Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Florent Bouguin, chief technology officer at OPTEL Group, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the strategic role of traceability in global, complex supply chains. They discuss how companies can use traceability to ensure regulatory compliance, build trust with consumers and investors, optimize operations, and enhance both top- and bottom-line performance. Florent also explores best practices, from digital automation and geolocation verification to supplier engagement, showing how traceability can transform compliance requirements into resilient, data-driven, and transparent supply chains.

 

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This week: David Clark, chief sustainability officer at packaging manufacturer Amcor, joins Ian Welsh to discuss the rise of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and how well-designed EPR systems can drive better packaging, fund recycling infrastructure, and accelerate the transition to circularity across global markets.

Plus: New Zealand scales back its methane reduction targets; Silicon Valley startup Lilac Solutions launches a $250m lithium extraction project in Utah; Spain delays its textile EPR scheme amid industry backlash; and Nestlé exits the Dairy Methane Action Alliance, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

Host: Ian Welsh

Stay up-to-date on our podcasts by following us on PodBean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

 

Click here to watch the webinar recording with Nestlé 

Join us in Chicago on October 28–29 for the Sustainable Packaging US conference

This week: Once dismissed as greenwashing, carbon markets are now being reframed as a vital part of corporate decarbonization strategies. David Antonioli, former CEO of Verra, explains how integrity standards, market transparency, and long-term thinking could help rebuild trust and ensure carbon credits drive real climate impact.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum's Hannah Oborne explains how companies are shifting from offsets to real value chain reductions, building trust through data standardisation, and investing in collaboration to turn ambition into measurable progress.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

We'll be continuing the conversation at the scope 3 innovation forum (Washington DC, 3-4 December 2025). Listen to the full episode to reveal an exclusive discount. Click here for information on how to get involved.

This week: Rob Nicholls, general manager for programmes and projects at palm oil business Musim Mas, and Kaixiang Chin, sustainability manager for Asia at Bunge, talk with Ian Welsh about their joint "train-the-trainer" model that strengthens local capacity and builds long-term resilience for independent smallholders. 

 

Plus: EAT-Lancet warns food systems breaching limits; Net-Zero Banking Alliance disbands; UN plastics treaty chair resigns; and, TerraCycle urges UK action on reusable packaging, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Kristine Kim, senior director of impact and responsible sourcing at Dôen, talks with Innovation Forum’s Niamh Campbell about how the brand builds long-term, trust-based partnerships with suppliers – rooted in accountability, transparency and mutual respect. They discuss how responsible purchasing practices and community investment drive resilience and business value beyond compliance.

 

We’ll be launching our 2026 apparel conference series shortly. Click below to register your interest:

• Amsterdam (29-30 April 2026)
• New York City (3-4 June 2026)

This week: Mark Gutierrez and Alex Udermann from the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition talk with Ian Welsh about how farmers are leading a quiet revolution beneath their feet – restoring degraded soils, cutting fertiliser use, and helping others avoid costly mistakes. 

 

Plus: from EUDR uncertainty and climate resilience to regenerative agroforestry and AI-enabled traceability, Innovation Forum’s Anamya Anurag shares how companies are moving beyond compliance toward real system change. She discusses how tools such as blockchain, remote sensing, and payments for ecosystem services are driving more transparent and resilient supply chains.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

We’ll be in Amsterdam later this month for the Sustainable Commodities and Landscapes Forum to continue the conversation. Listen to the episode for an exclusive discount. Click here for information on how to get involved.

This week: Keefe Harrison, chief executive of the Recycling Partnership, talks with Ian Welsh about how US recycling can scale through data, design, and new policies such as the Circle Act and EPR laws. They also discuss why fixing the system requires $17bn in investment and how CalFlex is reshaping flexible packaging recycling in California.

 

Plus: SBTi launches training to boost green skills; climate change displaces Bangladesh garment workers; Nespresso to launch regenerative certified coffee; and, why the Paris Agreement goals are slipping away, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

To continue the conversation on sustainable packaging, we will be in Chicago on 28-29 October for the upcoming sustainable packaging innovation forum. Click here for information on how to get involved.

Fernando Bellese, senior director for beef and leather supply chains at WWF, talks with Ian Welsh about how a new deforestation free leather fund aims to scale transparency, improve pasture management and help reintegrate farmers into more tightly-regulated markets. They set out how these steps can safeguard farmer livelihoods in the transition to sustainable leather and prepare companies for tightening global deforestation regulations.

This week: Sajeev Mohankumar, senior technical specialist at FAIRR Initiative, talks with Ian Welsh about the role of value chain actors in de-risking the transition towards regenerative agriculture. They explore how cost-sharing agreements and off-take contracts can help align environmental goals with economic realities.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum’s Niamh Campbell unpacks the latest findings from Textile Exchange’s annual Materials Market Report. She highlights the drivers behind polyester growth and the emerging role of recycled fibres and regenerative practices.

 

And, another delay proposed for the EU deforestation regulation; Collective Fashion Justice highlights fashion’s methane footprint; and, report finds greenwashing fears undermine corporate sustainability, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

Join the complimentary webinar ‘Food, fashion, and farmers: finding common ground on regenerative agriculture’ on Wednesday 15^thOctober at 4pm CEST / 10am EDT. Hear from Canada Goose, McDonalds, Bowles Farming Company and the Almond Board of California. Click here to join.

Etelle Higonnet, founder of Coffee Watch, talks with Ian Welsh about the big sustainability challenges in coffee, from deforestation and water stress to poverty incomes and labour rights. They highlight solutions such as agroforestry, better farmer livelihoods and stronger governance to help shift coffee from being a cause of environmental and social harm to a force for regeneration.