Month: July 2023

As originally published by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative

According to microbusiness owners, most start their venture to become their own boss and pursue success on their own terms. Many also want to keep their enterprises small. Venture Forward, a GoDaddy research initiative established in 2018 to study the impact of online microbusinesses on their local economies, defines microbusinesses as businesses with fewer than ten employees, a unique domain, and an active website.

The Big Fact

43% of microbusiness owners listed ‘be their own boss’ as one of their top three reasons to begin, according to GoDaddy’s most recent Venture Forward national survey of online microbusiness owners. This represents a 5% increase over the previous year.

Other popular reasons to start a business include supporting a cause or hobby (32%) and wanting or needing flexibility that a typical job doesn’t allow (29%). Only 22% of microbusiness owners said flexibility was a top reason for them to start a business the year before.

The Research

GoDaddy’s Venture Forward one-of-a-kind research initiative provides a unique view into the attitudes, demographics, and needs of these entrepreneurs. The U.S. national survey started in 2019 and occurs twice a year, typically capturing responses from over 3,500 entrepreneurs per instance to identify and explore trends, as well as deliver insights to advocates of microbusiness entrepreneurs.

GoDaddy analyzes more than 20 million online microbusinesses in the U.S. who have a unique domain and active website. While these microbusinesses may be small, their impact on the U.S. economy is outsized even though they are often too informal or too new to show up in government statistics. 

Who Stands Out

While the desire to be their own boss is a commonality among most microbusiness owners, there are some notable outliers:

31% of Gen Z & Millennials and 32% of Black microbusiness owners are more likely to start a business because they always dreamed of doing so. 23% of all microbusiness owners share that motivator, up 9% since the pandemic.42% of Asian microbusiness owners are more likely to start a business to have success on their own.45% of those who operate a ‘side hustle’ business are trying to make extra money.

Long-Term Ambitions

Nearly three-quarters of microbusiness owners (68%) want to keep their business small with either no employees or only some employees. Most entrepreneurs who want to keep their businesses small are retired. Only 7% of microbusiness owners want to grow their business to a large size with a billion-dollar valuation. Most entrepreneurs who want to grow their business to a large size are resource-constrained.

We are proud to celebrate many milestone anniversaries this year with reputable long-standing companies within our global Alliance. Below is an interview conducted by our Associate denkstatt with one of the founders and managing director, which now has locations in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

It has been 30 years since denkstatt was founded. In a personal interview, Christian Plas, Managing Director and co-founder of denkstatt, tells more about the beginnings and his assessment of the current situation and the future against the background of ecological developments. Check out the full original article on here.

In your opinion, what has changed in terms of ecological challenges? What were the issues 30 years ago, what are they today?

A lot has happened there. When we talk about environmental problems, at that time it was mainly waste, air and water problems. Of course, that has changed drastically to this day. We were simply not aware of the developments we were heading towards as a result of climate change – it was not a social issue either. Sustainability as a concept did not exist. But I am convinced that not only the topics and the language were different, but also the attitude. Environmental awareness was perhaps even more widespread then than it is today – for example in the times of acid rain or the ozone hole. It was also the time of the energy crisis. When I was young, people were willing to give up their car for one day a week. Today it is a completely different social discourse.

What dominates today’s discourse on sustainability?

I think on the one hand it’s the fear of what’s to come. Today, science is able not only to substantiate images of the future with probabilities, but also to clearly outline what the world will look like in the coming decades. We know very well about the effects of the climate crisis and that is difficult to bear, especially for the younger generation. I can’t even imagine how you must feel there. That’s why I try to make my contribution as best I can and to create the greatest possible impact with denkstatt and I dare to say that we at denkstatt have developed a really good approach. We work scientifically and with science.

In addition to fear, society is also saturated with an eerie polarization. Let’s take the topics of meat consumption, mobility or climate strikes. Discourses on these topics are primarily emotional and rarely fact-based or scientifically sound. The social networks certainly also play a major role here, offering a stage for everyone who wants to comment on a topic.

