The Forward Faster initiative was officially launched on 18 September 2023 at the UN Private Sector Forum, which is part of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. UPM has joined the UN Global Compact Forward Faster Initiative that calls for business leaders to take measurable action to accelerate the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals.
A total of 138 companies from around the world are involved, including two from Finland. UPM is committed to promoting gender equality, paying living wages and operating in line with an ambitious net-zero emission target.
According to the UN, today only 15 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) targets are on track, progress on 48 percent is weak and insufficient and progress has stalled or gone into reverse on 37 percent of the SDGs.
‘It was very natural for us to join this initiative. While we are already working towards these goals, we recognise that we need to accelerate the pace. We also value the collaboration networks of Global Compact. Setting shared, ambitious and transparent targets plays an important role in the Forward Faster initiative. We can make the biggest and fastest impact by working together,’ said Sami Lundgren, Vice President, UPM Responsibility.
A commitment to Gender Equality means that a company is making a serious effort towards equal gender representation, participation and leadership at all levels of management, and that equal pay for equal work is guaranteed by 2030. Companies committed to the Living Wage must ensure that their employees earn a living wage by 2030. The commitment to Climate Action, in turn, challenges companies to set a science-based net-zero emissions target in line with the 1.5°C pathway and to achieve it by 2050 at the latest.
UPM already has ambitious social responsibility and climate targets and is working with scientific and other partners to achieve them. The company is also committed to reporting on progress transparently every year in UPM’s annual report.
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