Federal task force report names national BDO Zone scale-up a priority for Canada's forest sector
Federal task force report names national BDO Zone scale-up a priority for Canada's forest sector
TORONTO, June 16, 2026, Ecostrat Inc. and the BDO Zone Initiative today welcomed the release of the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force’s Final Report, Canada’s Transformed Forest Sector: Competitive. Resilient. Relevant., which names the national scale-up of BDO Zones as a priority action within its flagship recommendation: a $10 billion, 10-year Forest Sector Transformation Investment Fund.
The Task Force, an independent body of eight Canadian leaders appointed by Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, following an announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney, was mandated to chart a path to restore the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s forest sector. Its report calls on the federal government to “support the initiative to scale the BDO Zone designation nationally,” noting that BDO Zones attract new entrants to support recapitalization and create market diversification for Canadian forest communities.
The report further recognizes that BDO Zones “help stabilize and support economic development, including within the innovation ecosystem, by designating certified regions for high-potential bio-based manufacturing projects and connecting sources of local biomass and residues with developers and investors.”
“This is a watershed moment for the BDO Zone Initiative and for Canada’s bioeconomy,” said Jordan Solomon, President and CEO of Ecostrat and Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “The Task Force has recognized what we have long believed: that de-risking biomass supply chains is the foundation on which transformative bioeconomy investment is built. A national scale-up of BDO Zones will give investors, developers, and forest communities a common, standards-based language for biomass risk, and that is precisely what unlocks capital at scale. We are ready to work with the Government of Canada to deliver.”
The Task Force’s vision, regional industrial hubs, bankable projects, diversified revenue streams from fibre, energy, and carbon, aligns directly with the BDO Zone mission: connecting capital to communities through verified, investment-grade biomass supply chain intelligence. The BDO Zone Initiative looks forward to partnering with federal and provincial governments, First Nations, industry, and investors to scale the designation nationally and help secure the future of Canada’s forest bioeconomy.
The full Task Force Report is available on Natural Resources Canada’s website.
About Ecostrat
Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass supply chain advisory and due diligence services for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. Founded on the belief that reliable feedstock data is the foundation of successful bio-project investment, Ecostrat works with developers, lenders, and investors to quantify and manage feedstock risk across the project lifecycle. Ecostrat is the originating organization behind the BSCR framework and a founding partner of the BDO Zone Initiative.
For more information, visit www.ecostrat.com. Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com). He can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com.
About The BDO Zone Initiative
The Biofuel Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative certifies “regional readiness” for biomanufacturing, 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 precise targets for bio-project siting and 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.
Originally published at bdozone.org.