In your opinion, what conditions must be met in order to find a constructive form of sustainability discourse?

From my point of view there are two big levers. The first has to do with knowledge and education. For most people, the science behind climate change and other sustainability issues is difficult to grasp, and that’s where the problem begins. This is compounded by the fact that climate change is a complex problem. The core message of 2 degrees of global warming does not seem particularly threatening at first. The fact that parts of the world will be affected differently, that it has a massive impact on the weather and favors extreme weather events, that ecosystems can no longer perform and that our livelihood is threatened – all of this requires a more detailed explanation.

The second is the willingness to discuss. Nowadays, most people stick to their opinion, there is a lack of self-reflection and the ability to take criticism. This is dangerous breeding ground for alternative facts. In addition, every discourse needs good moderation. Otherwise there is a risk that opinions will become more entrenched.

These two levers affect not only the societal level, but also the companies. If decision-makers cannot do anything with scientific facts, if there is a lack of reflection and openness, the results of projects will of course be different. Once the urgency of sustainability issues has been internalized, we can achieve a lot together, even if the change in the company is of course still challenging. But that shows how important knowledge and education is about the current situation, in all social classes and age groups. It will not be enough to revolutionize the education system. We have to reach everyone and in this respect we depend on good information offers.

30 years is a long time and the topic of sustainability is certainly not easy to digest. How did you manage to keep your motivation over the years? Perhaps also in difficult times and phases?

Of course, we didn’t just experience heights at denkstatt. Around 25 years ago we had to work hard to earn our right to exist. Sometimes we didn’t know if it would work out at the end of the month. That was a long time ago and now we are experiencing the other extreme. Today we are experiencing strong growth and we have to respond to different market needs in different countries where we have offices. This also has to be managed and brings with it its own challenges. And even if we have a lot of tailwind from EU politics, it happens that really good and sensible project proposals are not implemented and disappear in the drawer. That can be frustrating, and it’s not always easy for our employees either. But what always motivates me personally is the people I get to work with. What we are now doing with denkstatt I could not have done on my own. I think what drives me in this context is that I just can’t look away from what’s happening with and on our planet.

We have to do something, we have no other choice. Our denkstatt team, which is working on exactly this, gives me an incredible amount of energy and what we achieve here together motivates me every day. Of course, this also applies to positive feedback from our customers. We always have projects where we can achieve incredible results and that is motivating for everyone. That’s why I think cohesion and collaboration are so important. This is probably particularly true in the area of sustainability. Good cooperation and successes in the team are a good counterbalance to one or the other setback.

You just mentioned the dynamics at EU level. Where do you think we would be if the obligations had existed 30 years ago, for example through the CSRD or the EU taxonomy?

It would all be easier for us if we hadn’t lost so much time. There was already enough knowledge about climate change, but it was not used. Politics is definitely in demand here. Because I believe that we can only solve the climate issue if politicians create the right framework, for example in the form of laws and taxes. It is not in line with the dynamics of competition for a company to do more than it should. Yes, in many cases I CAN’T do that as a company.

At the moment, however, everyone is trusting that we will find some kind of solution and that we will then easily succeed. What many forget: In the past, environmental problems were solved by bans. Sulfur in fuels was banned to help control acid rain. CFCs in aerosol cans and refrigerators have been banned to stop the rapid growth of the ozone hole. That worked and was good and useful. But it is tempting to believe that we can also mitigate global warming with a similarly simple solution. What is different here is that we have to operate an extremely large number of levers at the same time and the problem of greenhouse gas emissions as a consequence of energy production actually affects everyone. Our society depends on energy. In addition, the price we currently pay for energy not reality. It is simply disproportionate to the impact for which we – our children and grandchildren – will have to pay a very high price later.

Let’s stick to the future. In which world will we live in 30 years and what place does sustainability have in society and in consulting?

