BDO Zone Summit 2025: Bridging Community Readiness and Developer Success

BDO Zone Summit 2025: Bridging Community Readiness and Developer Success

On June 17, 2025, the BDO Zone Initiative hosted the second BDO Zone Summit, bringing together over 400 stakeholders from across North America’s biobased economy. The 90-minute virtual event focused on a central theme in today’s biobased landscape: Bridging Community Readiness and Developer Success.

Featuring insights from developers spearheading billion-dollar sustainable aviation fuel projects and economic leaders attracting multi-million-dollar investments in BDO Zone-rated communities, the Summit showcased how the BDO Zone Initiative is fostering alignment between project siting, investment strategies, and regional development capacity.

Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative, opened the event with a strategic outlook on the Initiative’s accelerating growth and national momentum, reflecting on how far the program has come in just two years and on the core challenges still facing the biobased industry. Jordan set the stage for the panels that followed, establishing BDO Zone Ratings as a critical tool for de-risking investment, aligning stakeholders, and accelerating biobased development across North America.

“I think back to two years ago, about 600 days ago, there were six or seven [BDO Zones], and now there are 61. The progress and uptake have been great and dramatic… BDO Zones simply provide a vetted network of locations.”

Jack Morgan, Associate Director at the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), spoke to the pivotal role regional development organizations play in preparing rural communities to compete in the modern bioeconomy. Highlighting the importance of both strategic storytelling and credible data, Jack emphasized how BDO Zone Ratings equip rural communities with the third-party validation they need to engage developers and compete for long-term investment.

“Data makes you credible, stories make you memorable. Credible data from BDO Zones is essential.”

The Project Developer Panel on Risk Mitigation and Strategic Siting, underscored how BDO Zone Ratings are directly shaping siting and capital-raising decisions. Nick Andrews (CEO, USA BioEnergy), Douglas Cole (CEO, Azure Sustainable Fuels), and Matt Boeger (COO, Regen BioFuels) revealed how the transparent, third-party validation provided by BDO Ratings gives investors and project teams the confidence they need to move faster and smarter. The discussion made clear that today’s developers are looking well beyond maps, they need project locations that are vetted, validated, and visibly ready.

The Community Panel on Ratings to Results: Economic Development Perspectives from BDO Zone Communities opened with real-world success stories from the ground. Leaders from Sarnia-Lambton (Ontario), Lewis County (Washington), North Iowa Corridor (Iowa), and the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub (Nova Scotia) shared how their communities leveraged BDO Zone Ratings to rise above the noise, gain visibility with developers, and catalyze local momentum. The panel was expertly moderated by Meaghan Seagrave, Executive Director of Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC), a national leader in industrial bioproduct commercialization and regional clean growth strategy. From feedstock readiness assessments to infrastructure alignment, panelists demonstrated how BDO Zone designations are translating into concrete development outcomes, including multi-million-dollar investment attraction and long-term economic impact.

“It’s helping site selectors find us. I’ve had more than 20 companies reach out simply because they found us through the BDO Zone. Leveraging that network has been absolutely tremendous.”

As the Summit wrapped, a key theme emerged: bridging the gap between community readiness and developer requirements is no longer optional, it’s essential for accelerating biobased investment. Building on its growing footprint and proven impact, the BDO Zone Initiative is emerging as the go-to platform for aligning capital, projects, and communities in the modern biobased economy.

Summary of Presenter Remarks

Jordan Solomon, Chairman, BDO Zone Initiative, and President/CEO, Ecostrat:

• “Growth from six or seven zones to 61 in 600 days shows dramatic progress. BDO Zones provide a vetted network for plant development.”
• “BDO Zone data gets downloaded by developers and investors roughly 850 times.”
• “Connecting underutilized biomass with project developers creates economic development engines across communities.”

Jack Morgan, Associate Director, National Association of Development Organizations (NADO):

• “Data establishes credibility while stories create memorability. BDO Zones provide essential credible data access.”

Meaghan Seagrave, Executive Director, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC):

• “BDO Zones support regional growth and meet global circularity requirements.”
• “Regional assets determine competitive advantage. Understanding your offerings is essential for marketing.”
• “BDO Zones validate regional assets, reducing due diligence for developers.”

Shauna Carr, Economic Development Officer, Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership (Ontario):

• “Over 20 companies contacted us after discovering our region through BDO Zone designation. The network value has been tremendous.”

Rod Badcock, Executive Director, Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub (Nova Scotia):

• “BDO Zone provided investment-grade data lens for client presentations.”
• “The initiative uncovered new opportunities and attracted potential projects while supporting existing client growth cases.”
• “An ‘A’ rating provided meaningful recognition for the regional forest industry.”

Bob Russel, Retired Paper Mill Engineer, Lewis County (Washington):

• “The Pacific Northwest’s identity centers on wood heritage.”
• “Market shifts and mill closures created pulp supply challenges; we’re now addressing unutilized residuals.”
• “Our working group of 20 has created momentum; rising economic activity benefits all local sectors.”

Todd Chaput, Initiative’s Program Manager, Economic Alliance of Lewis County (Washington):

• “Rating release generated immediate calls from across the nation.”
• “Small communities gain realistic industrial investment opportunities through this framework.”
• “Better utilization of wood waste now supports emerging carbon products in smaller communities.”

Chad Schreck, President/CEO, North Iowa Corridor EDC (Iowa):

• “The rating aligned with targets for next-generation cellulosic ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel.”
• “Publicity immediately generated calls, including from Iowans unaware of regional capabilities.”
• “Quality assistance streamlined project proposal responses using readily available data.”

Doug Cole, Vice-Chairman, Azure Sustainable Fuels:

• “Independent feedstock verification through BDO Zone supported capital-raising efforts.”
• “Projects require strategic infrastructure-scale facilities that retain value domestically amid tariff uncertainty.”

Nick Andrews, CEO, USA BioEnergy:

• “Infrastructure projects create approximately 1,000 construction jobs over 2-3 years plus 200 permanent positions.”
• “Annual forest purchasing of $90 million generates significant indirect employment.”
• “$150 million in incentives projected to generate $500 million in local revenue over 20 years.”
• “Projects enable educated youth to return home with viable career opportunities.”

Matt Boeger, COO, Regen BioFuels:

• “Similar projects demonstrate $154 million induced rural economic activity with 2,400 total rural jobs.”
• “Impact proves significant for agricultural communities struggling to retain young workers.”

About The BDO Zone Initiative

The Biofuel Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative certifies ‘regional readiness’ for bio-manufacturing, creates global connections and ignites an influx of new energy opportunities for farmers, economic developers, and rural businesses. A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized, standards-based technical risk assessment of a region’s feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential for new biofuel plants. BDO Zone ratings are site location bullseyes for bio-project development. Investment grade ratings are force-multipliers for attracting new manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed, drive investment and create jobs.

For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, contact info@bdozone.org. To view all BDO Zone ratings, visit www.bdozone.org. Check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for news and updates.

Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. Jordan Solomon (jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com) is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com).

Originally published at bdozone.org.