Municipal solid waste
Commercial and industrial waste
Construction and demolition waste
Post-consumer plastic bag opening
Waste wood & wood stumps
Bulky waste
Paper and cardboard
RDF/SRF
Plastic waste
This year, Ahlström Collective Impact’s contribution to UNICEF’s education work amounts to over €750,000. Support from the private sector is critically important in today’s increasingly complex global landscape, where cuts by several donor countries to international aid threaten UNICEF’s global efforts to uphold children’s rights.
“Companies and foundations play a central role in promoting children’s rights. It’s inspiring to see that in these geopolitically challenging times, Ahlström Collective Impact is strengthening its commitment to children’s well-being and reinforcing the essential work of integrating children’s rights into business,”
Annina Tanhuanpää, Secretary General of UNICEF Finland.
As part of our shared commitment, member organizations within the ACI network are aiming to integrate a child rights perspective into their sustainability strategies—ensuring that both direct and indirect impacts on children are recognized and addressed. We continue to deepen our expertise through dedicated training sessions organized by UNICEF Finland, which focus on the intersection of children’s rights, business practices, and corporate responsibility. These trainings are a cornerstone of our development, and we further amplify our engagement through initiatives like the World Children’s Day campaign, where staff across the network come together to champion children’s rights in meaningful and visible ways.
”We are proud to be part of the Ahlström network, which embraces its global responsibilities with integrity and purpose. Through the Ahlström Collective Impact, we are committed to one of the most vital causes of our time: advancing children’s well-being and their fundamental right to education. This is not only a corporate duty—it is a shared human obligation. Each of us has a role to play in creating a more equitable future for all children, and in doing so, helping to build a more united, compassionate world in the face of growing division,”
René Normann Christensen, CEO of M&J Recycling.
ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL LEARNING CRISIS
Children’s learning is a global crisis, where up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries cannot understand a simple written text. The situation is especially dire in sub-Saharan Africa. The digital divide is also widening, with the majority of school-aged children living in households without internet access.
Member organizations of Ahlström Collective Impact support UNICEF’s education efforts to address these challenges. The Ahlström family’s commitment to children’s education has also expanded this year to a new initiative, with the Eva Ahlström Foundation joining a Nordic funding group supporting UNICEF’s research center Innocenti’s “Every Child Learning” pioneer project.
UNICEF is the world’s most influential children’s organization, promoting education in 150 countries. It provides education in crisis zones, challenges attitudes that hinder schooling, promotes quality teaching, and defends the rights of children with disabilities and minorities to education. The work focuses both on grassroots change and the development of entire education systems in collaboration with national authorities.
ABOUT AHLSTRÖM COLLECTIVE IMPACT
The Ahlström Collective Impact collaboration model was launched in 2020. It brings together companies and foundations from the Ahlström network to invest in children’s well-being through selected UNICEF projects aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The support for UNICEF’s education work in 2025 is over €750,000. Members include: Ahlstrom, A. Ahlström, Ahlström Invest, Avain Yhtiöt, Destia, Detection Technology, Eva Ahlström Foundation, Glaston, Metsäkonepalvelu, M&J Recycling, Suominen, and the Walter Ahlström Foundation.