I am generally an optimist and have a positive image of the future. Fossil energy will no longer exist in 30 years and all business models based on it will no longer work. The Green Deal also includes the financial system, which is why these companies are already finding it more difficult to obtain financing. This development is already in full swing. This whole dynamic is reinforced by social trends that are increasingly raising their voices, such as the Scientist for Future Community, for example, which is increasingly appealing to take real developments and the voice of science seriously.

Sometimes I also notice a great deal of solidarity with the younger generation who are taking to the streets for the climate. Personally, I fully support it and have the utmost respect for it. But I believe that this whole social development cannot and will not pass without conflict. The social injuries and conflicts will need to be dealt with. We’ll see where we are in 30 years.

However, in 30 years we will have solved technological problems to deal with climate change. I am convinced of that. But if we stay with the climate – that will have changed unpleasantly with all the consequences that we already know. Any effort to mitigate this development is therefore more than necessary. That’s why it’s so important for me to make a contribution here with denkstatt – through our scientific orientation, through our expertise and through our network and cooperation with other important players. I would like to see the same standards from all sustainability consultants. Our consulting service must focus on the social contribution. There must be a common vision for 2050 that we are working towards.

Thank you Christian for your insightful views, we are proud to share more from leadership across the Alliance on these topics.

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Originally published on Rayonier.com

LAKE CITY, Fla., July 13, 2023 /3BL/ – When asked whether sustainable forestry certification makes a difference, Richard Boitnott can recall more than 20 years of providing feedback through audits that resulted in companies throughout the U.S. better-demonstrating their sustainability.

As a third-party auditor with Bureau Veritas, Richard Boitnott determines whether forestry companies are meeting the requirements of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (or SFI). He has scrutinized hundreds of forests.

On rare occasions, there are perfect audits. More often, they are excellent, but there are opportunities to improve—and that’s what certified companies are looking for. Rather than reaching one level of sustainability and staying there forever, certified companies want to continuously improve and strengthen their efforts to protect and sustain the forest ecosystem.

“Those are really the best audits: the ones where you have a finding that you know you’re helping them improve their system, and they recognize it, and they recognize the fact that you helped them improve their system,” Richard says.

There are also times when a company seeking sustainable forest certification may need a lot of guidance before they are initially certified. Richard takes pride in the impact that kind of guidance can have on the way the land is managed.

“If there was not forest certification, a lot of land would be managed without that push to reach higher sustainability standards,” says Richard, who has been an auditor for 22 years. “Forest certification is what forces a change.”

In this article, we will explore various aspects of sustainable forestry certifications, including the certification process, objectives, audits, and the importance of continually raising the bar for environmental and social sustainability in the forestry industry.

What is a sustainable forestry certification?What are the SFI sustainable forestry certification objectives?How do timber companies become certified for sustainable forestry?What happens when a sustainable forestry certification entity audits a forest owner?What happens when a sustainable forestry certification audit identifies something that went wrong?What happens when a company does exceptionally well, reaching far beyond the minimum SFI standard?How to know if a company is certified for sustainable forestry?

What is a sustainable forestry certification?

Sustainable forestry certifications such as SFI, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) are standards used to ensure the highest environmental standards in the forestry industry.

There are standards that address forest management all the way from preparing the land for planting to the way the trees are harvested. There are also standards for mills that process logs and the companies that make forest products you buy in the store. You can look for sustainable forestry certification labels when you buy forest products such as wooden, paper, and cardboard items to ensure they come from a sustainably-managed source.

In forest management, the standards ensure the entire forest ecosystem will thrive.

The SFI guidelines verify that forest owners are only harvesting a small percentage of their overall land base. With well over 90 percent of the company’s forests in some stage of growth, this practice ensures a continuous wood supply as well as a plentiful array of forest ecosystems in different stages of the forest life cycle. The standards also enforce methods to protect waterways from sedimentation and chemicals.

