Sustainability matters.Ahlstrom’s online newsletter on corporate responsibility Issue 11 / Spring 2014

There are many reasons why Ahlstrom focuses on cabin air filtration. First of all, this product portfolio fits perfectly with our new strategy statement: “We will grow with a high performance product offering for a clean and healthy environment.” Cabin air filters protect both drivers and passengers, with the aim of preventing dust, particles, soot, odors or gases from entering the vehicle. This functionality is provided by the cabin air filter media: the Ahlstrom SafeCabin™ product portfolio covers a complete range of cabin air filter media, from standard requirements to special market needs such as flame retardancy, odor removal, gas absorption as well as high-efficiency filtration for very small, particle-size dust, which presents the greatest danger to human health. In addition, we are working further on solutions with anti-allergenic features.

Developing cabin filtration solutions since the 1990’s

Ahlstrom has operated in this business since the 1990s, offering both particulate and activated carbon media from our Tampere plant in Finland using our proprietary Trinitex® technology and mainly focusing on European demand. The new Ahlstrom SafeCabin™ Portfolio

maintains the products from our traditional offering, Ahlstrom Trinitex®, adding new solutions by utilizing our diversified global technology platforms from the United States, Brazil, Italy, and Korea, and in the near future also from China.

In terms of business opportunity, cabin filtration is a fast growing market. In Europe, Korea, and Japan, the penetration of this product is almost 100%, which means that all new car production and also most existing cars are equipped with cabin air filters. In countries where attention to health aspects has been lower in the past, the situation is changing quickly: the annual market growth is now in the range of 5–8% globally, with around 5% in the EMEA and up to 7–8% in Asia and the Americas.

Ahlstrom Transportation Filtration launched the new Ahlstrom SafeCabin™ filter media for automotive and heavy duty cabin air applications in the “Clean Air Week” in China. The China Auto Environmental Forum took place in Shanghai on March 24–28, 2014. The promotion will continue at the Index exhibition in Geneva on April 8–11, 2014, while North and South America will follow in quarters three and four, respectively.

Monica Cappello, Product Manager

Sustainability matters. Ahlstrom’s online newsletter on corporate responsibility. Issue 11 / Spring 2014

We have another very busy year ahead of us and we wanted to share some news and upcoming events and product highlights with you.

For a clean and healthy environment

For more information, please contact Monica.Cappello@ahlstrom.com

Energy/Electricity Consumption

The plant is one of the most efficient plants in terms of energy usage in the Ahlstrom Group. The plant only uses natural gas, which is a low-emission and high-efficiency form of energy when compared to other traditional energy sources, such as coal or oil.

From an electricity point of view, all of the motors in the manufacturing process are equipped with frequency converters to save energy. The plant also installed low-energy usage neon lights in 2012 and some automatic lights to further save electricity.

The Through-Air Dryers for drying the web are new and they have a Stop and Go function which further helps to maintain efficient manufacturing. When a machine is stopped for over 10 minutes, the burners stop automatically.

The fact that the Tampere plant has no boilers or steam drying cans, unlike typical paper mills, offers more flexibility in the plant’s heating and cooling options and will help to reduce energy consumption.

Water Consumption

The water intake to the process is high-quality Tampere city water, which is potable and well suited to produce food contact grades for filtering liquids.

This high-quality raw material from the municipal source has a higher cost compared to surface water. Therefore a water usage reduction program to optimize production costs has been a key focus over the past few years. As a result, the water intake per ton of the high performance material produced is two to three times lower than at other sites with the same technology.

Waste

Tampere has cut the waste to the landfill level to reach zero waste in the last five years. The plant has special teams who have the task of reducing waste and they do so by improving the sorting of all waste. All operators are also trained and supported to increase recycling. An energy recovery partner was selected to help with the process.

Sustainability matters. Ahlstrom’s online newsletter on corporate responsibility. Issue 11 / Spring 2014

Ahlstrom’s Tampere plant in Finland produces advanced filter materials for end use applications in the gas turbine industry, and air and liquid filtration as well as materials for Transportation Filtration. With a dedicated workforce advancing a resource-efficient operation, there have been many important environmental achievements and milestones at the plant over the last few years. Here are some key highlights:

For more information, please contact Erkko.Penttila@ahlstrom.com or Noora.Blasi@ahlstrom.com

