(UPM, Helsinki, 8 December 2017 at 10:00 EET) – UPM Biofuels was chosen as the Bioenergy Industry Leader at the 2017 Platts Global Energy Awards – often described as the Oscars of the energy industry. The competition was arranged by S&P Global Platts, the leading independent provider of market information and benchmark prices for commodities in the energy sector.

UPM Biofuels was nominated for its wood-based low emission advanced UPM BioVerno biofuels, and its one-of-a-kind commercial scale biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland. The choice was made among energy companies from nearly 30 countries representing four continents, including some of the world’s leading energy giants.

In the Industry Leader Award Bioenergy category, all finalists were innovative operators developing sustainable bioenergy solutions. The independent panel of judges was impressed by UPM Biofuels’ innovativeness, leadership and operational excellence as well as its ability to minimise undesirable environmental impacts. The winner of the bioenergy leadership award was picked from a total of six finalists: DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Praj Industries, Propel Fuels, Targray, Alcol Biotech and UPM Biofuels.

“It’s a great honour to receive this recognition of leadership in the bioenergy industry from the S&P Global Platts organisation, which is highly valued in the energy industry. It gives credit to the whole UPM Biofuels team that has managed to make significant progress in sustainable advanced biofuels,” says Sari Mannonen, Vice President of UPM Biofuels.

UPM Biofuels wins_Bioenergy Industry Leadership award in the 2017 Platts Global Energy Awards

UPM’s Sari Mannonen (2nd from right) received the Bioenergy Industry Leader Award from Platts representatives in New York.

UPM Biofuels won praise for its commitment to sustainability and ability to utilise forest industry residue as a raw material for its advanced biofuels production. Using wood-based residues as raw material to produce sustainable drop-in biofuels is a fast track solution for reducing greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions from transportation.

The Global Energy Awards are now in their 19th year recognising top performers, industry leaders and innovators in the energy industry. The award ceremony took place in New York on December 7, 2017.

Read more about the Platts Global Energy Award at http://geaweb.platts.com

For further information please contact:
Sari Mannonen, Vice President, UPM Biofuels, tel. +358 45 265 1345