UPM and its corporate sustainability

“LEAD companies represent the highest level of engagement with the UN Global Compact,” says Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and creating the world we want will not happen without bold actions from the responsible business community,” Kingo says.

“Being among the 34 world’s leading companies in sustainability is an outstanding recognition for the work UPM has done in the area of responsible business conduct,” says Pirkko Harrela, Executive Vice President, Stakeholder Relations, UPM. “We have had the LEAD status since January 2016 when we were invited for the first time to this distinguished network as the only forest industry company and also as the first Finnish company ever,” Harrela continues.

UPM has been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact initiative since 2003 and is strongly committed to responsible business conduct. “We have a strong basis to promote the core values of the Global Compact Ten Principles covering human rights, labour standards, environment and anti-corruption,” Harrela says.

The recognised LEAD companies include companies like Unilever, Nestle S.A., BASF SE and L’Oreal. To be eligible for LEAD recognition, companies are expected to be a participant in at least two Global Compact Action Platforms. They also need to demonstrate engagement with the initiative and commitment to defining and fostering leadership practices in line with the Global Compact Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, the companies are to report on their progress on implementing the Ten Principles on annual basis.

UPM has participated in two Action Platforms: Reporting on the SDGs and Decent work in global supply chains. The Decent Work Action Platform members have today published their commitment to advance responsible supply chains and a Baseline Report describing the challenges and opportunities of this area.