Best environmental practices in Tampere, Finland

Electricity Consumption

WaterConsumption

-11.3% -25.5%

Natural GasConsumption

Direct CO2

EmissionsWaste

to Landfill

-4.4% -4.5% -100.0%

Tamperehas achieved the

following reductions

in five years

CO2

Electricity Consumption

WaterConsumption

-11.3% -25.5%

Natural GasConsumption

Direct CO2

EmissionsWaste

to Landfill

-4.4% -4.5% -100.0%

Tamperehas achieved the

following reductions

in five years

CO2

Ahlstrom Tampere has achieved the following reductions in five years:

Nicolas Evrard, Plant Manager / Noora Blasi, Marketing Manager / Erkko Penttilä, Safety Manager

Ahlstrom and Siemens working together for more efficient wind power

Introducing Ahlstrom AceBlade™

Number one in offshore

Due to higher, more consistent wind speeds at sea, offshore wind turbines can generate substantially more energy than onshore wind turbines. Offshore wind power has its challenges, however. Conditions during installation, operation, and maintenance may be harsh, so products must be reliable. Yet, the trend for offshore wind farms is for larger and more complex projects, located further from shore, in deeper waters, which are exposed to severe sea and wind conditions.

Utilizing the knowledge gained from more than two decades of experience in the offshore sector, Siemens leads the world in offshore technology. In order to be the best at wind power generation, Siemens has focused on three core areas: the best turbines, installation and service. In the first area, the rotor blades for Siemens’ offshore turbines are made of glassfiber reinforced epoxy. Like the turbine itself, the blades are designed to last.

Wind turbines are getting larger and turbine blades longer as there is a need to optimize power generation and maximize the return on investment. Last November, Ahlstrom launched Ahlstrom AceBlade™, a new reinforcement product for the wind energy market to help our customers respond to these market requirements. Through higher strength and improved fatigue and stiffness characteristics these longer and lighter blades can be manufactured with Ahlstrom AceBlade™. The product will deliver significant benefits for designers and manufacturers of wind turbine blades.

Ahlstrom AceBlade™ is a patent pending, unidirectional glass fiber reinforcement with superior fatigue resistance, and enhanced mechanical properties. Turbine blades have been increasing in length due to innovations in raw materials and their characterization, design, modeling, and manufacture.

Ahlstrom specialty glassfiber reinforcements

Ahlstrom has been a preferred supplier for Siemens since the late 1990’s. This has been due to Ahlstrom’s ability to innovate and partner in product development, combined with cost efficiency. To meet the requirements for extreme strength in extreme conditions, lasting for the lifetime of the blades, 20–30 years, Ahlstrom’s Mikkeli plant has come up with solutions such as special reinforcements enhancing resin flow in the infusion process as well as Siemens' process-specific materials. Current work is focused on the recently launched Ahlstrom AceBlade™ reinforcement, which is a completely new type of material concept designed specifically for the Wind industry requirements and future needs.

Thomas Stoiber, Global Commodity Manager Composite Parts at Siemens Wind Power, says about Ahlstrom: “We value the co-operation with Ahlstrom. The long-term partnership and joint efforts to continuously develop and improve the product quality and performance has been a success.”

The introduction of Ahlstrom AceBlade™ once again pushes the blade size limit further. It is the first real new reinforcement material in the industry in 20 years. Every additional meter in a turbine blade increases the energy output exponentially.

Cost-effective solution with exceptional performance

Ahlstrom AceBlade™ is a cost-effective solution for vacuum infusion processes, with exceptional mechanical performance. It also enables the use of carbon fibers without compromising on existing vacuum infusion processes.

The product enables manufacturers to lower their raw material costs during blade manufacture. Exceptional resin flow properties minimize air voids and deliver optimized production costs.

Anne Summanen, Product Manager

Calum Mayland, Marketing Manager

The world is hungry for energy and clean power leads the way to renewable energy sources. With highly efficient, solid, and reliable wind turbines, Siemens Wind Power offers solutions to meet energy needs and environmental awareness. Ahlstrom’s glassfiber reinforcements do the same.

For more information, please contact Anne.Summanen@Ahlstrom.com For more information, please visit ahlstrom.com/aceblade

What is abaca?

Abaca (Musa textilis, a.k.a. Manila hemp) is a member of the musaceae family to which the banana plant also belongs. It is native to the Philippines, where 90% of abaca is grown. The rest comes from Ecuador and Costa Rica.

The annual abaca plant grows to about seven meters in height. The fiber is extracted from the leaf sheaths and is one of the world’s longest natural fibers. The fiber was originally used for cordage; now most abaca is pulped and used in specialty paper products, including tea bags. The long fibers of abaca make it particularly suitable for tea bags, where it is used to form a porous network of fibers which provides excellent wet and dry strength at low basis weights.

