Market Impact of the Pulp and Paper Best Practices Guidebook

John Nicol, SAIC/Focus on Energy

Keywords

Abstract

Wisconsin’s public benefits program, Focus on Energy, in 2005 developed a guidebook for the Pulp and Paper industries that describes the Best Practices for energy efficient processes. The Pulp and Paper Energy Best Practices Guidebook was developed by a team of industry experts and includes new benchmarking information for various types of paper mills. It was developed to motivate the mill manager and to provide them with a quick understanding of energy efficiency opportunities. Because of the unique information and approach of the guidebook TAPPI, the leading association for the pulp and paper industries, picked up the publishing rights in April of 2006.
An independent study performed for Focus on Energy during the fall of 2006 investigated the market effects of the guidebook on the industry’s knowledge and actions around the Best Practices that it promotes. The study assessed the awareness of the guidebook, the use of the guidebook as a resource, the influence of the guidebook, and the use of the guidebook to identify opportunities. One of the results of the study showed that within about 18 months from introduction 67% of the market was aware of the guidebook and that 75% of those respondents consulted the guidebook as a resource.
This paper will describe how the guidebook was developed and the process for using it to educate or motivate the industry. It will also review the results of the independent study of the impact of the guidebook on the market and provide conclusions on lessons learned.