This week: Emily Kunen from Nestlé, Gotz Martin from Golden Agri-Resources and Róisín Mortimer from Earthworm Foundation debate how business and partner organisations can really help smallholder farmers grow incomes without clearing new land.

Plus: major international brands back extension of the Amazon soy moratorium, brands and climate progress, UN human rights action plans and H+M supports game-changing dyeing process, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and managing director of Mohammadi Group, talks with Ian Welsh about the challenges facing the apparel sector in Bangladesh. She highlights the progress made with the help of international cooperation, since the Rana Plaza disaster, through the building safety accord and the worker safety alliance, with the work being taken on by the Readymade Sustainability Council.

They discuss why sustaining the progress is now the sector’s challenge as it keeps up with the global market’s expectations and trends. New technology and industry 4.0 automation can help maintain a crucial industry that supports 82% of the Bangladeshi economy.

Nathan Shuler, sustainability solutions architect at Schneider Electric Energy & Sustainability Services, and Ian Welsh debate the continued rise in importance of science-based targets for progressive business.

They talk about how companies have had to change approach to switch to targets that are focused on making a proportionate difference to corporate impacts rather than just a PR-based number that looks good.

This week: Franco Costantini, managing director of Control Union UK on how and why certification can help companies rationalise their use of plastics in packaging. And Irache Pardo, finance and treasury director for Spanish hi-tech business CIE Automotive on the impacts of sustainability and industry 4.0 technology on the manufacturing sector.

Plus: more work required to keep warming to 1.5C, Ikea’s “climate positive” programme, hotels and modern slavery risks, and $50m sustainability loan for Prada, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Control Union was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum future for plastics conference.

Conference minipod: Justin Adams, executive director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, talks with Ian Welsh about some of the critical factors in developing a landscape approach, including multistakeholder collaboration, measuring progress, transparency and finding the right incentives for producers.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

Conference minipod: Peter Stanbury-Davis, principal at the Frontier Practice, and Ian Welsh discuss some of the main talking points from a landscapes approach workshop. Main challenges include the complexity of the issues, the lack of local-level capacity, and finding the right way to simply get things started.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

Conference minipod: Laurence Ruffieux, director of operations, sustainability, at Philip Morris International, tells Innovation Forum’s Tom Idle why she thinks smallholder farmers have a long-term future, and the role of big business in ensuring the viability of farm income streams.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

Conference minipod: Stephen Donofrio, director of Forest Trends’ Supply Chain Initiative, talks with Innovation Forum’s Tom Idle about the importance of business methodologies that engage with smallholder farmers and build long-term relationships.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

Conference minipod: Jonathan Horrell, director for sustainability at Mondelez International, explains to Innovation Forum’s Tom Idle how the multistakeholder Cocoa and Forests Initiative aims to reverse deforestation trends in Ghana and Côte D’Ivoire while protecting farmer livelihoods, and the lessons learned that can be implemented in other sectors.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

Conference minipod: Frances Way, chief strategy officer at CDP, explains to Innovation Forum’s Tom Idle the extent she sees sustainability taking centre stage at financial institutions. She picks out green bonds, sustainability-linked loans and blended finance as the innovations to watch.

This one of a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.