Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Palm oil’s implementation versus commitments gap

Imperial College’s Josh Lyons-White discusses with Toby Webb a new study into barriers for palm oil sector companies to implement their zero deforestation commitments. While Lyons-White cautions against over-simplification of palm oil’s hugely challenging supply chains, the barriers can be summarised as relating to cost, complexity and collaboration. He argues that for brands with palm oil in their products, finding the necessary leverage to change the market is a real problem. Even at an EU level, the impact of a ban on palm oil would not be that significant when that market is compared with India.

Mars: using science-based targets to reduce impacts

Ashley Allen, climate and land senior manager, Mars, talks with Toby Webb about the company’s stretching commitments on climate change. To achieve its ‘sustainable in a generation’ plan, Mars has set ambitious targets for its operations and supply chains. This includes analysing the ingredients – and from where they are sourced – in its branded products for greenhouse gas impacts, to find the best ingredients at the lowest impact.

Weekly podcast: shadow companies in palm oil supply chains, and business’s social licence to operate

This week Aid Environment’s Tim Steinweg talks with Toby Webb about the work of Chain Reaction Research and its new report into shadow companies in palm oil supply chains to allegedly conceal deforestation. Should brands be concerned about fresh deforestation risks in their supply chains? And Erb Institute managing director Terry Nelidov and Ian Welsh discuss trends in how companies approach their social licence to operate, and why it is increasingly regarded as essential. Plus depressing deforestation data, new allegations about palm oil giant Wilmar from Greenpeace, Nestlé’s row with the RSPO and Australia’s modern slavery bill revealed, in the news roundup.

Hosted by Ian Welsh.

Cocoa sector’s joined up thinking in west Africa

Speaking in Accra, Ghana, the World Cocoa Foundation’s Ethan Budiansky and Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb discuss progress in the cocoa sector, particularly through the Cocoa and Forests Initiative in west Africa. The WCF works to achieve more sustainability in cocoa production, both in terms of dealing with climate change impacts and deforestation as well as farm productivity and livelihoods. Budiansky explains how the federation promotes climate-smart cocoa – and why now, finally, the sector as a whole seems to be developing more joined-up thinking than it had perhaps in the past.

Supply chain data – why 100% standardisation doesn’t work

Supply Shift’s Jamie Barsimantov talks with Ian Welsh about trends in how companies are engaging on data with their supply chains in the pulp and paper, and food and beverage sectors. Barsimantov argues that while everyone seems to want more information, there has been debate about how this should be presented – should it all be homogenised or entirely bespoke for each company. He identifies a trend that there is a general set of supplier information that companies generally want that can be standardised, but it’s in the detail that each business needs more specific data – as all companies are different.

Weekly podcast: Intel best in new tech sector forced labour benchmark

This week Know the Chain director Kilian Moote takes Ian Welsh through his organisation’s new benchmark research into what the ICT sector is doing to engage on forced labour risks in supply chains. The top 40 companies are benchmarked on their performance, with Intel, Apple, HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprises among the leading performers. Plus tobacco supply chain child labour uncovered, Mumbai bans plastics and UK retail chain Morrisons switches to paper bags in store, and Unilever tops corporate ranking, again, in this week’s news roundup.

Has certification lost its way?

Nusa Urbancic, campaigns director, Changing Markets, debates the challenges for certification schemes and the findings of the NGO’s recent report – False Promise of Certification – with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb. In the report Changing Markets focused on schemes in the textiles, seafood and palm oil sectors and found, Urbancic argues, that some scheme provide too much cover for companies rather than concentrating on pushing for environmental improvements.

Fast fashion’s viscose deforestation impact

Nicole Rycroft, director, Canopy, outlines the links between the apparel sector and forest destruction for the production of viscose fabrics. Over 150m trees a year – including from high conservation value forests – are felled to provide fibres going into garments, a number set to double in the coming years. Rycroft explains how Canopy is working with 150 brand partners to make the significant supply chain changes necessary ease the pressure on forests.

Anglo American: using targets to catalyse action

Jon Samuel, group head of social performance and engagement talks with Ian Welsh about AngloAmerican’s new sustainability strategy, designed to create value for shareholders and the company’s wider stakeholders. The FutureSmart Mining programme is, Samuel says, AngloAmerican’s response to emerging external expectations, inspired in part by the interest in the sustainable development goals. What’s important is to develop meaningful targets that inspire better performance.

Weekly podcast: Novo Nordisk on why the SDGs are a tectonic shift for business

In this week’s podcast, Susanne Stormer, vice-president for sustainability at Novo Nordisk, talks with Ian Welsh about development of the sustainable development goals and how companies can leverage them for better impact. And Toby Webb debates palm oil supply chain complexity and its impact on deforestation with Imperial College’s Joss Lyons-White. Plus Intel tops new IT sector benchmarking from Know the Chain, child labour traceability challenges for cocoa and why incentivising customers to switch to re-usable cups is good business for Pret.

Hosted by Ian Welsh