Canada’s manufacturing sector reported capital spending of nearly $306 million on energy-related processes and technologies in 2006. These either reduced the amount of energy used for a process, or lowered the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants produced when making and using energy.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) conducted the Survey of
Environmental Protection Expenditures in 2006 and determined that paper
manufacturers made the largest capital investment in energy-related
technologies. This industry spent $69.5 million, which accounted for
5.6% of its total capital investment, compared with 1.8% for the sector
as a whole.

Coming in second was the wood products manufacturing industry that
StatsCan says reported capital spending of $59.5 million on energy-related processes
and technologies. This represents 5.0% of its total capital investment.

The most energy-intensive industry in the manufacturing sector, as shown by the study, was
petroleum and coal products. With an energy intensity three times
higher than that of the paper manufacturing industry, it reported
capital spending of $33.6 million on energy-related processes and
technologies. This is 1.4% of its total capital investment.

In the entire manufacturing sector, almost a quarter of establishments
were shown by the study to have used an energy-related process or technology in 2006. The most widely
reported included the use of waste energy recovery technologies, energy
management or monitoring systems and the implementation of an energy
audit.