4 minute read
Sustainability in high performance fibre-based materials Ahlstrom
Long-established manufacturer of high performance fibre-based materials, Ahlstrom, is focused on sustainability, economic, social and environmental. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to Anna Wessman, Ahlstrom’s vice-president of sustainability, to learn more.
Established in Finland in 1851, Ahlstrom has evolved from a diversified conglomerate into a focused specialist. Its core activities are dedicated to the manufacture of high-performance fibre-based materials, speciality nonwovens and papers, from natural and synthetic fibres. The company supplies these materials to industrial customers for further processing, with applications across a range of industries including construction, automotive, healthcare, food and beverages, energy and water.
Ahlstrom has four key business areas, Advanced Filtration, Building and Energy, Food and Medical and Transportation Filtration all offering value added fibre-based materials to their customers. It enjoys a wide customer base; none of Ahlstrom’s customers have a dominating position, with its ten biggest customers constituting just 20 per cent of net sales. This gives the company a very strong, well-balanced position across market segments and has proved to be a profitable strategy during the economic downturn.
In 2012, Ahlstrom employed over 5000 people worldwide and its net sales amounted to approximately €1.6 billion. This year after the Label and Processing business area demerger the sales are some €1 billion with over 3800 employees. With operations in more than 20 countries on six continents, it truly is a worldwide company.
Green and global
Recognising the global megatrends of environmental awareness, resource scarcity and demographics and urbanisation, its unique expertise in fibres, chemistry and materials technology enable Ahlstrom to create products with sustainability as a driver. Vice-president for sustainability, Anna Wessman, is dedicated to ensuring that the whole company works in as responsible a manner as possible, for the benefit of the environment, the business and its people, both employees and customers. Ms Wessman spoke to Industry Europe about how this is being achieved. She said, “We have a leading market position in all the sectors where we are active and we have been established for over 160 years. With sustainability in mind, we make products that protect people, purify air and liquids and provide surface and structure to our customers’ products. As all human activity has an impact on the environment, we only want to make products with purpose, such that are truly needed by people. With them we help our customers to achieve their own sustainability goals.”
Economic responsibility at Ahlstrom is characterised by its responsible business conduct. As a company, it observes the law
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of the host country, offers local job opportunities, pays local and national taxes and brings prosperity to the region. Ahlstrom’s social responsibility is also a natural part of how the company operates, with safety, taking care of employees and offering excellent training and personal development all central issues. Furthermore, the products with purpose are made in order to have a favourable social impact.
Environmental responsibility is certainly an area where Ahlstrom shines. Passionate about both finding innovative ways to enhance its green performance and to minimise the environmental impact of its operations, Ahlstrom’s focus is throughout its entire process. Ms Wessman continued, “Our environmental responsibility programme starts in product development where 80 per cent of the environmental impacts of products are determined. We are committed to EcoDesign. All our plants are environmentally certified. We only buy pulp from companies that are certified, so that we can guarantee that the whole of our value chain is committed to sustainability too.” Identifying excellence
Ahlstrom has identified five key performance indicators that support its sustainability programme and reflect its targets with regard to reduced environmental impact. Water intake, electrical efficiency, fuel energy, waste to landfill and CO2 emissions are all major areas of importance, with each area given substantial concentration. Ms Wessman pointed out, “We have set ourselves a zero waste to landfill target to be achieved by 2015.”
With 91 per cent of its fibre raw materials coming from renewable sources in 2012 and all its wood fibre suppliers having thirdparty certification in their forests, responsible sourcing and knowing the origin of the fibres is an important issue.
Ahlstrom’s vision is to be inspiring people, passionate about new ideas and growing with customers. Ms Wessman added, “We are continually driven to create sustainable and profitable relationships with our customers. By offering competitively priced, value added products to our customers across the world we will continue to grow and succeed. As all of our products are developed and manufactured in as sustainable a manner as possible, our customers can work with us safe in the knowledge that we can positively contribute to their own sustainability aims and help them stay ahead.” n
