It’s a no brainer to use more sustainably sourced wood

UPM increases the IFRS fair value of its forest assets in Finland, mainly due to higher forest growth estimates. In addition, the company adjusts its long-term wood price estimates slightly. The impact of these changes on the fair value of forest assets is approximately EUR 320 million and will be reported as an item affecting comparability in Q4 2018 under Other operations. The updated forest growth model indicates higher forest growth volumes that are explained mainly by sustainable forest management. "UPM's own forests are strategic source for UPM's wood supply. Active, timely and sustainable forest management combined with high quality seedling material have increased UPM's own forests' growth significantly over the years. Increasing forest growth and carbon sequestration enable higher sustainable harvesting volumes from UPM's own forests now and in the future," says Sauli Brander, Senior Vice President, Wood Sourcing and Forestry Northern Europe. Click read more below for additional detail.

UPM Biofuels commissioned a study from leading international energy and climate consultancy Ecofys - A Navigant Company, entitled "Crude tall oil low ILUC risk assessment: comparing global supply and demand". The study looked into crude tall oil (CTO) availability, current usage, whether the feedstock creates an additional demand for land, and whether the use of CTO in advanced biofuels can cause distortive effects in the markets. The recently conducted Ecofys study concludes that "the CTO market is not overly tight and potential surplus of about 850,000 tonnes of CTO is still available that could be tapped into". The total potential CTO supply is around 2.6 million tonnes. Current actual CTO demand is approximately 1.75 million tonnes, of which about 1.4 million tonnes is used by distillers and roughly 230,000 tonnes for biofuels. Ecofys also concludes that "CTO use for biofuels did not cause displacement effects elsewhere, and hence CTO, a non-land using process residue, is a low ILUC (Indirect Land Use Change) risk material." UPM considered it necessary to investigate the impact of UPM Biofuels' market entry, and to verify whether UPM BioVerno production may have impacted negatively on the CTO market. The study brings necessary information into the debate concerning raw material availability for various end-uses such as advanced biofuels and biomaterials. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The prestigious Portafolio Awards are held annually in Colombia to recognise people and companies who have demonstrated exemplary achievements in areas including the environment, customer service, business and social initiatives. A large group of companies, including some of the world’s leading brands, were gathered at the event along with the country’s president, Juan Manuel Santos. Alvaro Henao, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Colombia, said: “We are excited and proud to receive this award. It recognises Smurfit Kappa Group´s commitment to initiatives that help improve the environment and develop the communities in which we operate. “At Smurfit Kappa, we believe in sustainability in every fibre and this includes running our plants and mills in a sustainable way and being socially responsible.” Click Read More below for additional information.