Resistance to UPM in Uruguay

A demand is being presented before the United Nations to verify the negative impacts and the possible violations of human rights in Uruguay due to the conditions established in the investment contract signed between the Finnish multinational UPM and the Uruguayan government for the installation of a new pulp mill in Uruguay.

Members of MOVUS (Movement for a Sustainable Uruguay) denounced before the courts that UPM pulp company failed to comply the environmental conditions under which the installation of its new pulp mill in the department of Durazno, Uruguay, was authorized. They request the suspension of the works in progress until these requirements are fully met.

Social organizations from Uruguay, Finland and other countries, together with well-known professionals, presented the results of scientific research carried out over the past 15 years on the impacts of monoculture tree plantations on grasslands, refuting the "green washing" of UPM company, which presents itself as a leading global corporation in the fight against climate change, the defense of biodiversity and the sustainable water management.

Adhere to this letter to denounce the greenwashing of the Finnish multinational UPM, which is trying to install a new pulp mill and expand the monoculture tree plantations in Uruguay.

At the end of July 2019, UPM confirmed that it will install a second pulp mill in Uruguay. This megaproject will produce up to 2.33 million tons of cellulose per year, this means significant environmental, social, and cultural damage. This project does not have social license. Several social organizations, local citizens’ groups, and stakeholders have expressed their concerns about the ways in which the megaproject will affect their lives and their concerns have not been properly addressed by the public consultation process.

As a condition to install its second pulp mill, the company UPM demanded that the Uruguayan state build a new railroad from the site where UPM plans to locate its mill to the port. The government would cover the costs of these infrastructure projects at the service of UPM.

Finnish company, UPM, plans to install its second pulp mill in Uruguay—which would be one of the largest in the world and produce over two million tons of pulp per year. The project requires a new railway route and a port terminal for the company, as well as the expansion of high voltage electrical distribution lines and several processing plants in a duty-free zone.

In 2017, the Finnish company UPM signed a contract with the Uruguayan government to establish a third mega pulp mill. The project is subject to exorbitant conditions imposed by the multinational.