Solenis Affirms Science Based Targets Initiative in Sustainability Commitment

At UPM, we have zero tolerance for deforestration and have strict processes in place to ensure that forests always grow more than they are used. In the North, commercial forests have a growth cycle of between 60 to 100 years, so the forests we plant today will be harvested by our children and our children’s children. Jue Wang, a Senior Environmental Specialist with UPM Specialty Papers, says that there is a false belief that using paper and pulp drive deforestation. The key element to commercial forestry is imitating how natural forests grow, she adds: “We analyse the differences and try to mimic them, such as increasing the share of broadleaf trees and leaving deadwood as a habitat for insects. This way, forests can be healthier and more resilient to the environment.” Forest planning generally covers a period of ten years and defines the activity proposed for the area each year. “Through skilled management, the trees can better adapt to climate change and eventually produce a better quality of wood. It’s not about getting the most trees, but to obtain the healthiest forests in the long term,” says Wang,

The Ningbo city government is planning to shut down APP China's 600,000 tonne/yr cartonboard mill there to reduce air pollution. The mill, run by APP China subsidiary Ningbo Zhonghua Paper, has three cartonboard PMs. In 2014, local authorities announced a four-year plan to tackle the air pollution issue. The city has specified that some offending plants should be shut down or relocated by 2017. For the Ningbo Zhonghua mill, the authorities propose to permanently retire PM 1, and relocate the two bigger PMs.

Water is one of the most essential resources on our planet, serving multiple roles and millions of people at once. A few of water’s better-known services include providing millions with drinking water, ensuring food security and playing a vital function in the health and sanitation sectors. Beyond these direct connections, water also maintains a critical and complex relationship with biodiversity—an essential component of Earth’s ecosystems. Countless environments rely on the presence of water to remain stable and healthy—and water, in turn, relies on these environments to maintain its own functions and patterns. When access to the resource is altered or diminished, not only are various species and their habitats at greater risk, but the water supply itself faces further threat through droughts, polluted waterways, soil erosion and decreased water quality. The result is a strained environment unable to sustain local habitats and a shrinking water supply—critical for all populations and an urgent issue for the human population, considering less than 1% of the global water supply is actually available for human use.