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The pulp and paper industry faces several challenges linked to climate and environmental impact, resource efficiency, rising energy prices, increased competition for biomass resources, and declining demand for traditional printed paper products. However, these challenges also offer strategic opportunities for the industry to develop into a competitive, resource-efficient, and low-carbon industry in line with a biobased economy. Against this background, this paper aims to analyse current energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Specifically, the paper analyses how companies combine continuous process efficiency to reduce energy costs with activities that could be developed into new energy-related products to increase revenue. Most of the analysed companies work to various degrees with both these strategies, employing methods that include improving energy efficiency, energy security, and energy conversion, as well as developing a wide range of biobased energy products. However, our study indicates that there is an untapped potential associated with energy product development, and we conclude that energy efficiency measures can free up resources, enabling the development of new energy products. Finally, several potential managerial outcomes and implications are outlined. • The paper analyses the energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. • Energy strategies focus both to improve energy efficiency and develop new energy-products. • The companies' energy strategies combined exploitation and exploration. • A number of managerial implications are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Where and when farmers will adopt new energy crops is a key issue for the proper development of a country''s energy strategy on renewables based in bioenergy. This paper analyses the spread of willow cultivation for bioenergy in Sweden, during the period 1986–2005, linked to the changes in the policies of promotion of wood-energy crops and to the local economic framework. To perform the study, a geostatistic method based on kernel analysis is applied, in order to identify the spatial grouping patterns of growers and plantations, and the areas where cultivation was successful. The analysis of the resulting figures shows that the development of an infrastructure and a market for willow chips are essential pre-conditions for the development of short rotation coppice for bioenergy. The results of this study confirm that probably the most important factor in the location of willow plantations is the existence of consumers that can guarantee a long-term demand for willow chips. The tools and methods presented, and its analysis, can provide a better understanding of the interactions between the biomass producers, the energy consumers and the different local and national actors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]