Climate change management

In early 2009, climate matters remained in the shadow of the global recession, but at the end of the year, climate change and the Copenhagen climate conference were important topics globally. Ahlstrom's climate change strategy is well established and has been implemented as follows:

• Sustainably managed forests are the best carbon sinks. The company reached its goal of obtaining all the wood pulp it uses from certified suppliers.
• A key target of the company is to reduce energy consumption. Energy efficiency improved by 6% from 2005 to 2009. At the same time, energy investments totaled EUR 6.5 million. The aim is to save an additional 4% of electricity and 9% of process heat by 2013.
• The company promotes low-emission fuels, (such as natural gas), reduces coal and oil burning and aims to outsource the production of steam. Possibilities of increasing the use of renewable sources of energy are being explored.
• Increasing the use of recycled materials decreases the carbon footprint. Recycled fiber is used whenever technologically and financially feasible. The use of recycled polyester fiber (rPET) was still minor due to the scarce availability of the raw material, but is a significant trend.
• In order to develop products with a low carbon footprint, the company developed a proprietary tool of calculating the carbon footprint of all of its products in cooperation with an external consultant. Peer review of the tool was carried out by NCASI in the United States. The method is based on CEPI and CITPA guidelines and the ISO 14044 standard. The calculations lay the foundation for developing products with lower carbon footprints.