Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

How to achieve supply chain trust

Antoine Heuty, founder and CEO of Ulula, talks with Ian Welsh about what is required to effectively develop transparency for workers in supply chains, how innovation is developing the next generation of solutions, and how to get the right balance between low tech and high tech. 

Weekly podcast: the future of business leadership, and what you need to know about materiality

This week: David Grayson, emeritus professor from Cranfield School of Management, takes Toby Webb through five key attributes of business leaders. And Sancroft chief executive Judy Kuszewski outlines findings from new research into business and materiality. Plus why food companies are becoming the world’s biggest carbon emitters, Burberry’s disposal policy under fire, and the G20’s £272bn of imports with slavery risks, in the news roundup.

Hosted by Ian Welsh.

How positive community impact is good for business

Terry Nelidov, managing director of the Erb Institute for Sustainable Business, describes to Ian Welsh trends he sees in how companies approach their social licence to operate, particularly in the extractive sector. He argues that companies now see this as essential given their businesses will struggle to cope with having facilities that are rendered un-operational because of local disputes – at a potential cost of millions of dollars. They also discuss how the sustainable development goals are driving the agenda for business sustainability.

The risks from hidden companies in palm oil supply chains

Aid Environment’s Tim Steinweg talks to Toby Webb about the new report from Chain Reaction Research that highlights the use of shadow companies in the palm oil sector. Steinweg argues that a number of large players in the palm oil sector work with associated companies, frequently owned by members of the same family. These shadow companies have allegations of deforestation levelled at their palm plantations – hence the big companies are able to be able to service the ‘no deforestation’ markets while subsidiary companies continue to cut down trees.

Why smallholder land tenure is a key supply chain challenge

IDH Indonesia’s Fitrian Ardiansyah speaks to Toby Webb about how companies can best work with smallholders to boost farm livelihoods and counter deforestation. Ardiansyah argues that helping smallholder farmers to gain land ownership certificates is crucial, helping them unlock finance options and access to markets. Getting from pilot projects to real impact at scale is, as ever, a major challenge.

How to capture supplier data more effectively

Laura Houghton, manager, global customer success and marketing for Segura and Simon Nicholls, managing partner, Weir T-S, talk with Ian Welsh about how new technology can enable retailers to have confidence that their suppliers are sourcing from where they say they are, and to help mitigate modern slavery risks in supply chains. They discuss the challenges of interacting with some suppliers, such as smallholder farmers, who may have no access themselves to technology, and how better data processing can help make auditing processes more valuable.

Segura and Weir T-S were sponsors of the recent Innovation Forum conference on business and modern slavery in New York. 

Weekly podcast: how to use natural capital accounting to drive success, and what the finance sector can do for palm oil

This week: Mark Gough from the Natural Capital Coalition explains to Ian Welsh the real benefits for companies to include natural capital calculations in their business planning. At the recent RSPO meeting in Paris Toby Webb met with Elisabeth Hipeau from BNP Paribas, who described how the finance sector can help support sustainable palm oil and combat deforestation. And in New York at Innovation Forum’s conference on business and modern slavery recently Ulula founder Antoine Heuty spoke to Ian Welsh about how companies can identify vulnerable people in their supply chains and engage with them. Plus: new Adidas pledges, California and the UK emissions success, and why respecting indigenous rights will help preserve essential landscapes.

Hosted by Ian Welsh.

Is the ICT sector tackling forced labour risks?

Kilian Moote, project director for Know the Chain, takes Ian Welsh through his organisation’s latest research benchmarking the world’s 40 largest hi-tech companies and what they are doing about the human rights and forced labour risks in their supply chains. Typically, consumer facing brands score well – with Intel, HP and Apple leading the way – and the more anonymous not so well.

Novo Nordisk: how the SDGs are shaping the future of corporate behaviour

Susanne Stormer, vice-president corporate sustainability, Novo Nordisk explains to Ian Welsh why the sustainable development goals seem to have caught the imagination, arguing that they provide the roadmap that business require to establish their corporate purpose. While they are no panacea, the SDGs provide a framework that all actors can use to collaborate to develop effective sustainability. The fact that business was involved in their creation is a key point in their effectiveness.

How to deliver data-driven impact decisions

Richa Bajpai, founder of Goodera, talks with Ian Welsh about the challenges companies face measuring the impact of their sustainability functions and programmes. Bajpai outlines some trends in how businesses are tracking and measuring performance, as well as identifying the right partners on-the-ground for project implementation.

Goodera was a sponsor of Innovation Forum's recent impact and measurement conference in London.