The leadership of these countries demonstrates a pathway for large-scale landscape restoration. It is time to get moving and not just talk about it”

Ray Menard, CEO and founder of Minneapolis-based Spades

Menard is known as an international social entrepreneur, impact investor, inventor and innovator. He has worked in the USA, Mexico, Europe, Asia and several African nations.

An innovative Twin Cities entrepreneur is literally working hard to make the world a better place.

Ray Menard of Hastings is CEO and founder of Minneapolis-based Spades, which describes its business as addressing climate change through profitable reforestation and agroforestry projects worldwide.

Spaces and the African Union Development Agency based in South Africa signed a large-scale landscape restoration agreement at the 2023 United Climate Change Conference in United Arab Emirates. Combined, the projects plan to span around 10 million hectares, plant 1.5 billion trees, and generate more than 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over 50 years. Each project has shared ownership and governance with benefits accruing to all stakeholders.

The projects propose to restore natural areas, develop plantations, and restore coastal mangroves. Most importantly, smallholder farmers and communities are prioritized with regenerative agroforestry in rural areas and increased income. These developments follow each nation’s ambitious strategies to improve climate resilience, biodiversity, reforestation, and food security. Economic development is expected to be significant, delivering thousands of jobs in each country.

The projects will align with United Nationals Framework Convention on Climate Change protocols and are designed to help meet Nationally Determined Contributions. These collaborations demonstrate the opportunity for sustainable development structured to serve the communities and nations where they are implemented.

Spades’ distinctive approach spans landscapes, seeking long-term, verified sustainability. Although existing natural areas are to be stabilized, the primary effort is focused on large-scale planting of indigenous species.

“The leadership of these countries demonstrates a pathway for large-scale landscape restoration. It is time to get moving and not just talk about it,” said Menard.

According to Spades, the company is “committed to developing profitable projects to reforest the world. Our vision is to sustain the world by integrating thriving human, environmental, and economic solutions.”

Menard describes his vision on the company website: “Constantly questioning things, I asked, ‘Trees are the most direct and least expensive way to address climate change…So why isn’t anyone planting trees at scale?’ I mean big scale. Tens of billions per year! That is what it is going to take. As I started digging, I found only a handful that planted over one million trees per year. A small team joined me to figure out why. Solving those obstacles became the map for our company. Scale is our innovation, differentiation and competitive advantage. Unlike most startups, there is nothing to invent and no market to create – but we are solving very challenging problems for all tree planting orgs. We are breaking through all the talk to get trees planted at scale, something we all desperately need.”

Menard is known as an international social entrepreneur, impact investor, inventor and innovator. He has worked in the USA, Mexico, Europe, Asia and several African nations.

“A notable accomplishment of Ray’s was leading the logistics and security for all debris hauling at the World Trade Center recovery effort. In a setting of extreme pressure with dozens of agencies and organizations, he led the completion of the effort in less than one quarter the expected time and budget, saving billions,” the company websites states. “Ray frequently reminds the team, ‘Businesses do not succeed because they have a good idea; they succeed because they solve problems.’  He helps stakeholders see challenges as opportunities, then he inspirationally and patiently builds resolve by retelling the company’s mission while stirring them to engage and commit.”