What UN Sustainable Development Goals Is Gevo North Dakota Certified Under?
Gevo North Dakota is certified under UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action, as part of its Puro.earth certification, but the project’s contribution to the UN SDGs doesn’t stop with lowering emissions in the atmosphere.
What Other UN Sustainable Development Goals Is Gevo North Dakota Contributing To?
As a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project rooted in Richardton, North Dakota, it also delivers measurable progress on goals tied to quality jobs, local agriculture, responsible supply chains and low-carbon innovation, contributing to SDGs 2, 6, 8, 9, 12 and 15. From a 98% local, family-farm biomass supply chain in a stable ecosystem to one of the lowest corn ethanol carbon intensity scores in the U.S., beyond-carbon impact is built into the foundation of our facility. For carbon credit buyers evaluating CDR quality, these non-carbon benefits are more than a nice-to-have. They reduce project risk and signal a project built to last.
Local economic development and quality jobs (SDG 8)
The facility is located in Richardton, North Dakota, and 100% of employees live within a 100-mile radius, helping ensure wages and related economic value remain in the local community. As of December 2025, the facility employed 46 people, and the average hourly wage was approximately 33% higher than the Stark County average wage equivalent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics county wage data for Q4 2024.
In addition to wages, we provide comprehensive employer-paid health and disability coverage and retirement benefits, strengthening household financial resilience and access to essential services. We also invest in workforce development and operational risk reduction through ongoing training, including ethics/compliance training and substantial safety programming (e.g., annual HAZWOPER refreshers and other recurring safety trainings), which supports safe operations and reduces the likelihood of incidents that could negatively impact workers, neighbors and the environment.
Local procurement and strengthening the agricultural economy (SDG 2 and SDG 8)
The project supports a predominantly local and family-farm-based supply chain: 98% of biomass suppliers are farmers located within ~75 miles of the facility, and in 2025 we paid $86.43 million for grain purchases to over 400 local farmers in the Stark County and eastern Montana supply shed. This local demand can improve market access and farmer revenue by reducing transport burden and helping sustain farm viability.
Additionally, ethanol production generates valuable co-products that return to the food/feed supply chain: each pound of ethanol produced yields roughly one pound of food/feed products (e.g., DDGS used in livestock and pet food), supporting resource efficiency and reducing waste.
Environmental stewardship and sustainable supply chain practices (SDG 6, SDG 12, SDG 15)
To mitigate potential environmental externalities associated with feedstock production (e.g., land conversion, runoff and watershed impacts), we have established and are implementing sustainability practices across our supply shed.
The facility is surrounded by longstanding agricultural land, where environmental stewardship is key to how many farmers operate. We assessed the feedstock supply chain for land use change when purchasing the facility and found the land had been in agricultural use for over 20 years. Additionally, certification through Puro.earth continues to require that there be no direct land use change in our supply shed.
Data substantiates our findings. Third-party analysis by EcoEngineers using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) indicates stable “Open Water” coverage in the 185,560 km² draw area (from 2.10% in 2002 to 2.20% in 2024) and slight increases in forest and wetland coverage since 2002. These findings signal that the broader landscape context has not experienced adverse ecosystem conversion trends over the measurement period as a result of our operations or otherwise.
We are advancing measurement and traceability to track supply chain practices and sustainable improvements. Partnerships and tools (including Verity/CIBO for upstream traceability and Cula for biomass and carbon traceability and sustainable biomass sourcing compliance) are being implemented to establish farm-level baselines by Q4 2026 and enable tracking of any practice adoption and impacts thereafter. We also plan to baseline fertilizer-related data in 2026 and, over time, support farmer adoption of practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops and improved fertilizer management that can reduce runoff, improve soil health and build drought/flood resilience.
Innovation and low-carbon infrastructure that supports responsible markets (SDG 9)
Gevo North Dakota was the second corn ethanol facility in the U.S. to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and the first to issue CDRs. The facility’s innovation focus has helped it achieve one of the lowest corn ethanol carbon intensity scores in the U.S. based on public program data (CARB and Oregon Clean Fuels Program). This positions the project to help customers meet increasingly stringent fuel standards while reducing policy, market and reputational risks that can arise if projects fail to demonstrate credible environmental performance beyond headline carbon claims. We are also pursuing partnerships with other ethanol producers to support broader sector decarbonization using our low-carbon playbook.
How these benefits mitigate negative externalities and reduce risk
Collectively, local hiring and high-quality jobs, strong safety training and substantial local procurement help anchor community support and reduce social license risk. The project’s land-use-change safeguards, watershed and fertilizer baselining and planned farm-level traceability strengthen environmental integrity by proactively managing potential indirect impacts of biomass supply (e.g., land conversion and nutrient runoff). Finally, demonstrated low-carbon performance and continued innovation reduce regulatory and commercial risk by aligning the project with evolving sustainability expectations and market standards for low-carbon fuels and carbon removal.
It’s more than a UN goal
Gevo North Dakota is not just a carbon project; it is a member of the Richardton, North Dakota community and the global community. We value our neighbors, our landscapes and the future of this planet because we are part of it. The UN SDGs simply give us the lens to communicate those benefits.