The Maine Development Foundation recognized Biobased Maine executive director Charlotte Mace for being on the forefront of establishing a thriving, innovative and diverse biobased industry in Maine that will provide good jobs in vibrant Maine communities.

The Maine Development Foundation (MDF) awarded Biobased Maine executive director Charlotte Mace the 2018 Champion for Economic Development for Innovation Award at its 40th anniversary celebration on October 25, recognizing Charlotte’s work and leadership at Biobased Maine to bring the emerging global bioeconomy to Maine.

At the awards ceremony, MDF praised Biobased Maine’s achievements in advancing a diverse biobased manufacturing industry in Maine that will leverage the state’s unique assets—its vast renewable forest resource, thriving forest industry, innovative research at the University of Maine, and trained workforce—and bring high-paying jobs to its rural communities.

“I’m honored to join the ranks of the Maine Development Foundation’s impressive awardees, and humbled to be recognized by an organization that has done so much for Maine communities and businesses over the past 40 years.”—Charlotte Mace, Biobased Maine executive director

“Maine’s emerging bioeconomy is the next generation of our economy, but what’s even more exciting for me is what high-paying manufacturing jobs can do for rural Maine,” Charlotte said in her remarks at the award ceremony.

“Whether these are jobs added to an existing mill, or new jobs at a brand-new facility, Maine families need these jobs,” Charlotte continued. “Beyond the environmental and business case for biobased manufacturing, there’s the fact that it will also ensure that the people of Maine have good jobs to support healthy families and thriving communities.”

In a statement, Charlotte added:

“I’m honored to join the ranks of the Maine Development Foundation’s impressive awardees, and humbled to be recognized by an organization that has done so much for Maine communities and businesses over the past 40 years. I have also been honored to participate in MDF’s Forest Opportunity Roadmap Maine program, which has been a unique and collaborative effort to prepare our forest industry for the future.

This recognition of Biobased Maine’s work to advance Maine’s bioeconomy comes as the forest industry has seen recent major investments—including ND Paper’s investments in the Rumford mill and its plan to reopen the Old Town mill; the FOR/Maine vision for forest industry investment that Biobased Maine helped develop; and Sappi North America’s expansion of its paper mill technology as part of a $200 million capital investment. These exciting developments demonstrate that the second golden age for Maine’s forests has begun.

At Biobased Maine, we continue to work with industry, government, the University of Maine, and local communities to ensure this second golden age brings high-paying jobs to rural Maine. We work to create new value streams through commercial-scale technologies that convert sustainably-harvested forest residuals into high-value, climate-friendly products the world is strongly demanding. These new technologies can co-exist with existing mills to help ensure sustainability for them, their communities, and our forest industry.”

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