UPM Biofore House in Helsinki, Finland awarded LEED^® Platinum Certification

(UPM, Helsinki, 16 April 2014, at 09:00 EET) - UPM Biofore House in Helsinki, Finland has been awarded LEED® Platinum Certification established by U.S. Green Building Council. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is transforming the way we think about how buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated across the globe.

UPM Biofore House is designed by Helin & Co Architects and Pöyry was acting as construction management and LEED consultant. Biofore House includes several sustainability features that align UPM’s Biofore strategy and company’s commitment to environmental responsibility, energy efficiency and also to its employees. Furthermore, Biofore House features company’s own, renewable timber, plywood and composite materials. The building was taken in use in December 2013.

To receive LEED® Platinum, the building needs to meet certain strict criteria, such as sustainable site and surroundings, energy, water and materials efficiency, recycling and waste handling as well as central location with easy public connections. Additionally, innovations in design as well as attractive and healthy environment are paid extra attention to.

“We are very proud of this achievement. It needs extreme efforts from the contractor and architects to develop and implement such innovative and sustainable design and solutions in a building. LEED®Platinum is the highest possible level of certificate and there are only a few buildings in Finland that have received it”, says Kaj-Erik Lindberg, Vice President, UPM Real Estate.

For more information:
Kaj-Erik Lindberg, Vice President, Real Estate, UPM, tel. +358 400 411 108
Kari Hiltunen, LEED consultant, Pöyry Finland Oy, tel. +358 10 332 3034
Mariitta Helineva, architect, Helin & Co Architects, tel. +358 50 344 6688

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Through the renewing of the bio and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Paper Asia, UPM Paper Europe and North America and UPM Plywood. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. We serve our customers worldwide. The group employs around 21,000 people and its annual sales are approximately € 10 billion. UPM shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.com

LEED 
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Over 100,000 projects are currently participating in the LEED rating systems, comprising over 8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 114 countries.