Protecting vulnerable habitats

Forest certification standards also ensure that the habitats of vulnerable species are carefully protected. For example, foresters set up and protect a large boundary area around bald eagles’ nests as long as the nest exists. To learn more about that, watch our video, How Foresters Protect Bald Eagles.

There are also species you may have never even heard of that foresters are trained to recognize and protect. In the Red Hills region of Alabama, Rayonier foresters protect the extremely rare Red Hills Salamander, which was only discovered in the 1960s. You can learn more about this unique creature and the work we do to protect it in our video story, Foresters Protect Rare Salamander Found Only in Alabama.

Standards evolve

Newer standards under SFI are aimed at climate smart forestry, which are forest practices that will help prepare forests to better withstand future changes in climate; fire resilience and awareness, which ensures the use of practices to protect forests from wildfire and educating the public about it; social measures, such as having a diversity, equity and inclusion policy; and collaboration with indigenous peoples.

For companies like ours, we were implementing best practices long before we became certified, but the certification proves from an outside perspective that we are sustainably managing our forests. Rayonier has been certified by the SFI standard in the U.S. since 2001 and the FSC and PEFC standards in New Zealand since 2004.

What are the SFI sustainable forestry certification objectives?

SFI has more than 40 performance measures and 130 sustainable forestry indicators in the forest management certification standard, which are categorized under the 17 objectives below:

Forest management planningForest health and productivityProtection and maintenance of water resourcesConservation of biological diversityManagement of visual quality and recreational benefitsProtection of special sitesEfficient use of fiber resourcesRecognize and respect Indigenous Peoples’ rightsClimate smart forestryFire resilience and awarenessLegal and regulatory complianceForestry research, science and technologyTraining and educationCommunity involvement and landowner outreachPublic land management responsibilitiesCommunications and public reportingManagement review and continual improvement

To view the entire SFI standard, visit forests.org/standards.

How do timber companies become certified for sustainable forestry?

If a company wants to be certified for sustainable forestry, it must apply to the certification body, pay an annual fee based on acres managed and net sales and show that it meets certain requirements.

Once the application is accepted, the company must incorporate all of the certification body’s standards into the way it does business.

Once the standards are implemented, the company will then undergo third party audits of its documents and forests to ensure it measures up to the standards.

When the company is officially certified, the external audit reviews will continue annually.

The goal of each audit is to verify that the company is doing a good job protecting its forests, but it is also a way to uncover ways to do even better. Every certified company is looking to constantly improve and fine-tune its practices to ensure it is doing the best it can possibly do with its forests.

Companies also conduct internal audits more frequently. Additionally, many state forest divisions periodically audit the companies’ forests for Best Management Practices (BMPs) compliance. BMPs are guidelines established by the state to ensure waterways are protected. Reports from each of these audits are also a part of the annual third party audit.

What happens when a sustainable forestry certification entity audits a forest owner?

During a sustainable forestry certification audit, there are two segments: auditing documents and auditing forests.

What happens during the document portion of an SFI forest audit?

On a recent annual audit at Rayonier’s Headquarters in Wildlight, Florida, Richard spent the entire day in a conference room reviewing about 500 documents with Rayonier employees. He screened the documents for compliance with more than 130 different SFI indicators.

The requirements include everything from the technical way forests are planted, managed and harvested to social standards such as indigenous relations and DEI policies. The employees were expected to be able to quickly locate the documents and expound on any details Richard asked about.

What happens during the field portion of an SFI forest audit?

The second portion of the audit included several days in the forest. Each day, Richard would select specific sites he wanted to see in person. An auditor often examines documents to find an example of something that didn’t go as planned, such as a weather event or a miscommunication with a contractor.

The auditor will then go to the location to observe what happened and question the responsible foresters about the decisions made relating to that incident. The auditor will also ask general questions to test the expertise of the forester.

