Why Energy Conservation?, 1997 Engineering Conference Proceedings
Energy conservation projects have traditionally been considered as cost reduction measures in the North American pulp and paper industry. Only a short time after the oil embargo in 1973, fuel availability was a major concern in addition to its cost. In some other areas, e.g., in Nordic countries, fuel has always been a scarce resource and energy conservation has been a way of life.
Recently, environmental considerations have become key factors in promoting energy conservation. Concerns for ambient air quality and sustainable use of resources have increased the interest in energy conservation. In many countries energy conservation has been made more attractive by applying high taxes on purchased energy or by charging fees relative to the amount of pollution discharged to the atmosphere.
The environmental concerns have also led to increased consideration of the entire life-cycle of products. Various product labels, especially in Europe, have been developed to inform consumers about the environmental impact of products. The concepts developed by the European Union, for example, take energy use into account in their point scoring schemes. Very low energy consumption is in many cases required in order to quality for these Eco-labeling systems. Due to environmental concerns, the incentives from energy conservation are expected to increase resulting in decreased energy use by the pulp and paper industry.