This new version of the ecolabel is currently under finalization at the European Commission and will include a strengthening of the various criteria, e.g. emissions into air and water, use of energy, origin of fibres etc. based on the Best Available Techniques (BAT) from the paper industry.
On UPM side, a new step has been reached last July with the integration of the Hürth paper mill in Germany in the list of ecolabelled mills for the newsprint production. This was achieved because since 2016, UPM changed the electrical supply from a coal power plant to grid supply with an energy mix which has much lower CO2 emissions.
From now on, all UPM European paper mills produce papers awarded by EU Ecolabel.