During the 2023 Rayonier audit, Richard went into a Lake City, Florida, forest with several Rayonier foresters. He quizzed them about what they would do to protect an eagle’s nest if they were to find one. He asked them about soil types and their methodology for choosing which tree species to plant on each plot. He checked to see if an herbicide aerial application had ceased where the forester had designated.

Protecting properties of special importance

The SFI standard also calls for forestry companies to protect properties with special importance. Forester Joe Geisel, a Resource Land Manager at Rayonier, explained that one location within that forest had been the site of a tragic accident. Two wildland firefighters had been killed while battling the Blue Ribbon Wildfire of 2011.

Joe showed the auditor two memorials that had been established honoring the men where they had passed. He maintains the site in their honor. The memorial is included in an annual staff ride in which the Florida Forest Service honors the memory of the firefighters and teaches staff what can be learned from the accident. You can learn more about the staff ride in this article by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

Foresters also protect sites believed to have historical significance, sites where there is habitat for threatened or endangered species, special trees, water features, cemeteries and other geologically or culturally important sites.

An example of a protected site on Rayonier land is Brooks Sink, Florida’s largest sinkhole. Rayonier partnered with the Suwannee River Water Management District to divert more water into the sinkhole, which replenishes the Floridan aquifer. Read more about the project and watch a video in our article, Working Forests Protect Water Quality Across the U.S.

Research is a component of good forest management

The SFI forest management standard also requires certified organizations to be active in research efforts. At Rayonier, we have an in-house research team and also participate in cooperative research with other forestry organizations and universities.

One recent cooperative effort between Rayonier, the University of Florida and the Suwannee River Water Management District is seeking ways to improve water flow in streams by changing how we manage the forest. Rayonier is also working internally and with partners to delve deeper into ways forest managers can identify climate risks and mitigation efforts, which aligns with SFI’s 2022 additions to the Forest Management Standard.

You can learn more about some of the work our research team does in our video and article, Rayonier Scientists Bring Deep Knowledge to Forest Management.

What happens when a sustainable forestry certification audit identifies something that went wrong?

While every company hopes to perform well in an audit, there is usually room for improvement because the audits are intentionally rigorous.

“All you want is honest feedback,” says Ben Cazell, Rayonier’s Senior Manager of Sustainable Forestry. “Folks have a passion and self-ownership of the ground they manage and make decisions on. They want to ensure that they’re doing things correctly. So, perfection, it’s not always going to happen. It’s nice to hear, ‘Good job. Well done.’ But it’s also good to hear, ‘You could do a little better in this aspect of one thing or another.’”

For example, SFI has new standards around climate smart forestry that have helped companies develop new ways to address and anticipate climate change.

When something is seriously out of alignment with the SFI standards, an auditor deems it to be either a minor or major “nonconformance.”

“A minor nonconformance means the system is bent. A major nonconformance means the system is broken,” Richard explains. “Now, most people have been in this business long enough where they don’t get majors. They know what to do to avoid a major. A minor is more common.”

The difference between a minor and major nonconformance in an SFI audit

An example of a minor nonconformance might be one mishap in which sediment went into a stream, Richard explains. A major nonconformance would be 3 or more instances of sediment seeping into waterways.

There is also a milder level of feedback called an ”opportunity for improvement.” Richard explains:

“Not everything we do in this business is black and white. There are lots of shades of gray. And I only call something if it’s clearly a nonconformance. If it’s not, and I think, ‘Well, you ought to pay attention to this,’ that’s an opportunity for improvement.”

Richard says, for him, the best audits are when his findings bring about a positive change in a company.

“When I get to the end and they tell me, ‘You’re right. We could’ve done that a little bit better. We will do better.’ I like to hear that, because that means they accepted it, they agreed with what I found, and they’re going to work to get better. Those are really the best audits.”

What happens when a company does exceptionally well, reaching far beyond the minimum SFI standard?

On rare occasions, a company will receive recognition for a practice that goes well beyond the SFI standard and sets an example for peers to follow.

