Oakley Brooks

Oakley Brooks

I'm a senior writer at Ecotrust and editor of the Ecotrust blog.

Ecotrust to put $45 million in New Markets Tax Credits toward jobs, innovation

Apr 262013
 

Just days after the public launch of a successful New Markets Tax Credit-supported project, Ecotrust has learned that its subsidiary, Ecotrust CDE, was awarded $45 million of additional New Markets Tax Credit allocation. Ecotrust will put the new federal financing toward innovative initiatives that create economic, social and environmental benefit in rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest and beyond.

Ecotrust used past allocations of New Markets Tax Credits to support the Bullitt Center, the world’s leading-edge commercial green building, which opened on April 22, 2013. The 50,000-square-foot building, which continues renewal at the edge of Seattle’s Central and Capitol Hill Districts, will generate all of its own energy and use a rainwater filtering system to meet all of its water needs. Construction created 160 jobs and invested $30 million into the region’s economy.

The Bullitt Center under construction last year. Photo by John Stamets.

The Bullitt Center under construction late last year. Photo by John Stamets.

“The Bullitt Center is the latest example of how Ecotrust uses New Markets Tax Credits and other forms of capital to push environmental and social innovation while creating jobs and successful new business models,” says Spencer Beebe, chairman of Ecotrust.

Ecotrust’s latest allocation is part of $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit awards to 85 organizations nationwide by the Treasury Department. This money is to be invested in creating and protecting jobs in disadvantaged and distressed communities.

This is the fourth allocation of New Markets Tax Credits that Ecotrust CDE has received since 2003.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) celebrated the news. “This is great news for Ecotrust and the entire Northwest,” said Merkley. “Ecotrust has been an incredible partner to Oregon’s rural communities, supporting economic development in environmentally sustainable industries ranging from forest products to clean energy. I look forward to seeing this new funding turn into jobs and economic activity across Oregon.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee said:  “Wood products is a backbone, legacy industry in the Northwest. This support for innovation in green building will help spur new jobs in distressed rural communities with deep roots in the forestry sector. I applaud this opportunity to leverage public and private funding to support cutting-edge projects and ignite sustainable economic growth.”

Past Ecotrust allocations, totaling $122 million, have supported clean energy projects, a new model of timberland management, and forest products innovation, including:

  • Ochoco Lumber Company, which refinanced and stabilized the last remaining mill in John Day, Oregon and included the construction of a new pellet fuel facility.
  • Chobani, Inc, formerly Agro-Farma, Inc, to renovate and upgrade its yogurt manufacturing facility located in an economically distressed county of New York, and to finance the installation of a biogas plant to convert wastes from the yogurt production process into energy.
  • Ecotrust Forest Management<http://www.ecotrustforests.com/>, to support the purchase of 12,500 acres of timberland in Washington and Oregon and the conversion of the land to Forest Stewardship Council-certified  management, for multiple outcomes of timber, jobs, carbon sequestration, clean water and wildlife habitat.

Ecotrust CDE plans to use some of the latest NMTC allocations to support innovative new projects across the Northwest, including Northwest tribal governments’ re-acquisition of traditional lands.

“This allocation will provide critical financing for businesses and organizations in rural communities across the Pacific Northwest,” says Bettina von Hagen, Managing Director of Investments and Community Engagement of Ecotrust CDE. “We have a very exciting pipeline of projects, which includes the conversion of an abandoned retail space into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, and the rejuvenation of shuttered facilities, including a paper mill, a sawmill and a biomass plant that will generate hundreds of family-wage jobs in highly distressed communities. We are particularly excited about the opportunity to work with tribes on land repatriation and the launch of related tribal forest processing businesses.”

Through Ecotrust CDE, Ecotrust uses New Markets Tax Credits as one tool in a wider strategy of impact investing to improve social, environmental and economic conditions up and down the West Coast. Over the last twenty years, Ecotrust has turned $30 million in grants and program- and mission-related investments into $800 million in assets at work throughout the region. Learn more about Ecotrust’s impact investing approach and history here.

The New Markets Tax Credit program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in vehicles known as Community Development Entities, or CDEs. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. For every dollar invested by the federal government, the NMTC Program generates over eight dollars in private investment. President Obama’s FY14 budget included an expansion and permanent extension of the New Markets Tax Credit.

In the latest funding cycle, 282 CDEs applied for allocations, requesting a total of approximately $21.9 billion in allocations.