The addition of wood pulp to this network allows control of properties such as sift and infusion. The abaca fibers are unbleached and contribute to the final taste neutrality of the finished tea bag.

Growing abaca

Abaca is grown in tropical regions on marginal land and will often thrive in areas where other plants cannot. It can be grown on farms, or it grows wild in the mountains, helping to stabilize erosion; it matures, fruits, and flowers in 18–24 months after planting, and is ready for first harvest – harvesting takes place approximately every four months. Evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year ensures that there is no need for irrigation.

Anna Maija Wessman, VP Sustainability

Sustainability matters. Ahlstrom’s online newsletter on corporate responsibility. Issue 11 / Spring 2014

Ahlstrom supported a joint industry project to advance Rainforest Alliance certification of abaca fiber used in tea bags.

For more information, please contact Anna.Wessman@Ahlstrom.com

Rainforest Alliance Certified™ abaca fiber from the Philippines

Abaca supply chain from the Philippines

In the Philippines, abaca is grown by a large number, around 70,000, of small independent farmers. The Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) oversees this. Ahlstrom buys abaca fiber from the graders or balers, who sort the abaca fiber into specific grades as specified by FIDA. These are then sent for manufacture to local pulp mills or exported to the Ahlstrom Radcliffe pulp mill in the UK.

EDANA project to advance sustainability

certification of abaca farms in the Philippines

Edana, the international association for the nonwovens and related industries, brought together industry stakeholders and engaged with the Rainforest Alliance with the objective of developing Rainforest Alliance Certified™ abaca farms in the Philippines.

The work started in spring 2013, working directly with one cooperative of abaca farmers in the province of Albay, in the Bicol region of the Philippines. The assignment first included diagnostics field visits to understand baseline field conditions and a gap analysis. The project was soon expanded to provide extensive training to the members of the cooperatives to bring them into compliance with the SAN Standard in preparation for the certification audits.

A series of Train-the-Trainer sessions was also offered to develop local capacity in the Philippines to train farmers on the SAN Standard and enable certification in all the abaca growing regions of the country. The Edana project ended with the first certification audits in November 2013.

Certified abaca to Ahlstrom

The Edana project has been successful; Ahlstrom’s abaca suppliers are actively engaging with the Rainforest Alliance getting their farms certified. The cooperatives are ramping up their volumes of Rainforest Alliance™ certified abaca, ready to respond to market needs.

10 guiding principles of the SAN (Sustainable Agriculture Network) standard

1. Management System Social and environmental, for better-organized and more efficient farms

2. Ecosystem Conservation Farms to protect waterways and wetlands from erosion and contamination, prohibiting deforestation and negative impacts on natural areas

3. Wildlife Protection Certified farms serve as refuge for wildlife

4. Water Conservation Farms to have water permits and keep track of water sources and consumption, treat wastewater to avoid contamination of springs and rivers

5. Working Conditions Good working conditions for all farm employees according to UN and ILO definitions

6. Occupational Health Certified farms to have safety programs to reduce the risk of accidents

7. Community Relations Farmers to be good neighbors and inform surrounding communities and local interest groups about their activities and plans

8. Integrated Crop Management Farms to eliminate chemical products that pose a danger to people and the environment; biological or mechanical alternatives to pesticides to be used

9. Soil Conservation Certified farms work for the long-term improvement of soil

10. Integrated Waste Management Certified farms are clean and have programs for managing waste through recycling, reducing consumption, and reuse

A diverse engaged workforce is essential for business results

Ahlstrom is a truly global company

We are proud to be a truly global company with around 3,540 employees working in 24 countries on four continents. Our workforce is genuinely diverse and we want to embrace this by providing learning opportunities and creating an inclusive culture where all ideas and opinions are heard and welcomed.

“We want to attract the best talent in the global market place as we recognize that a more diverse workplace produces better business results. A broader range of opinions and viewpoints inspires greater innovation and creativity and we aspire to fully benefit from this,” says Tarja Takko, VP, Learning & Development. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to create awareness of this diversity and support the growth of all our people, whatever their culture, background, age group or strengths.

Leadership program JUMP

This becomes very concrete in our junior managers’ leadership program, JUMP, as it brings together a fully diverse group of young talents from around the globe, representing all our business areas and functions, including both men and women. In 2013, the 15 JUMP participants were from 10 different countries.

