• Reimagining a forest products industry that solves problems for people and planet

    Vermont’s forest products industry generates $2.1B in annual economic output in forestry, logging, processing, construction, woodworking, and wood energy. Source: Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation   NOTE: This story originally appeared in the VSJF Impact Report 2024. Click here to read the entire report. The forest...

  • DeltaClimeVT Business Accelerator: Vermont—a great place to test new technology

    Vermont is a leader in the nation with its aggressive goals, including requiring utility companies to use only clean energy by 2035. But the system isn’t set up to make the energy transition easy. Adopting new technologies is expensive and requires deep analysis while startup...

  • Business Coaching: Supporting Vermont’s small businesses for a wellbeing economy

    The vast majority of businesses (93%) in Vermont have fewer than 20 employees, many of which fall into VSJF’s sectors of food and agriculture, forest products, climate technology, and waste management. Supporting these businesses is crucial—they are the backbone of Vermont’s economy, providing a significant...

  • Working toward the goals of the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021–2030

    Because agricultural activity exists in every county of the state, in both rural communities and our more urban centers, we all have a stake in our ability to produce more of what we eat every day. Vermont needs a prosperous, food secure, and equitable food...

  • JUST RELEASED: VSJF Impact Report 2024

    2024 was a year that reaffirmed the importance of our work and its reach. Our organization was formed to assist small Vermont businesses—the backbone of Vermont’s economy. Our focus has always been on supporting Vermont’s food system, forest-based, and technology businesses, but our impact goes...

  • Mayor and Burlington Electric Department Announce New and Expanded Net Zero Energy Electrification Incentives

    Highlight Enhanced EV, Heat Pump, E-Bike, E-Lawnmower Rebates, including Boosted Incentives for Low-Income Customers Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Burlington Electric Department (BED), joined by community partners Old Spokes Home and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, recently announced new and expanded Net Zero Energy electrification incentives that will...

  • DeltaClimeVT climate economy accelerator seeks entrepreneurs for Energy 2025

    The DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator is seeking innovative start-up and seed stage ventures offering innovative products and services aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience in an effort to help Vermont meet its climate goals. During Energy 2025, entrepreneurs will work directly...

  • New Frameworks Brings Hope to Construction

    Building houses, community, and solutions to extreme weather events one straw bale at a time.   When Ace McArleton started New Frameworks in 2006, his idea was to offer natural alternatives to traditional building materials that were healthier for humans and the planet. Using materials such as...

  • A Father-Son Furniture Making Business Navigates Growth, Transition

    Rockledge Farm plans for sustainable growth that is integrated with nature.   When Scott Duffy purchased his grandparent’s hilltop farm in Wethersfield, Vermont in 1987, his wife looked around the empty farmhouse and suggested that he “get busy building a dining room table” so the young family...

  • Abruzzini Riggs and Linge appointed to Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Board

    The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces the appointment of Diane Abruzzini Riggs of Underhill and Ken Linge of South Burlington to its Board of Directors. The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) is a nonprofit organization nurtures the economic prosperity, ecological health, and social connectivity...

  • Sawyer Made Balances Growth with Tradition

    Pushing the creative boundaries of the Windsor chair, George Sawyer is bringing traditional techniques to modern chairmaking.   Growing up, George Sawyer would often join his father, Dave, in the small woodshop at the family’s farmhouse in Woodbury, Vermont. Most days, his dad was alone in the...

  • At Trenchers Farmhouse, Fresh Pasta Begins with Happy Chickens

    Jenny and Giacomo Vascotto bring Italian “cucina povera” to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.   “The problem with pasta,” said Giacomo Vascotto, “is that there are so many brands out there, but how many can you name that are exceptional? Probably none.” The founders of Trenchers Farmhouse in Lyndonville, VT,...