UPM Changshu Mill First to Receive EMAS Registration in China
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UPM, Helsinki, Finland, reports that it is one of the first companies and its Changshu site in China the first ever paper mill to receive the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration in China. UPM had led the way in open and transparent environmental reporting in 2012 when UPM Fray Bentos pulp mill in Uruguay became the first non-European site ever to achieve the EMAS registration as a result of a pilot project between UPM, EU, Finnish Environmental Institute SYKE, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, and Inspecta Certification.
"Transparency and openness with stakeholders are an essential part of our corporate responsibility worldwide. The EMAS registration and third-party verified reporting promote continuous improvement. The environmental impacts of pulp and paper production are known, and the industry is working on the whole life cycle to minimize the impacts further," said Kim Poulsen, EVP, Paper Business Group, Business Area Asia Pacific and Corporate Relations and Development.
Daniel Weiss from Adelphi, a project partner in the SWITCH ASIA EMAS Global China project, noted that "we're very pleased UPM has carried out the audit in China and are grateful that they have shared their valuable experience with us on how to implement EMAS Global in China. UPM truly is one of the frontrunners in this regard. EMAS Global China is a cooperation program under the SWITCH-Asia grant, funded by the European Commission. The project aims to promote sustainable production patterns across China by introducing EMAS.
Altogether, UPM's corporate EMAS registration and the respective environmental statement cover a total of 20 pulp and paper mills in Europe, China, and Uruguay. EMAS is a voluntary environmental management system for companies and other organizations to improve, evaluate, and report on their environmental performance on an annual basis.
The UPM EMAS statement includes a corporate part and a mill-supplement part. The corporate report includes group-level information and core indicators on, for example, energy and material efficiency. The mill supplements complement the corporate report by providing local information such as environmental targets and achievements. All data are verified by a third party.
UPM's achievements in providing comprehensive environmental information have been acknowledged by a number of external recognitions and awards. A highlight of 2012 was UPM being selected as the only forestry and paper company worldwide in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) and chosen as Supersector Leader in the Basic Resources sector for 2012-2013.
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