Collaboration on responsible wood sourcing brings many advantages
Ahlstrom-Munksjö continued collaboration with Metsä Fibre by focusing on responsible wood sourcing practices. The collaboration has brought many learnings that will help develop corporate responsibility even further and support customer expectations like 3M’s.
Designing and developing fiber-based solutions for a sustainable everyday life requires close collaboration with several different operators. As Ahlstrom Munksjö is firmly committed to sustainability it also has integrated sustainable practices throughout its value chain and pursue continuous improvement in its operations.
“We work to ensure that our inputs are responsibly sourced and that our natural fiber sourcing policies promote sustainable forestry practices while adhering to a range of internationally recognized, third-party audited standards”, says Heli Nykänen, Manager, Group Sustainability and Capital Investments.
Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Supplier Code of Conduct establishes clear, non-negotiable minimum requirements related to legal compliance, human rights and the prevention of child labor, health and safety, responsible business practices, environmental impacts, and transparency. Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s procurement team is ensuring that every supplier has signed or is in full compliance with these expectations through regular dialogue with suppliers as well as systems for risk assessment and field auditing.
“We conduct supplier audits regularly by qualified Ahlstrom-Munksjö personnel or by accredited third party auditors. Collaboration with both the suppliers and customers is something that we wanted to develop further. As a participant of UN Global Compact we are committed to responsible practices from the highest level of leadership to the most local concern in a supply chain,” tells Vesa Yliherne, Vice President, Tape business.
This idea turned into practice in 2019, when Ahlstrom-Munksjö continued collaboration with Metsä Fibre by focusing on responsible wood sourcing. The companies organized a visit to Finnish Lapland for Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s key customers 3M and Nestlé to meet relevant stakeholders. The in-depth engagement was conducted by, Earthworm, who is 3M and Nestle’s Policy implementation partner. The focus of the visit was Metsä Group’s wood procurement practices and its impacts on indigenous people.
“Our visit to Lapland was extremely interesting and eye opening as we had so many different parties present. We got a good overview of forestry in Lapland as it was presented by all the relevant stakeholders. I personally learned that an open dialogue with all stakeholders is crucial to set a path forward for continuous improvement. I hope this collaboration will continue to bring us reaffirmed learnings to develop our responsibility even further in the value chain from the forest to the end-products,” says Geertje Pollaris, Responsible Sourcing leader EMEA region, at 3M.