8 Feb. 2024: The leading international forest industry event, Pulp & Beyond 2024, will address topics such as climate change, the green transition and the future prospects of the forest industry. The event will also feature discussions on global economy and politics, as well as the importance of innovation. Pulp & Beyond 2024 will take place from Wednesday to Thursday, April 10th to 11th, 2024, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre.
The main stage program of the event has been released, offering top-notch keynote speeches and panel discussions. The main stage program will be hosted and moderated by André Noël Chaker. The program for the Speaker’s Corner on the event's second stage will be announced in March.
Climate change and the green transition will be the main focus on April 10th, the opening day of the event
During the opening ceremony at 10:00, attendees will hear opening remarks from Katja Metsäranta, PI Chairperson, Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association, and a keynote speech from Petteri Taalas, Director General, Finnish Meteorological Institute, regarding the significance of forests in combating climate change.
In the panel discussion "Towards carbon zero pulp & paper industry" at 11:00, Michael Carus, Founder of nova-Institute and Executive Manager of the Renewable Carbon Initiative and Petri Vasara, Vice President of AFRY, will discuss the zero-carbon emission targets and the opportunities and challenges for the pulp and paper industry in achieving carbon neutrality.
The keynote speech "Role of EU-policies in global responsibility" at 13:00 will be delivered by Paula Lehtomäki, CEO of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. It will explore what the EU has achieved in terms of global responsibility and what the EU Commission's future political priorities are. It will also address how the EU recognizes the role of the forest sector in the EU's green transition.
The panel discussion "Green transition from policymakers' and investors' point of view" at 15:00 will tackle the role of the forest industry in the green transition and perspectives on investments. Participating in the discussion will be Members of the European Parliament MEP Petri Sarvamaa and Sirpa Pietikäinen, Director General of CEPI Jori Ringman, and Chairman of Häggblom & Partners Ltd and Board Member of United Bankers Ltd, Rainer Häggblom.
On Thursday, April 11th, What Does the Future Look Like?
Insights into the global economy and politics will be highlighted on Thursday, April 11th, at 10:00, as Risto E. J. Penttilä, CEO of Nordic West Office, delivers his keynote speech on the topic "Prospects on global economy."
The first panel discussion of the day, part of the World Bioeconomy Roundtable series, titled "Bioproducts as investments – Drivers and obstacles," begins at 11:00 and is organized in collaboration with the World Bioeconomy Forum WBF. Participants include Bernardita Araya, CMPC Ventures Manager; Petri Hakanen, CTO of UPM; Christian Orglmeister, Executive Director for New Bio-Businesses, Strategy and Digital Tech, Suzano and Peep Pitk, CEO of OÜ Fibenol. The panel discussion will be introduced with a keynote by Dirk Carrez, Executive Director of the Bio-based Industries Consortium, and the session will be moderated by Professor Ludo Diels.
Promoting sustainability and sustainable business growth through innovation will be discussed at 13:00 by keynote speaker Michael Strobl, Director Innovation, Product Development & Technical Services, Innovation, Product Development & Technical Services, MM BOARD & PAPER GmbH. The case example for the speech will be the company's ALASKA® BARRIER GREASE cardboard, innovated for food use from virgin fibe with innovative grease barrier and good moisture protection.
A panel discussion on the future of the forest industry, titled "Going beyond the boundaries: what are the next chapters for forest industry?" will take place at 14:30. Participants include Per Tomani, Director of Business Development, Biorefinery & Energy, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden; Åsa Ek, SVP, Head of Innovation, Stora Enso Biomaterials; Kristiina Kruus, Dean, Aalto University, School of Chemical Engineering; and Johan Engström, CTO of Andritz.