Alongside innovation and technological advancements, collaboration is an important tool in the collective battle against climate change. At UPM Biofuels, we are committed to enabling our customers to make more sustainable choices by providing them with high-quality solutions that have a low impact on the environment.
The biofuels industry has one of the most stringent sustainability requirements compared with most industries. But for leading companies, it is not sufficient to comply with the stringent regulatory requirements. It is important to ensure that our customers, and ultimately our end consumers are confident in the sustainability of our products.
“We have successfully been able to create a substantial presence in the most sustainable category of fuels. Our key goal is to provide our customers and stakeholders certainty about the sustainability credentials of our fuels at every single step of the way,” adds Marko Janhunen, Director of Public Affairs at UPM.
Working towards common climate goals with transparency and collaboration
UPM Biofuels values the importance of transparency and knowledge sharing in helping customers make informed choices. In addition, open channels facilitate continuous dialogue to help customers advance on their sustainability journey by understanding the requirements and regulations better.
“We have many one-to-one discussions on sustainability with customers that prove quite fruitful. For instance, to customers in our renewable naphtha category, we explain the lifecycle analysis calculations of the product and the impact of different contributors from the value chain on the environment. This rouses their interest and they want to continue the conversation,” says Liisa Ranta, Director of Sustainability and Market Development.
Janhunen adds that the culture of collaboration has been a key part of both product and business development, as well as in spreading the sustainability message.
“We don’t produce in a silo. We work closely with our customers both on the fuel and biochemical side and ensure we share a common vision for sustainability. We've done several collaboration projects with customers through which we've been able to communicate the benefits of UPM BioVerno renewable diesel and renewable naphtha to completely new audiences. The key is transparency and collaboration,” he elaborates.
Offering comprehensive certification that validates the sustainability of operations across the value chain
Our wood-based, low-emission advanced biofuel products that meet the most demanding industry requirements come with comprehensive certification that validates the sustainability of operations across the entire value chain at UPM Biofuels.
“Through our product certifications, we provide our customers with the highest standard compliance with EU and national level sustainability certification requirements. Our products come with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC EU) and RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) certification,” Ranta says.
Every batch of advanced biofuel comes with a Proof of sustainability declaration.
“The document contains all the information about the product, ranging from the feedstock origin to the greenhouse gas (GHG) levels. This functions as an official document to show our compliance,” she adds.
Staying ahead of the curve to offer sustainable solutions that are ready for the future
Advanced biofuels belong to a highly regulated industry that is constantly evolving. As a forerunner in the business, UPM Biofuels is an integral part of industry discussions and pushes for more sustainable changes at a policy level. It identifies the business impact of these regulations and interprets them with clarity to best serve customers.
For one, UPM is a founding member of the Advanced Biofuels Coalition LSB which was set up 10 years ago by companies from various EU countries.
“This collaboration has been important as it focuses on creating the right framework conditions for investments that push for mandates to be introduced at EU-level. We have been quite successful in this as there are relevant mandates for advanced biofuels now, not only in the transport sector but also emerging in aviation and maritime sectors,” Janhunen says.
UPM Biofuels also serves customers by staying ahead of the curve in developing high-quality solutions that help build a decarbonized future.
“The more we talk about utilizing biomass or biomaterial, the more important it is to secure sustainability promises and requirements. In this aspect, UPM is well advanced while many other sectors are only slowly evolving,” Ranta says.
In the big picture, customers recognize the importance of UPM’s biofuel products as an important tool to reduce the current dependency on fossil fuels and materials. Simultaneously, the current geopolitical conflicts are showing the importance of using fuels from domestic feedstock to increase energy independence.
“Our biofuels help reduce emissions in vehicles that would otherwise be running on fossil fuels. Even if we have 50 million electric cars by 2030s in the European Union, we will still have 250 million internal combustion engines at the same time and it's essential to reduce their emissions. That’s why advanced biofuels are a no-brainer. We offer energy independence, innovation, circularity, and a lot more to our customers,” Janhunen sums up.