A federal task force on Canada's forest sector has named the national scale-up of BDO Zones as a priority action, recommending it be supported through a proposed $10 billion, 10-year Forest Sector Transformation Investment Fund.
The Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force, an independent body of eight industry leaders appointed by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, was mandated to identify a path to restoring the long-term competitiveness of Canada's forest sector.
Its final report calls on the federal government to support scaling the BDO Zone designation nationally, citing its role in attracting new entrants, supporting recapitalisation and diversifying markets for forest communities.
BDO Zones are certified regions designed to connect local biomass and residue supplies with developers and investors for bio-based manufacturing projects.
The task force's report credits the model with helping stabilise and support economic development within the wider innovation ecosystem.
Jordan Solomon, President and CEO of Ecostrat and Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative, said the recognition validated the organisation's approach to de-risking biomass supply chains.
"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," he said.
The BDO Zone Initiative said it intends to work with federal and provincial governments, First Nations, industry and investors to scale the designation across Canada.
BDO Zone scale-up named priority in Canadian forest sector task force report
