BDO Zones: A Proven Program to Drive On-Site SAF Production for Airports and Regions
BDO Zones: A Proven Program to Drive On-Site SAF Production for Airports and Regions
Ecostrat Inc. and the BDO Zone Initiative, in collaboration with the Airport Regions Council (ARC) hosted a joint webinar titled “BDO Zones: A Proven Program to Drive On-Site SAF Production for Airports and Regions.” The webinar highlighted how the BDO Zone Initiative serves as a proven economic development and project de-risking framework to accelerate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) deployment at airports and across regional economies.
The session introduced the BDO Zone Initiative as a data-driven, proven economic development tool that enables airports and regional governments to attract biofuel developers and investors through a standardized framework. This framework evaluates more than 100 transparent and validated risk indicators across the three core pillars of a BDO Zone Rating: feedstock availability, supply chain strength, and infrastructure readiness. Through its standardized BDO Zone Ratings, the program delivers credible, third-party insights that support informed site selection and investment decisions by developers and capital providers.
The BDO Zone Initiative currently includes more than 61 active Zones across North America and has catalyzed over $11 billion in private investment to date. The program is now expanding internationally through the International Biomass Rating Agency (IBRA), supporting the development and scale-up of global biofuels and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) markets.
“The reality is simple, global SAF targets cannot be achieved relying solely on fats, oils, and greases,” said Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “To reach three billion barrels, scalable biomass supply is essential. BDO Zones provide airports and regions with a structured, credible pathway to unlock that biomass and accelerate SAF deployment where it is needed most.”
Webinar participants learned how airports can leverage BDO Zone Ratings to reduce project risk, attract qualified developers, and support the scale-up of on-site and regional SAF production. As part of IBRA’s European market expansion, one complimentary BDO Zone Rating will be awarded to a qualified applicant in Europe.
For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative or to learn how BDO Zone Ratings can support SAF development in your region, please visit www.bdozone.org.
About Airport Regions Council (ARC)
The Airport Regions Council is a European association representing regions and local authorities with an international airport within their territory. ARC works to strengthen cooperation between airports and their surrounding regions, promoting sustainable development, innovation, and economic growth in the aviation sector. Through research, advocacy, and knowledge-sharing, ARC supports regions in navigating the transition toward low-carbon aviation while improving connectivity and competitiveness. Learn more: www.airportregions.org.
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.