.app-navigation__wrapper--for-seo { display: block !important; }

Safety is our guiding value

Safety is a fundamental pillar of our organizational culture and an integral part of our management systems at all locations. We are committed to ensuring that every individual has the right to a safe and healthy working environment.

Our goal

Our unwavering goal is clear: every day must be a safe workday. Our safety work is based on long-term planning, strong leadership and effective communication. But for us, more than anything, safety at work means acting every day and making continuous improvements in the way we work.

UPM safety principles

Safety first

Safety starts with me

Safety is created together

Our actions

We follow safety standards

We comply with all local safety legislation and regulations. Our UPM Safety Standards set our internal requirements. UPM’s health and safety (HS) management system defines responsibilities and safe ways of working.

We assess risks

We systematically identify hazards and assess risks. Expert cross-functional teams conduct risk assessments and review them regularly. Based on the risk assessments, safety measures are implemented to lower the risks to an acceptable level. We are prepared for emergency situations through scenario-based training.

We provide safety induction and training

New employees and contractors receive a safety induction and job-specific training. Other safety training needs are assessed through input from e.g. safety committees, workers, management, audits, and process or legal changes. Trainings are organized by UPMers or external experts using e-learning, classroom, and hands-on methods.

We report safety observations

Should any employee, UPMer or contractor, notice unsafe work conditions or practices, they should inform their colleagues and report the incident. All safety incidents and observations are handled and evaluated. Corrective and preventive actions are defined and implemented to improve the safety.

But for us, more than anything, safety at work means acting every day and making continuous improvements in the way we work.

We set safety performance targets

To monitor how we are doing, we set ambitious annual safety performance targets and track our safety performance using a comprehensive set of safety metrics. These metrics include a variety of proactive safety targets focusing on involvement and continuous improvement .

We introduced life-saving standards

We have had six life-saving standards to prevent serious accidents since 2017. These company-wide rules address high-risk activities and apply to all employees and contractors. We have embedded these standards into daily habits, personal values, and workplace culture to promote safety at every level.

We take care of materials safety

UPM ensures full compliance with EU REACH, a regulation adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, and other regulations to guarantee 100% compliance. We ban restricted substances, thoroughly assess new chemicals, and work closely with suppliers to ensure compliance and find the safest raw materials.

Continuous improvements

We continuously improve safety through proactive reporting, safety walks, discussions, training, and audits. We share our good safety practices to our colleagues. Lessons from incidents, near misses, and audits help us refine our processes. Cross-functional teams investigate root causes and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

A proactive safety culture is fostered through strong leadership, management reviews, and open feedback. All our businesses are committed to enhancing safety across operations, ensuring continuous progress.