM’s light-coloured WISA veneer is being used by 30 Copenhagen hotels, as a replacement for the normal plastic key cards during the conference.

The 100,000 cards were supplied by Sustainable Cards, which has a patent pending for the product.

“Finnish birch veneer is a smart material and feels nice to touch,” said Panu Anttila, director for UPM’s veneer business.

A typical 200-room hotel uses about 12,000 key cards annually.