Elina Alander and partners add value to the Timber value chain

In collaboration with customers, Senior Manager Elina Alander highlights the responsible origin of wood, its material benefits, its renewability, its recyclability and its carbon sequestration capacity.

Who are you and what do you do at UPM Timber?

I am Elina Alander, Senior Manager responsible for strategic projects and customer experience. Together with Sales, I explore new country markets and possible future business opportunities or new product portfolios.

With our customers and other stakeholders, we consider how to jointly communicate about responsibility and highlight the benefits of wood as a construction material.

What goes into a typical workday for you?

I must thoroughly understand the constantly changing regulations so that we not only meet the minimum requirements but also find ways to exceed them. It takes a lot of reading and research to understand these things.

During my workday, I interact with various stakeholders and meet customers. With the customers, we plan joint marketing efforts and campaigns. Together, we want to highlight the benefits of wood - renewability, recyclability and carbon sequestration capacity - and shed light on the entire value chain from forests to end products. We want to meet the future needs of our customers.

What are you particularly proud of in your work?

Since I was a child, I've wanted to work for a global Finnish company. I'm from the Finnish countryside, and the forest is close to my heart, but I've also lived abroad a lot. At UPM Timber, all of this comes together beautifully: the fascinating, renewable raw material, wood, from which innovations and products are constantly created. Many customers have sustainability at the core of their strategy, and the interest in efficient use of material and the origin of wood has grown. We increasingly discuss healthy forests and sustainable forest management with our customers. I feel like I’m an ambassador for Finnish wood.

Read about the steps we took forward in sustainability in 2023

We want to meet the future needs of our customers.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

There’s a lot to do due to the sheer volume of information, regulatory requirements and terminology. On the other hand, I enjoy challenges, so it's exciting to constantly raise the bar. Fortunately, we have a team of experts with whom I can discuss.

How can we see your handprint in the final product?

I believe that partnerships and joint actions create added value for the end-users, benefiting the entire chain. This can involve both new and old products, such as those supporting biodiversity, low-emission products or different logistics options.

I believe that partnerships and joint actions create added value for the end-users, benefiting the entire chain.

Visit our co-marketing platform for sustainable timber.

What does our customer promise, ‘Setting the Standard’, mean to you?

We continue doing things even better, beyond minimum requirements, and we constantly create future scenarios of how we can achieve our goals in the best way. We grow and set the bar high in collaboration with our customers.

Main image: Elina at the port in Fécamp, France.

In the Setting the Standard series, we feature UPM Timber employees from a variety of job profiles, both at the headquarters and on the production lines. All our employees are committed to our customer promise Setting the Standard to continuously strive for better results. In the series, staff members share their own work and how they raise the bar every day.