  • Allocation awards totaled $3.5 billion, or about 16 percent of the total amount requested by applicants.
  • Thirty percent of the total applicant pool – 85 CDEs – were awarded allocations.
  • Allocation awards range in size from $15 million to $80 million. The median allocation amount was $40 million and the average allocation amount was about $41.2 million.

More on this year’s awards and the New Markets Tax Credits program is here

Ecotrust Forest Management named a “Best for the World” company

Apr 172013
 

Ecotrust Forest Management has been named one of the top 67 companies in the world for overall social and environmental impact by the nonprofit group B Lab. B Lab chose this “Best for the World” list from over 700 Certified B Corporations  worldwide. With the release of the second annual “Best for the World” list, B Lab honors businesses that earned an overall score in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations on the B Impact Assessment, a comprehensive assessment of a company’s impact on its workers, community, and the environment.

Ecotrust Forest Management manages 13,000 acres of forestland in Oregon and Washington. Photo by Sam Beebe.

Ecotrust Forest Management operates on 13,000 acres of forestland in Oregon and Washington. Photo by Sam Beebe.

The new list was featured by Businessweek and Fast Company today.

Ecotrust Forest Management, an Ecotrust subsidiary,  manages 13,000 acres of Northwest forestland on behalf of investors and forestland owners to enhance forest health and productivity, and to produce a diverse array of forest products and services including timber, biomass, carbon, and improved habitat and water quality.

Bettina

Bettina von Hagen is CEO of Ecotrust Forest Management.

EFM seeks to capture a wide array of funding sources — New Markets Tax Credits, carbon credits, conservation easements, and restoration funding — to supplement private capital resources in the acquisition and management of forestland. The company also strives to create reliable jobs for local residents and opportunities for local communities.

“EFM is honored to be named among the top B Corps in the world. We are committed to demonstrating an alternative approach to managing forests in the region — one that can be financially competitive, while at the same time beneficial to the health and resilience of ecosystems and rural communities,” says Bettina von Hagen, CEO of Ecotrust Forest Management.

“We chose to become a B Corp because we believe that long-term stewardship of forestland is fundamental to our business model and that having strong social and environmental governance is critical to achieving our objectives,” von Hagen continues. “We share these common values with B Lab and appreciate their legitimacy as an independent third party in assessing environmental and social claims. We are also seeking investor and stakeholder communities that share our values, and the B Corp community meets that standard.”

Other highlighted companies include Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications provider, One PacificCoast Bank, a pioneer triple-bottom-line community development bank, and Cooperative Home Care Associates, the nation’s largest worker-owned cooperative, providing high-quality home care services to elders and individuals living with disabilities. The “Best for the World” companies come from over 25 different industries and 20 countries. Thirty percent of honorees are based outside the United States, with 13 companies operating in emerging markets.

“A company’s revenue only tells half the story. Today’s most successful businesses must also create a positive social and environmental impact,” said Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that certifies B Corporations and governs the independent third party standard used to generate the comparable assessment of corporate impact. “These companies are competing to be not only the best in the world, but the best for the world.”

Each honored company is a Certified B Corporation, a new type of company using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today there are over 700 certified B Corporations, across 60 industries and 25 countries, unified by the common goal to redefine success in business.

B Lab will release separate lists recognizing those companies that are  “Best for the Environment,” “Best for the Community,” and “Best for Workers” throughout the coming year.

Community Fisheries Network raising the bar on accountability

Mar 282013
 

As the seafood industry faces a wave of new questions about the legitimacy of fish labels, the Ecotrust-backed Community Fisheries Network is buckling down and working to build back public trust by establishing rigorous accountability on sustainability standards for its 13 membership organizations nationwide.

At a recent annual meeting in Portland, Maine, a new work group set to drafting metrics to more clearly measure member performance in meeting the network’s detailed sustainability standards. The standards support three broad goals: improving or sustaining ecosystem and species health; ensuring that communities have equitable access to fishery resources and provide intergenerational opportunities; and improving the economic performance of local fisheries businesses and associated community infrastructure. The standards include an emphasis on traceability for the high-value seafood delivered by network members.

Port Orford by Scott Trimble 2

Community Fisheries Network members are pushing for new metrics for to track progress on sustainability and traceability. Photo by Scott Trimble.

