UPM’s Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative wins the Midwest Regional Sustainability Award in the US

UPM’s Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative received the Gold Award in the Midwest Region Sustainability competition challenged by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Chicago. According to the panel of judges, UPM’s initiative stands out as an excellent example highlighting Supply Managers’ responsibility to lead, drive and influence sustainability initiatives within an organization.

UPM’s Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative, launched in 2016, is one of the ways in which UPM contributes to the United Nations sustainable development goals for the year 2030. The initiative focuses on five of the most challenging production side streams to recycle, starting in UPM’s home country, Finland. The waste fractions are ash, sludge, sandy bark, dregs and mixed waste. The project’s main goal is creating a permanent and scalable operational model around the existing forms of recycling and reuse of these challenging side streams, but it also looks into finding completely new, innovative ways to recycle and reuse the solid waste that has previously ended up in landfills. At UPM approximately 90 per cent of production waste is already today recycled or reused. Before initiating this project, UPM already had zero solid waste to landfill operations at its mills in Austria and Germany.

“UPM achieved both waste and cost savings from their Zero Solid Waste to Landfill efforts, showing how significant progress can be made to simultaneously reduce cost and support sustainable initiatives,” says Scott Daniels, ISM Chicago Sustainability Chair.

“We are very impressed that our initiative was so highly recognized,” says Jennifer Wilkerson, Director, Business Development and Marketing, UPM Paper ENA (Europe and North America). “The excellent results so far in the Zero Solid Waste to Landfill Initiative is, of course, a result of active networking both internally and with external partners,” Jennifer tells.

UPM’s comprehensive side stream based product portfolio includes already, for example
– Renewable diesel and naphtha from tall oil, a residue from company’s pulp production
– Biocomposites from recycled paper and plastic which is manufacturing surplus from company’s self-adhesive label materials production
– Recycled nutrients from side stream ash and sludge
– Soil stabilisation products out of dregs and ash
– Geopolymers and concrete binders from dregs and ash
– Forest fertilisers and alkaline replacements out of ash from biomass incineration
– Biogas out of primary and bio sludge
– Wood waste side streams to composting and substrates
http://www.upm.com/About-us/Newsroom/Releases/Pages/UPM’s-Zero-Solid-Waste-to-Landfill-initiative-wins-the-Midwest-Regional-Sustaina-001-Fri-21-Apr-2017-15-03.aspx

Related Posts

Looking Ahead at 2020 Priorities for FSC in the US

2020 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for FSC – in the United States, and around the world. The pace of climate change aggravated events is increasing, with the huge and unprecedented fires in Australia only the latest catastrophe to capture the public eye. While such disasters are always tragic, they also educate people about the critical role of forests and the importance of responsible forest management. The climate crisis is generating ever-greater interest in FSC as a climate solution, which has prompted our newly ramped-up efforts to measure and communicate the impacts of FSC - including the commission of studies to quantify carbon storage additionality in FSC-certified forests. As we think about FSC’s impact, perhaps nothing matters more than our standard, which translates directly to environmental and social improvements on the ground wherever it is applied.

Canfor and Canfor Pulp Jointly Release 2021 Sustainability Report with Additional Targets

“Our vision is to create a future as sustainable as the forests, for people, our products and the planet we all share. Making sustainability a core value in our business is not only the right thing to do for the planet, our people, stakeholders, partners and customers, but it makes us a better company,” said Don Kayne, President & CEO of Canfor Corporation. “Our employees want to feel proud of the organization where they work and feel an alignment with their values. Our customers want to know that the products they purchase from us are sustainably sourced and responsibly produced. Our strong sustainability practices make us a better partner, a better supplier and a better employer,” added Kayne. 2021 Highlights: • We will reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030, and set a science-based reduction target for scope 3 GHG emissions by 2024 • Canfor has committed to set near- and long-term company-wide emission reductions in line with science-based net-zero with the SBTi • 54 million seedlings planted in 2021, with more than one billion planted over the last 20 years • 100% of Canfor-managed forests are certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Steward Council (FSC) Forest Management Standards • 100% of U.S. sourced wood is certified to the SFI Fibre Sourcing Standard

UPM Specialty Papers commissioned study: In 2040 a fifth of all food packaging could still be landfilled or incinerated unless packaging innovations accelerate

Today, food packaging is predominantly plastic and recycling rates are relatively low. While, fibre-based packaging is widely recycled in non-food uses, the industry believes that by 2040 fibre-based packaging will approach circularity as technical development broadens its suitability for food packaging. Recycling rates for plastics are also projected to grow. “The packaging industry will focus research and development efforts to meet increasing consumer and regulatory demand for more recyclable and compostable packaging”, believes Maria Saloranta, Vice President, Strategy for UPM Specialty Papers. “As a result, we expect the share of fibre-based food packaging to grow, accelerated by breakthroughs in barrier properties and use of smart technologies that help relay information to consumers quickly and easily”. In the report, more than 200 global packaging professionals from across the value chain contributed to the first-ever collective assessment of key trends that are projected to drive sustainability in the food packaging industry by 2040. The industry anticipates the global share of polymer-based packaging will fall by half over the next two decades in sustainable food packaging applications, while fibre-based materials are projected to contribute to over 40% of all materials in use for food packaging.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search