Sustainable innovation
Innovation enables Ahlstrom to continue to increase our offerings of products, technologies and services that address sustainable functionality and design. We have world class knowledge and capabilities when it comes to developing sustainable, cutting-edge fiber-based products.
Our products often perform vital functions in value chains, and we aim to have a positive impact as part of an end product or solution.
Our products enable sustainable impact for our customers and in many people’s daily life. We leverage our industry leading expertise and know-how in innovating products and technology that fulfil our purpose to Purify and Protect.
Sustainable Innovations Target 2021-2025
All new products in development are assessed with the EcoDesign Tool

Creating Sustainable Products
In 2018, Ahlstrom developed a new and much expanded version of its EcoDesign Tool. The new tool was implemented in 2019 as an important part of the company’s sustainability strategy. The principle is simple: new products should provide a more sustainable solution than the existing products. This is achieved by using the EcoDesign Tool to evaluate the performance of the potential new product against a set of criteria and by comparison with an existing product.

Ahlstrom is supplying a very wide range of products that brings innovation and greater sustainability to the industry. Working to ensure that Ahlstrom delivers products that have a positive EcoDesign score allows for the value chain to have a more positive impact.
Sustainable Innovations Target 2021-2025
All new products have a positive EcoDesign score by 2025

Ahlstrom Joins Sherpack
In 2018 Ahlstrom joined five other partners in the European Sherpack project which aims to develop a new biodegradable flexible cellulose-based packaging material. Usually flexible packaging contains a plastic film and/or an aluminum foil to create a barrier to water vapor, oxygen, and contaminants. Plastic and aluminum tend however to be either burned or end up in landfills. The new flexible packaging material will instead be 100% based on cellulose and recyclable and compostable. The ambition is to have a flexible packaging material ready by 2021.

Learn more about our work in each of these areas in our Sustainability Report.