Innovation Forum podcast

How climate change is shaping the future of the Brazilian cattle sector

Niamh McCarthy, director for climate-related risk at Climate Advisers talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about what's coming up for the Brazilian cattle sector and shares some of the conclusions from the latest report from Orbitas, a Climate Advisers initiative. They discuss the opportunities for farmers to increase yield and diversify revenue streams, and the risks to avoid.

 

We'll be discussing findings of the Orbitas research into both the cattle and soy sectors in Brazil at a virtual event on 30th April. See here for the agenda and click here for full registration details.

Monday briefing – Collaboration to discuss the future of the apparel sector

Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Hanna Halmari talk about what’s coming up this week at the sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam. They highlight new features at the conference this year and some of what attendees should expect over the two days.

 

Plus: Marina Ettl, director of funded projects and regenerative agriculture business intelligence at Norway-based fertiliser company Yara International, talks with Savanna Razzaque about what to expect at the upcoming webinar discussing the role of fertilisers in regenerative agriculture. Register for free to join live on 25th April at 2-3pm CEST. 

 

And, Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop shares more information about the future of food and beverage conference returning to Minneapolis this year on 29th-30th May. Register before Friday 26th April for a $200 discount on conference passes.

Weekly podcast – The fabric of regulatory change in the apparel sector

This week: Kaley Roshitsh, editorial director at Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition), talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about incoming regulation that companies in the apparel sector should be looking out for. They discuss the resulting challenges and opportunities, and what the future trends in the apparel sector might be, including from the rise and rise of regenerative agriculture.

 

Plus: Science Based Targets initiative receives backlash on its change of policy on carbon credit offsetting for scope 3 emissions; Earthwatch alleges some Better Cotton certified crop links with land grabbing and illegal land use change in Brazil; and, the Global Wind Energy Council says global wind power capacity is accelerating, but not yet fast enough to meet COP28 goals, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

Cascale is the knowledge collaborator for this year's sustainable apparel and textiles conferences in Amsterdam and New York. Click for more information

Growing awareness of EUDR's implications for palm oil

Joseph D'Cruz, CEO of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, and Olivier Tichit, chief sustainability officer at Musim Mas, talk with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about the European Union's deforestation regulation and its resulting reverberations across the palm oil sector and beyond. They discuss the complexities this black or white regulation will bring, including the potential removal of smallholder farmers from EU supply chains. They explain how they expect EUDR’s  implementation to play out and discuss the future of sustainability regulations.

Weekly briefing – The future of the soy and cattle sectors in Brazil

Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Niamh McCarthy from Climate Advisers introduce an upcoming virtual event where findings from new soy and cattle reports from the Orbitas initiative will be discussed. The event will incorporate perspectives from stakeholders across Brazil's soy and cattle sector. Click here to register to join live on Tuesday 30th April at 3pm CEST. Live Portuguese translation will be available.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum's Catie Ball talks about what to expect at the sustainable apparel and textiles USA conference in New York in June, ahead of its EU counterpart taking place next week. For full registration details for the sustainable apparel and textiles conference in New York, click here. Register by Friday 19th April and save $300.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Weekly podcast – Climate impacts on Brazil’s cattle sector, and combating price pressures for growers

This week: Niamh McCarthy, director for climate-related risk at Climate Advisers, talks with Ian Welsh about the launch of a new report from the Orbitas initiative on the Brazilian cattle sector and the impact of climate transition. They discuss the sector’s risks and opportunities amid climate transitions, and the impacts of the incoming regulatory change. 

 

And, Ian talks with Amanda Archila, executive director at Fairtrade America, and Anna Mann, assistant director of responsible business at the Fairtrade Foundation, about pricing pressures in food value chains. In particular, they discuss how to ensure that they don't always impact growers unfairly.

 

Plus: the European Court of Human Rights calls out the Swiss government for insufficient action on climate change; lack of government support and insufficient funding hinders SME companies to take climate action; and, UK retailer Waitrose partners with Tony's Chocolonely Open Chain initiative for responsibly sourced cocoa, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

To discover further analysis from the Orbitas report, join expert panelists at an Innovation Forum webinar on 30th April at 3pm CET. Click here for full registration details.

It’s all about data: how to get to grips with scope 3 emissions

Saif Hameed, CEO of Altruistiq, and Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh talk about how companies should engage suppliers on their scope 3 emissions and the challenges that inevitably arise. They discuss how companies can avoid some common mistakes in tackling scope 3 emissions and how to work on the granularity of their carbon emissions at a product level.

Monday briefing: Building a more sustainable, resilient and regenerative food system

This week: a preview of what's coming up including an interview with Climate Advisers on their new Orbitas' report on the Brazilian cattle sector, and an initial look at the gap between price and value in supply chains with Fairtrade America and Fairtrade Foundation. Full interviews will be available later this week.

Plus: Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Hannah Oborne talks about what to expect at the Future of Food conference in Amsterdam on 14th-15th May. They share some agenda highlights and what to expect across the two days. Click here for full registration details.

Weekly podcast – Improving farmer livelihoods with regenerative cotton

This week: At the recent responsible sourcing and ethical trade forum in London, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh spoke with some of the expert participants to reflect on the conversations that took place. Hear from Sam Ludlow Taylor from the John Lewis Partnership, Peter McAllister from the Ethical Trading Initiative and Wayne Jordash from Business and Human Rights Compliance.

 

Plus: During his recent trip to India, Innovation Forum's Toby Webb spoke with Alison Ward and Dawa Dorje from CottonConnect about how the cotton sector is tackling its impacts, moving to a more regenerative approach and improving farmer livelihoods. Sign up here for Innovation Forum’s YouTube channel for a documentary on the cotton value chain in India due to be released alongside Innovation Forum’s sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam (23rd-24th April).  

 

And, UN's Global E-waste Monitor highlights the need for more e-waste recycling capacity; majority of EU agriculture ministers back Austria's proposal to water down the EUDR; and, according to InfluenceMap, coal, gas and cement production sectors' carbon footprint has grown since the Paris agreement, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

A deep dive into critical metal and mineral sourcing

Gerard Barron, CEO of deep sea mining exploration business The Metals Company, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about a seabed alternative to traditional metal and mineral extraction methods that has lower environmental and social impacts. They discuss the potential future demand for these materials, which are critical for manufacture of the renewable energy infrastructure necessary for decarbonisation.