This recognition, called a “notable practice,” is a special honor to those who receive it.

Ben recalls one example in which Rayonier was recognized for using winch-assisted logging on steep slopes in the Pacific Northwest. The winch machine anchors into the ground on a stable, flat landing area and using a powerful cable to support heavy equipment on the steep ground below. The machinery improves safety for the logging crew. It also decreases the impact on the environment, often replacing the need to build a road on the slope.

The notable practice we received was for the reduction of road construction by using this newer technology. You can read more about winch-assisted logging and watch our video of a winch assist machine in action here.

How to know if a company is certified for sustainable forestry

Forestry companies share their sustainability certification information on their websites and often in their reports and investor documents.

You can also verify their membership on the website of the certification body, itself. For example, SFI has a database of its member companies at sfidatabase.org, PEFC has a database at pefc.org/find-certified and FSC has a database at search.fsc.org/en/. Each website publicly posts members’ third-party audit reports.

To learn more about Rayonier’s third-party certifications and forestry regulations, click here.

Bees and other pollinators are critical to protecting everyday life, sustaining food sources for humans and wildlife around the world. However, global pollinator populations are declining at a rapid and unprecedented rate due to ecological stressors such as habitat loss, prevalence of disease, extreme weather patterns, increased use of pesticides, and other factors. Because our operations are directly connected to land use, we are mindful of biodiversity and habit impacts. In addition to our responsibilities to care for the land when we close a site, we seek ways to promote stewardship among our Team Members and our communities.

Throughout the year, several Covia locations supported pollinator populations by organizing Team Member and community awareness initiatives, maintaining on-site hives and pollinator-friendly gardens, and engaging with apiaries and local organizations to protect these important at-risk species.

Our Jáltipan, Veracruz, plant established its flagship Community Beekeeping Initiative, focused on:

Preserving the declining bee population;Developing beekeeping skills among neighboring communities to advance employment opportunities; andIncreasing participant incomes, especially among women.

In 2022, the program sponsored the installation of two community apiaries with a total of 50 bee boxes, which are anticipated to produce a total of 2,000 liters of honey in the 2023 harvest season and generate $15,000 in additional income for the beekeepers in the community. Jáltipan Team Members either maintain these hives themselves after attending apiary training or outsource the management of these apiaries to trained members within the community.

For more information on our Jáltipan Community Beekeeping Initiative, please watch the video above.

Our Portage, Wisconsin, plant partners with a local apiary to maintain two bee colonies on the site’s reclaimed land. Additionally, Team Members at our Best Sand Chardon, Ohio, and Tunnel City, Wisconsin, locations maintain beehives in their free time. In Kermit, Texas, Team Members partner with Bee for Life to have swarms appropriately relocated when they pass through our site.

At our Junction City, Georgia; McIntyre, Georgia; and Black Lab Serena, Illinois, sites, Team Members maintain native plants, flowers, wild grasses, and trees that support local pollinator populations. Additionally, our Portage, Wisconsin, site participated in “No Mow May” on two acres of land to help spring pollinators and bug populations grow during the month.

Our Guion, Arkansas, site maintains the Monarch Watch Waystation Certification by providing resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Our Tunnel City, Wisconsin, site has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Statewide Karner Blue Butterfly (KBB) Habitat Conservation Plan to create KBB habitats and help preserve this at-risk species. To date, 111 acres have been put into the Habitat Conservation Plan and planted with lupine seed. Team Members at the site regularly count the number of KBB sightings and report this information annually. Since 2019, confirmed sightings have increased by 35%.

“I am proud to work for a company that takes environmental stewardship seriously and gives us the support we need. When Tunnel City began operations, the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly did not really exist on our property. Through strategic measures, we were able to establish a population here and are delighted to watch as the number of Karners continues to grow year after year. During the peak season, you cannot visit Tunnel City’s front office without being greeted by Karners.” – Riley Layton, Mine Supervisor, Tunnel City, WI.