Attitudes of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises towards Energy Efficiency in Wood Procurement: A Case Study of Stora Enso in Finland

Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland (WSF) was certified to the ISO 50001 Energy Efficiency
Management System standard in 2015. At Stora Enso WSF, the goal is to improve energy
efficiency by 4% by 2020 from 2015. Improving the energy efficiency of wood procurement
(i.e. logging and timber trucking) enterprises is currently one of the main focus areas for energy
efficiency development at Stora Enso WSF. In order to clarify its state-of-the-art in the
business of wood procurement enterprises at Stora Enso WSF, logging and timber-trucking
entrepreneurs were interviewed in November and December 2017. The survey data consisted
of 25 logging and 25 timber-trucking entrepreneurs. The coverage rate of both entrepreneur
groups was 73.5% in the survey. The results indicated that timber-trucking enterprises highlight
more energy efficiency and fuel efficiency than logging enterprises. For instance, the
timber-trucking entrepreneurs underscored more energy efficiency in their acquisition decisions
of new vehicles and the greater role of fuel efficiency in the energy-efficient business than
logging entrepreneurs during 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, the survey results revealed that
logging and trucking enterprises can improve energy efficiency in their business by organizing
more energy efficiency education (i.e. economical and anticipated driving training) for
their machine operators and truck drivers. There is a positive attitude towards energy efficiency
among both logging and timber-trucking entrepreneurs. This creates a solid background
to deepen and continue energy-effective work in the wood supply chain between the enterprises
and Stora Enso WSF in the future.