UPM joins supply chain sustainability initiative

UPM has joined Together for Sustainability, a chemical industry initiative designed to promote and improve sustainability practises within supply chains.

TfS has set up a standard approach to evaluate and improve the sustainability performance of suppliers. These evaluations cover areas such as environmental impact, health and safety, labour and human rights, and governance and management.

"We welcome UPM to the TfS Initiative and look forward to working together on our shared vision of improving supply chain sustainability,” said Rüdiger Eberhard, TfS president and senior vice president, head of procurement (CPO) Evonik Industries.

“UPM brings a strong track record in sustainability to the membership base as well as the ambition to work on sustainability together with the TfS members."

Ilkka Nurmi, senior vice president, Sourcing at UPM, commented: “UPM's traditional businesses are having high exposure to chemical industry supply chain, not only on chemical raw materials but also on equipment and services.

“While UPM is not a chemical company, we actively work on portfolio transformation and have a great growth potential in biofuels and biochemicals businesses where we are heavily entering the arena of chemistry."

TfS member companies share a broad selection of supplier data, including audit reports and sustainability assessments performed by independent experts. It aims to benefit both members and suppliers.

"Responsible sourcing has been high on UPM's agenda for years and we have already done a lot of work to ensure the sustainability of our supply chains. However, the global supply networks are so complex that it's necessary to pool the resources so that everyone can have access for a wider range of supplier sustainability information. This efficiency will enable focus on sustainability improvements in the supply chains. This is what TfS is all about" Nurmi continued.

"We are looking forward to start working together with the other TfS members to further develop the initiative, and to make our global supply chains even more sustainable," Ilkka Nurmi.