Business News
UPM AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS PLANT TREES TOGETHER
Friday 22. May 2009 - UPM staff and its stakeholders are taking part in international plant a tree day events in China, Finland, Russia, the UK and USA.
The day coincides with The United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity and supports UPM’s key initiatives such as the global biodiversity program and the company’s Business and Biodiversity leadership declaration.
The theme of the day will be native tree species and their importance
Many species of flora and fauna are dependent on native trees for habitat, shelter and food. UPM
is committed to maintain and increase the proportion of native tree species and their natural composition in company forests.
In the UK in Coed Llandegla Mountain Bike Centre and in Finland the trees will be planted on Friday, 22 May. In Finland the tree planting event is part of UPM’s cooperation with ENO Environment Online, a global virtual school and network for sustainable development and environmental awareness. The students from schools participating ENOs tree planting event are invited to UPMs forests in Janakkala, Joensuu and Jyväskylä. In addition to planting native Finnish tree species students and UPM experts will discuss themes related to forest environment, forestry and wood as raw material.
Globally trees have great significance in safeguarding biodiversity, mitigating climate change and soil and flood protection
“Importance of forests and trees on biodiversity, mitigating climate change and soil and flood protection are the major subjects that we are discussing together with students as we plant these new young trees”, tells Timo Lehesvirta, Environment Manager, UPM Forest, North Europe.
In Russia 90 UPM employees have planted about 16,500 seedlings of native pine trees in an area of 5.5 hectares near Novgorod in Northwest Russia on 15 May.
In USA almost 250 sixth-grade students from near-by planted a mini-forest at the Itasca County Fairgrounds in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Students also planted close to 1,000 red and jack pine seedlings on the fairgrounds hillside to help re-establish a forest to minimize soil erosion.
In China UPM will make a donation to China Green Fund for planting 10,000 trees in an area adjacent to the Great Wall near Beijing on the International Environment Day 5 June.
Growing trees captures carbon from the atmosphere, thus they play an essential role in mitigation climate change. Carbon is also stored in products made of wood. Wood is a renewable, recyclable raw material and which, finally in the end of its lifecycle can also be used as carbon-neutral biofuel in energy generation.