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The Finnish forest industry is committed to applying novel technologies for increasing carbon-neutral development and environmental sustainability in “green” circular industry. This study compares the energy efficiency indicators of road freight transportation. Additionally, effects of four mass limits of vehicle combinations are analyzed after a three-year adaptation process that took place in a wood procurement region of 100% renewable resources. The wood-based energy efficiency model (load’s wood energy/fossil transport energy) was the most accurate and precise measure as the development indicator. The indicator showed that the transportation systems (60, 64, 68, and 76 t) and (64, 68, and 76 t) were carbon negative (122, 133, 144, and 108) (142, 147, and 133) in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The numbers reveal positive energy ratio of renewable wood and fossil fuels. In comparison to 60 t, the use of 68 t vehicles increased energy efficiency most effectively in the systems, by 18.0% and 20.5%, respectively. The indicator robustly revealed the energy efficiency of a partial system in the smaller supply region, which depended on the region’s transportation conditions. This novel knowledge can be applied for advancing the adaptation toward carbon-neutral supply networks. There is also the development potential of an industrial ecosystem model for optimizing the environmental sustainability of “green” circular industry.

The EU’s climate and energy framework and Energy Efficiency Directive drive European companies to improve their energy efficiency. In Finland, the aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland (WSF) had a target, by 2020, to improve its energy efficiency by 4% from the 2015 level. This case study researches the use of the forest machine fleet contracted to Stora Enso WSF. The aims were to 1) clarify the forest machine fleet energy-efficiency as related to the engine power; 2) determine the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wood-harvesting operations, including relocations of forest machines by trucks; and 3) investigate the energy efficiency of wood-harvesting operations. The study data consisted of Stora Enso WSF’s industrial roundwood harvest of 8.9 million m3 (solid over bark) in 2016. The results illustrated that forest machinery was not allocated to the different cutting methods (thinning or final felling) based on the engine power. The calculated fuel consumption totalled 14.2 million litres (ML) for harvesting 8.9 million m3, and the calculated fuel consumption of relocations totalled 1.2 ML, for a total of 15.4 ML. The share of fuel consumption was 52.5% for harvesters (cutting), 39.5% for forwarders (forest haulage), and 8.0% for forest machine relocations. The average calculated cubic-based fuel consumption of wood harvesting was 1.6 L/m3, ranging from the lowest of 1.2 L/m3 for final fellings to the highest of 2.8 L/m3 in first thinnings. The calculated fuel consumption from machine relocations was, on average, 0.13 L/m3. The calculated carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq.) emissions totalled 40,872 tonnes (t), of which 21,676 t were from cutting, 16,295 t were from forwarding, and 2,901 t from relocation trucks. By cutting method, the highest calculated CO2 eq. emissions were recorded in first thinnings (7340 g CO2 eq./m3) and the lowest in final fellings (3140 g CO2 eq./m3). The calculated CO2 eq. emissions in the forest machine relocations averaged 325 g CO2 eq./m3. The results underlined that there is a remarkable gap between the actual and optimal allocation of forest machine fleets. Minimizing the gap could result in higher work productivity, lower fuel consumption and GHG emissions, and higher energy efficiency in wood-harvesting operations in the future.

Wood transportation is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions, which should be considered when the carbon neutrality of the forest industry is of concern. The EU is dedicated to improving technology for a carbon-neutral development. This study investigates carbon neutrality by improving road freight transportation fleets consisting of various vehicle size combinations. The environmental emission and energy efficiency of a transportation fleet were analyzed in selected wood procurement regions of Stora Enso corporation (Finland). Based on the enterprise resource planning (ERP) data (2018–2020), the environmental emission efficiency increased by 11% via 76 t-vehicles compared 64 t vehicles. The maximum reduction in fuel consumption was 26% for 92 t vehicles, though this was achieved when operations were fully adjusted to the maximum weight limit. The wood-based energy efficiency measure (wood energy/transport energy) was a useful development indicator. It showed that the adapted fleets of transportation companies support a positive development for a carbon-neutral forestry. In respect to the current legal fleet (64, 68 and 76 t), the use of 76 t vehicles increased energy efficiency most effectively, by 50%, compared to 64 t vehicles in the best region. Currently, transportation service providers and their clients are using ERP information to tailor their energy efficiency metric and to implement them locally in the transportation monitoring systems. A three-year sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the technological development of management tools to improve transportation efficiency is essential for larger and heavier vehicle utilization. In the future, the whole wood supply chain from forest to factory will also be optimized with respect to energy efficiency criterion to ensure a low-carbon forest industry.

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