“Our members have understood the problems with labels and traceability for years,” says Stephanie Webb, the business manager for the Community Fisheries Network, who is based at Ecotrust. “False labeling breaks down the trust and relationship between consumers and fishermen. Our work group is concerned with establishing clear metrics that the public can understand, and working on a framework to establish a clear chain of custody from boat to plate.”

Several member organizations sell their fish under their own labels to distinguish themselves in the marketplace and provide traceability back to fishermen. Port Clyde (Maine) Fresh Catch established the first community-supported seafood subscription service in the country and now processes and wholesales its own fish and shellfish. The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association sells longlined and troll-caught salmon to community-supported fish subscribers in Juneau and Sitka under the “Alaskans Own” label. In Maine, Calendar Island Lobster Company was established by lobstermen in Maine’s Casco Bay to add story and value to their product. Meanwhile, members in Port Orford, Oregon will deliver fish to subscribers under the Port Orford Sustainable Seafood label beginning this spring.

The focus on transparent labeling becomes even more important as several studies and investigations have found widespread fraud with fish labels. In the most widely publicized study, Oceana found that one-third of more than 1,200 seafood samples collected across the country were sold under false labels. Fish sold under common labels like “tuna” and “red snapper” were in fact other species from poorly managed or unhealthy fisheries. Salmon sold as “wild” were in fact farmed; Asian catfish was often sold under the label of “cod” or “grouper.”

“The Community Fisheries Network believes that its new metrics will improve traceability, provide a real foundation upon which to ‘walk the talk’ on sustainable fisheries, and help consumers understand they are supporting fishing communities that care about the ocean,” says Ed Backus, Ecotrust’s vice president for fisheries.

Ecotrust names Oborne new Director of Food and Farms

Mar 282013
 

Amanda Oborne, director of FoodHub.Ecotrust President Astrid Scholz has announced that Amanda Oborne will take over as Ecotrust’s Director of Food and Farms.  Oborne, who heads Ecotrust’s FoodHub initiative, was introduced as the new Food and Farms director at Ecotrust’s Local Hero Awards last week.

“After a national search that yielded an impressive candidate pool, we were pleased to discover that the best candidate was right here in our midst,” Scholz said.

Amanda Oborne, Ecotrust's new director of food and farms.

Amanda Oborne, Ecotrust’s new Director of Food and Farms.

Oborne joined FoodHub as sales and marketing director in 2010 and took over as director in 2012. She has helped build the online wholesale marketplace’s membership to 4,500, spread  across six Western states.  Fast Company named FoodHub one of the top 10 most innovative initiatives in food in 2011, and the site has become an asset for large institutional buyers – particularly schools – looking to source food from regional producers. It has also opened up new markets for rural producers: 20% of members are located in rural counties, and FoodHub allows them to quickly find and connect with urban buyers.

Oborne has twice spoken at White House food summits and regularly appears at national forums on food and agriculture, including the National Good Food Network, SXSW Eco, and the Chefs’ Collaborative National Summit. She has advised on food policy for Multnomah County and Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.

Oborne will focus on developing strong regional markets for locally produced food; building the infrastructure required for regional food systems; and cultivating the land and businesses that form the heart of that regional system.

“Amanda’s leadership, can-do attitude, highly networked approach and range of experience will serve the program and Ecotrust well, both now and into the future,” Scholz said.

Formerly direct marketing manager for Intuit’s QuickBooks small business accounting software, Oborne also served as executive director of a regional trade association in the Pacific Northwest. She has a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University (2000) and a BS from Washington University in St. Louis (1995).

Inside the clam gardens, a source of coastal sustenance

Mar 262013
 

Clam gardening was a form of aquaculture practiced by Native people on the coast of what is today British Columbia. The gardens were a key source of sustenance and also a hedge against inevitable fluctuations in regional salmon runs. In the following story, Kwakwaka’wakw Clan Chief Adam Dick, known by his traditional name Kwaxsistalla, travels back to the clam gardens off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, where his grandparents raised food and passed down a huge body of traditional ecological knowledge. The journey here is a journey into the living reaches of Kwaxsistalla’s knowledge.  He is a 2011 Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award honoree; his partner, Kim Recalma‐Clutesi, was the top awardee in 2010.

Read the story>>

Kwaxsistalla in the clam gardens. Photo by Nancy Turner.

Kwaxsistalla in the clam gardens. Photo by Nancy Turner.

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