This week: Amy Hall, vice-president social consciousness at apparel brand Eileen Fisher, on supply chain impacts and supplier collaboration, and Ashley Allen from Mars, Kati Kaskeala from Kellogg and Dave Stangis from Campbell Soup on agri sector emissions.

Plus soy sector monitoring in the cerrado, zero-emissions dairy, and Primark’s 100% sustainable cotton jeans, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Jessica Verhagen, vice-president business development and strategy at Ecosphere+, talks with Ian Welsh about how developing impact investment projects that value natural capital can help companies deliver on their climate targets.

She explains how forest credits work to offset corporate emissions, and why the real benefit comes from transformative projects that enhance communities – meaning there is long-term gain across landscapes. They also discuss the consumer-engagement benefits from carbon pricing at the point of sale – something recently trialled by ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s.

This week: Inter Ikea’s circular supply chain project leader Eleonora Tieri on how and why the furniture brand is working hard to develop circular models. She outlines what Ikea hopes to achieve from its new pilot business furniture leasing project in Sweden, and how that might be scaled to other product lines and locations.

And another chance to hear from Baroness Lola Young on how companies can move from talk to action to tackle modern slavery.

Plus: ETI calls for business model change to protect worker human rights, WWF accused of facilitating violence, Africa cocoa initiative passes commitment milestone, and climate change continues to impact food production, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Louise Nicholls, head of human rights, food sustainability and food packaging at Marks & Spencer, talks with Ian Welsh about the brand’s trial of plastic-free aisles in London stores, and the challenges in encouraging customers to be comfortable with unpacked produce. Nicholls argues that simply demonising plastic doesn’t solve the problem – and that it’s more a question of switching the balance towards alternatives where they make sense.

They also discuss M&S’s work on developing transparency on modern slavery in its supply chains, how retailers can connect with workers and farmers beyond tier 1, and why this approach is all part of ensuring long-term security of supply.

Investors and shareholders, amongst other key stakeholders, are showing more and more interest in companies’ climate performance. With the clock ticking on individual and global climate targets, food and drinks companies are under ever increasing pressure to take more comprehensive and immediate action.

In this webinar hear from

• Dave Stangis, chief sustainability officer, Campbell Soup Company
• Ashley Allen, climate and land senior manager, Mars
• Kati Kaskeala, corporate communications and sustainability director, Kellogg Company

Hosted by Ian Welsh, publishing director, Innovation Forum

Join Innovation Forum and hundreds of industry experts at the upcoming Future of Food conferences in Chicago on 22^nd-23^rd May and in London on 4^th-5^th June.

This week: BT's head of governance and sustainability Tony Roy and Total's director of global procurement Christophe Sassolas debate how to make modern slavery risks a procurement priority with Toby Webb. And Jessica Verhagen, vice-president for business development at Ecosphere+ talks with Ian Welsh about how offsetting can help companies deliver on their deforestation and climate goals.

Plus the impacts on agriculture from biodiversity loss, WWF and Knorr promote the 50 foods we should be eating, and how consumers can use blockchain to recognise good producer performance, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Sarah Middlemiss, space programme manager at Ecometrica, talks with Ian Welsh about trends in how companies are using satellite and other Earth-monitoring data to counter environmental risks.

They discuss how business can monitor compliance with sourcing codes, develop better supply chain strategy identifying the best regions for the commodities they need, and undertake due diligence and evaluation of their suppliers and the impact of sourcing from a particular area.

Ecometrica was a sponsor of Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable landscapes conference.

This week: Ben Vreeburg, director, sustainability, at Bunge Loders Croklaan discusses how to achieve transparency to plantation level in palm oil supply chains, the challenges in doing so, and what stakeholders want to see. He outlines how the industry is implementing the new Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil rules, and why these now better represent leading industry practices.

Plus: Princes’ innovative food supply chains; smallholder access to new seed technology; Indonesia earns payout from Norway for slowing deforestation rates; pros and cons of plastic deposit return; and, how to pay for circularity in apparel supply chains, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Geoff Mackey, corporate affairs and sustainability director, BASF, speaks with Ian Welsh about the importance for agriculture’s supply chains of efficiency to maximise outputs while minimising inputs, and how the use of GPS, monitoring and drone technology, for example, can help.

Mackey discusses the techniques and technologies that are appropriate for smaller and larger farmers, and what companies need to think about so they target resources in the right way, and reduce waste at the same time.

This week: Jamie Barsimantov from SupplyShift, Stefan Sabo-Walsh and Erin McVeigh from Verisk Maplecroft, and Steven Wuerth from Gilead Sciences on how to use data to proactively identify, quantify and mitigate risks across complex global supply chains. And Canopy’s Nicole Rycroft on why there is deforestation in viscose-based apparel.

Plus: the impact of insect population collapse on food supply chains, when energy demand and growth will decouple, EU palm oil as biofuel rules updated, and disconnect between corporate targets and their pension fund’s risk-exposure, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh