Sustainability Forester (Forester)

  Enviva

  Greenwood, South Carolina, United States

Enviva combines earth’s oldest renewable energy source with 21^st century technology to make wood pellets.  By using wood pellets instead of coal, electric utilities can reduce the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions intensity of power generation by 80%.  And wood pellets can provide uninterrupted power at any time, at large scale and at comparatively low cost.  As a result, Enviva delivers a sustainable, cost-efficient and essential complement to wind and solar power.

Founded in 2004, Enviva is today the world’s largest producer of wood pellets – a small and seemingly ordinary product that is helping solve intractable challenges of energy and the environment and delivering real results.

Enviva owns and operates almost three million tons of wood pellet production capacity which we have strategically located in the southeastern United States, one of the most attractive wood fiber regions in the world due to its abundance of commercial, working forests and growing timber inventories. We export our pellets to major utilities and power generators in the United Kingdom, Europe and increasingly Asia that previously were fueled by coal, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint by about 80 percent. We make our pellets using sustainable practices that protect Southern forests. And we employ more than 600 people and support many other businesses in the rural South, where jobs and economic opportunity are sometimes scarce.

We are proud that our procurement activities provide essential markets for low-value wood and help keep forests forested.  At Enviva, our job is more than making pellets. We work for lower emissions, healthy forests and strong communities.

Enviva conducts its activities through two entities: Enviva Partners, LP, a publicly-traded master limited partnership (NYSE: EVA), and Enviva Development Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned private company.

Enviva Partners, LP

Enviva Partners, LP (NYSE: EVA) is a publicly-traded master limited partnership that aggregates a natural resource, wood fiber, and processes it into a transportable form, wood pellets. Enviva Partners sells a significant majority of its wood pellets through long-term, take-or-pay agreements with creditworthy customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. Enviva Partners owns and operates five plants in Northampton County and Ahoskie, North Carolina; Southampton County, Virginia; Amory; and Cottondale, Florida. They have a combined production capacity of approximately 2.3 million metric tons of wood pellets per year.

In addition, Enviva Partners owns a deep-water marine terminal at the Port of Chesapeake, Virginia, which is used to export wood pellets. Enviva Partners also exports pellets through the ports of Mobile, Alabama and Panama City, Florida.

Enviva Development Holdings, LLC

Enviva Development Holdings, LLC develops and builds wood pellet production plants and export terminals. It has a pipeline of projects under development to support growing demand for wood pellets.

Through a joint venture with the Hancock Natural Resource Group and other affiliates of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, Enviva Development Holdings is currently commissioning a 500,000 metric-ton-per-year production plant in Sampson County, North Carolina and a deep-water marine terminal in Wilmington, North Carolina which will bring Enviva’s enterprise production capacity to nearly three million tons per year.

Job Description:

Enviva’s Sustainability Foresters serve an important role by working in collaboration with our Wood Procurement Team to collect and record critical resource and sustainability information used to support the company’s proprietary Track & Trace Program. In the field, the Sustainability Forester is responsible for verifying data attributes important to the forest certifications Enviva uses to demonstrate the sustainability of the wood supply.

Specifically, duties include:

Responsible wood sourcing

Partner with the Wood Procurement Team to support the creation and implementation of initiatives to ensure that wood sourcing is carried out consistent with the value Enviva places on the forest, such as:

• Implementation of Track & Trace data collection system & improvements
• Conduct High Conservation Value (HCV) Tract Assessments
• Perform ongoing and post-harvest audits
• Assist in developing Group certification processes, such as Enviva’s IMG under the American Tree Farm System
• Work with sawmills and other suppliers to enhance their commitment to sustainability
• Work with external partners to support Enviva’s efforts to increase access to certification and contribute to longleaf pine restoration in the region
• Support third-party certification audits to forest certification standards, such as FSC, SBP, PEFC, and SFI

Track & Trace data collection and support

• Conduct Field audits to improve supply chain performance
  • Evaluate the use of best management practices (BMPs) to ensure tracts are properly closed out
  • Partner with the Wood Procurement Team to improve supplier BMP and tract data performance
  • Collect tract level data to support Enviva’s commitment to supply chain transparency
• Review T&T data to ensure accurate input of data related to:
  • Appropriate merchandising of wood,
  • Harvest type,
  • Presence of land use change
  • Stand type, age and other attributes,
  • Regulatory compliance,
  • GPS coordinates.
• Compile, manage and analyze data from audits and other Wood Procurement Team activities and regularly report on trends or progress
• Complement compiled data with GIS data, where possible, to create and maintain a visual representation of the wood supply area
• Work with a diverse team of professionals constantly working to improve the Track & Trace Program and support Enviva’s leadership position in sustainable sourcing

Enviva ATFS Independently Managed Group

 

• Perform landowner outreach activities to encourage reforestation, use of trained loggers, lead efforts to increase certified content in the supply chain, and other activities to ensure sustainability of the forest resources
• Inspect tracts to be added to Enviva’s IMG
• Manage periodic audits of Enviva’s IMG in the region

Job Requirements

• BS in Forest Management or related field.
• Minimum of one (1) year experience related to wood procurement.
• Working knowledge of forest types of US Coastal Plains forests, applicable BMPs and regulations, and harvesting regimes.
• Demonstrated proficiency with field equipment such as GPS units, touch screen technology, and personal protective equipment.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office, ArcGIS or other GIS software, use of databases to manage and analyze data.
• Ability to maintain high levels of professionalism and safety while visiting working forestry operations and/or interfacing with suppliers and landowners.
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision to meet objectives and deadlines.

Preferred qualifications

• Previous forest certification experience related to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and/or Forest Stewardship Council certification programs a plus.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and adapt as needed.
• Demonstrated technical writing skills.
• Current ATFS Tree Farm Inspector or ability to complete the required training within 6 month of hire date.
• Some experience in writing forestry management plans a plus, including:
  • Assist landowners in developing management objectives,
  • Perform field evaluations,
  • Develop stand descriptions and silvicultural prescriptions

Compensation

Compensation will consist of a competitive salary and benefits.

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