Ahlstrom signed a membership agreement with Cleantech Finland at the end of 2013. Cleantech cooperation is expected to support implementation of our growth strategy. “Our high performance product offering aims at providing a cleaner and healthier environment. Our products are based on renewable raw materials, and our solutions have clear sustainability credentials. Our strategy and innovations are based on creating shared societal value and advancing sustainable development. I am sure that being a Cleantech company and a part of the high quality Cleantech network, we will reap rewards in executing our strategy,” says Aki Saarinen, EVP Strategic Business Development.

Cleantech Finland is a network of top cleantech companies and experts bringing together the world’s best cleantech solutions and expertise to companies and public-sector organizations that have environmental or energy-efficiency problems that need solving. Cleantech Finland is the hub for all cleantech activity in Finland and it works closely with an extensive network of partner organizations.

We are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our products throughout their lifecycle. Clean water, medical diagnostics, and composites form our

“It was a real eye-opening experience to meet these great fellow employees from different backgrounds, giving me lots of inspiration. One of the key aspects that I have taken away from JUMP was that working in cross-cultural teams requires a bit more flexibility as people might have different attitudes, customs, and norms. However, at the same time, it provides you with a variety of experiences, perspectives, and knowledge, and really helps you to move forward,” says Jesse Räisänen, Project Manager, Cash Management and one of 2013’s JUMPees.

JUMP focuses on building skills in self-leadership, coaching, performance management, and communication. Increasing cultural awareness and improving cross-cultural leadership and networking are also integral parts of the program. To further strengthen diversity, we also include mentoring as a key element in JUMP; tacit knowledge is transferred from experienced leaders to JUMPees to further support their development journey.

Overall, the JUMP program is an excellent platform to concretely embrace diversity and the feedback from participants shows that the program is highly appreciated. In 2014, the JUMP program will be delivered for the 28th time and it strongly continues to foster diversity and develop leadership at Ahlstrom further.

high growth areas. All these areas support sustainable development. With our new solutions, we contribute to building a cleaner and healthier environment.

“The Cleantech cooperation involves networking with various players in the industry, and cooperation will allow us to collaborate with other industry leaders. Cleantech Finland membership supports our goals and the implementation of our strategy. One of our strategic enablers is co-creation and this type of cooperation creates an interesting and attractive possibility to co-create products, solutions, and business models together with other top class companies around the world and create and deliver sustainable advantages for our customers and consumers as well as for the network companies and Finland,” says Aki.

The Cleantech family in Finland includes several large companies

The Cleantech Finland network comprises nearly 100 Finnish companies that focus on sustainable business. The Cleantech family already includes many large Finnish companies, such as UPM, Kemira, Outokumpu, Metso, Wärtsilä, Vacon, Outotec, Ruukki, Pöyry, Neste Oil, and Fortum.

Anna Honkanen, HR Manager

For more information, please contact Anna.Honkanen@ahlstrom.com Read more about Cleantech Finland on their website: cleantechfinland.fi

Ahlstrom is a member of Cleantech Finland

Anna Maija Wessman, VP Sustainability

Cleantech Finland is a network of top cleantech companies and experts.

Towards integrated reporting

We are staying ahead with our reporting by following the new frameworks for integrated reporting <IR> and Global Reporting Initiative G4. This year, the company's annual reporting 2013 contains three separate parts:

• The Ahlstrom Story 2013• Ahlstrom Sustainability 2013 • Ahlstrom Financials 2013

All three documents are available in PDF format on the company’s website.

The Ahlstrom Story 2013 summarizes the company's key achievements in 2013. It also highlights our priorities over

the coming years. It is our first step toward Integrated Reporting. The report is available in English and Finnish.

The Sustainability 2013 report provides an overview of Ahlstrom's key activities and performance in the defined focus areas. In Ahlstrom's view, the report follows the Global Reporting Initiative's G4 Guidelines at the core level. The report is available only in English.

Ahlstrom Financials 2013 includes the report of operations and Corporate Governance Statement. By publishing these documents on financials, we fulfill our regulatory requirements as a listed company in Finland. The report is available in English and Finnish.

Sustainability matters. Ahlstrom’s online newsletter on corporate responsibility. Issue 11 Spring 2014

Published by Ahlstrom CorporationEditor-in-chief: Anna Maija WessmanEditorial team: Paula Aarnio, Anna Maija Wessman, Johanna YlitaloLayout: TBWA\Helsinki

Editorial Address: Ahlstrom Corporation , P.O. Box 329, FI-00101 Helsinki, FinlandTel. +358 (0)10 8880

Johanna Ylitalo, Communications Manager

For more information, please contact Anna.Wessman@ahlstrom.com