The Role of Environmental Management in the Wood Industry

We know that increasing prices of oil, gas and electricity are clearly a great challenge for local industries. On the other hand, in response to climate changes, international legislation has been emphasizing the use of renewable energy resources in Europe. Incentive-based policies, including carbon and fuel taxes will increase the cost of non-renewable fuels, decreasing fossil fuels consumption. Putting a price on green- house-effect gases is a reality nowadays, although the European emissions trading system is still relatively recent. At the same time energy efficiency is expected to increase 20% by 2020. Wood resources may then strongly contribute to that goal. In order to achieve it, it is necessary to concentrate the existing expertise and to guarantee the commitment of stakeholders. Energy production requires raw materials to be readily available. Usually, experienced managers are involved in the procurement of fuels. To fulfill the customer’s orders, to minimize the production cost and to achieve an efficient delivery sequence are not easy tasks, since it is often necessary to balance the three goals. At the same time, the use of local wood energy resources can help to achieve rural communities development, reducing transport costs and allowing affordable energy to be used and new local tailored markets to be created. In this paper several aspects involving the forest industry are discussed; procurement issues, sustainable development and environmental impacts, are all part of the same aim.