Sustainability Task Force
April 16, 2008
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for your overwhelming response to this call to action. We were thrilled to receive so many applications and recommendations from across the industry, up and down the supply chain. This positive response is a testament both to how much we as an industry care about sustainability and to the urgency of this issue. The phenomenal qualifications of the applicants made this a difficult selection process, and reinforced that the capacity to address these issues goes far deeper than can be represented on a 9-member task force. We will need everyone who has volunteered to contribute to this effort to stay involved and play an on-going, active role in this initiative. With a broad coalition of industry members, we can accomplish more, faster, and with more lasting results.
I am thrilled to announce this year's task force members:
Rachel Burton, Piedmont Biofuels
Victoria Carver, Iowa Soybean Association
Dennis Fisher, ADM
Emily Landsburg, Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel
Tim Maneely, U.S. Biodiesel Group
Kumar Plocher, Yokayo Biofuels
Doug Smith, Baker Commodities
Jeff Trucksess, Green Earth Fuels
Darryl Brinkmann, American Soybean Association
Brian Young,
Imperium Renewables Inc.
I encourage you to click on the members' names to read about their background in biodiesel and involvement with environmental issues. I think you will find we have assembled a team that represents the diverse interests of our industry, and who have demonstrated outstanding technical expertise, leadership, and a commitment to developing meaningful solutions to sustainability issues. I look forward to working with the new members of the task force and the many dedicated industry members on this important initiative.
Emily Landsburg
Sustainability Task Force Chairman |
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April 9, 2008
The past couple weeks have been busy ones. We selected the taskforce members from an extremely competitive pool of qualified and motivated colleagues. No sooner did we have our first meeting than unforeseen circumstances forced Doug Hanson, farmer from South Dakota, to step off the task force. He explained that a petroleum refinery being built to process tar sands from Canada may develop some of the land he’s been renting and farming, endangering his livelihood. So he stepped off the biodiesel sustainability task force in order to focus on preserving his farming lifestyle, but not before we could all comment on the poignant irony.
Seeking another farmer representative, we gladly welcomed Darryl Brinkmann to the task force, also a farmer and no stranger to industry leadership. And while we were making changes, Ed Hegland and I determined that a 10th task force seat would be an asset given the group’s workload. We invited Brian Young onboard, a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil from Imperium Renewables. The confluence of the change in composition and the early stage of the initiative made it an opportune time to make this addition.
As you can see from the minutes (posted on this website), the task force has been holding weekly conference calls and working via email between calls. It’s a challenging time – so, so much to do. How can you triage when everything is urgent? With limited resources, it’s difficult to balance the need to react to real-time issues with the need to develop a strong foundation in order to be pro-active in the future. While recent studies and media articles require swift and pointed attention, the most meaningful work the task force can do right now is to focus on developing the big-picture, comprehensive framework and resources that will serve us over the long-term.
Our most immediate priorities are to develop a common vision as a task force (which includes a definition of sustainability, a mission, and a very preliminary working draft of objectives), and to enable a broader audience to participate in this process. Once we’re able to accept and organize more feedback we’ll work together to solidify a formal work plan for the task force. We’re currently developing parameters for the Advisory Committee and evaluating different technologies that will provide a forum for the Task Force, Advisory Committee, and public to engage. In addition to the meeting minutes, I will continue to post periodic updates on our progress on this site. As always, you can contact me individually or the task force as a whole through the sustainability@biodiesel.org email address. We look forward to hearing from you.
Emily
Emily Bockian Landsburg
Chairman, Sustainability Task Force |
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March 6, 2008
The solicitation for applications to the Sustainability Task Force has closed. NBB received 53 nominees for the 8 positions available on the task force. NBB Governing Board Chair and Sustainability Task Force Chair will spend the next week reviewing the 210 pages of applications and recommendations to carefully select candidates that represent NBB's diverse membership and will bring specific expertise to the Task Force. Selections will be announced on this web site Wednesday, March 12. We would like to thank the 10,200 individuals who received our solicitation for nominations via e-mail, the 1,358 visitors to the Sustainability Task Force website, and the 195 individuals who submitted e-mails to sustainability@biodiesel.org.
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February 27, 2008
The deadline for applications and recommendations for the Sustainability Task Force has been extended through Wednesday, March 5. E-mails announcing these opportunities were sent to over 10,000 individuals and there have been a steady flow of responses. Many respondents have requested a few more days to adequately prepare their applications. In the interest of ensuring that task force members represent the diversity of the biodiesel industry, the application deadline is being extended one week. Final candidate selection will be announced on this web site on March 12.
Please submit your application or recommendation to sustainability@biodiesel.org . Applications should consist of:
- 1 page resume
- Description of experience with biodiesel industry, sustainability; what segment of industry would you be representing, and how can you demonstrate their support? (max 150 words)
- Explanation of why you want to be on the Task Force and description of a time you have developed creative solutions to challenging issues or brought together diverse stakeholders. (max 300 words)
- Your vision for the Task Force: mission, key objectives (max 100 words)
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February 20, 2008 Announcement
At the National Biodiesel Conference in Orlando the National Biodiesel Board announced the formation of a Sustainability Task Force. NBB Governing Board Chairman Ed Hegland appointed Emily Bockian Landsburg of Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel to chair the 9-member task force. Emily has been active in environmental issues as a volunteer organizer of the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit; Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel has developed patent-pending technology to make high quality biodiesel from trap grease, a true waste material.
Ed Hegland will appoint the remaining eight seats on the Task Force. To aid in identifying candidates that represent all segments of the biodiesel industry, applications and recommendations will be accepted through Tuesday, February 26th.
Please click here for an open letter from Emily and more information on the application and selection process. We look forward to hearing from you; everyone is eager and excited to seat the Task Force and begin work to ensure the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of this industry.
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