The pulp and paper industry is a key sector in the global economy with important sustainability opportunities. As the fourth largest industrial consumer of energy, it represents 5.7 percent of global industrial energy use ¹. This industry and its products are responsible for nearly 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂-e) emissions per year ². This accounts for approximately 2 percent of global CO₂ emissions ³.

The industry’s importance in the global economy, its reliance on vast natural resources, and impact on the climate warrants further study on the best approaches to reduce the environmental impacts while balancing economic and social aspects across the wood fiber products’ life-cycle. To that end, ICF International is supporting the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in an analysis to identify opportunities for the sustainable materials management of wood fibers. The environmental impacts of focus include energy, water use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the life-cycle stages of: wood harvesting, pulping and bleaching, papermaking, transportation, and end-of-life.

Our study finds that in pulping, reductions in energy use on the order of 20 to 30 percent could be achieved in conventional mills by existing technologies such as combined heat and power systems. Chemical and thermo-mechanical pulp mills offer the greatest potential for energy savings. Paper drying in the papermaking stage is the most energy-intensive process across the life cycle consuming 15 to 25 percent of total energy. Increased and more efficient use of biomass energy—considered biogenic if sourced from sustainably-managed forests—can further reduce GHG emissions. Sustainable forest management practices and certification are key to ensuring that biomass fuels remain carbon neutral. At end-of-life, recycling paper products saves 7 to 19 GJ of energy per metric ton of paper recycled and results in a net carbon sink relative to virgin manufacture of paper. Although barriers such as volatility in energy and recovered paper prices, slow rates of capital turnover, and gaps in information sharing exist, there is large potential for energy efficiency gains and GHG reductions across the paper life cycle.

OECD intends to use the results of the study within a broader effort to investigate sustainable materials management of select priority materials. The study is a work in progress and has not yet been adopted by OECD or its member countries; OECD retains copyright for the results.