UPM Adhesive Materials cuts emissions 58%, pushes deeper into value chain decarbonization

UPM Adhesive Materials has released its Climate Review 2025, highlighting continued progress toward its 2030 sustainability targets, including significant reductions in operational emissions and expanded collaboration across its value chain.

In 2025, the company achieved a 58% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emission intensity compared to its 2015 baseline, moving closer to its goal of a 65% reduction per million square meters of material produced by 2030. The progress was driven by targeted improvements in energy efficiency and reduced reliance on fossil fuels across its production sites.

Beyond its own operations, UPM is placing increased focus on Scope 3 emissions, working more closely with raw material suppliers to improve data transparency and emissions tracking. In 2025, most key suppliers provided product carbon footprint data, enabling a more detailed understanding of environmental impact across materials and regions.

The company has also met one of its key 2030 goals ahead of schedule, achieving 100% certification of its purchased paper raw materials under third-party forest certification schemes by the end of 2023.

Supporting customers remains a central part of UPM’s strategy. The company continues to expand its UPM Label Life service, which provides externally validated life cycle assessment data and Scope 3 reporting. Product carbon footprint data is now available for approximately 94% of its label portfolio by sales volume and is increasingly integrated directly into customer quotes.

“Customers need impactful ways to reduce carbon footprint and respond to evolving recyclability and regulatory requirements,” says Robert Taylor, director of sustainability at UPM Adhesive Materials. “The progress we’ve made in emissions reductions and data transparency helps them make informed material choices.”

UPM also continues to develop recycling-compatible label materials and expand its RafCycle program, which supports the recovery and reuse of label release liner waste.

Looking ahead, the company plans to further accelerate value chain emission reductions, advance circular product development, and enhance access to environmental data as regulatory and market pressures continue to reshape the label and packaging landscape.