Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast – How can real support for regenerative farmers look like?

This week: Danone’s senior manager of mission and sustainability, Ginny Maceda talks with Ian Welsh about how the company is scaling regenerative agriculture through long-term, direct relationships with dairy farmers. She outlines why trust-based collaboration, flexible incentives, and farmer-led improvement plans are central to achieving both environmental and commercial outcomes.

 

Plus: Carlsberg backs regenerative farming and urges unified metrics; new deals speed up West Balkans move to solar and storage; black friday’s record sales hide a growing waste crisis; and, recycling workforce overlooked despite critical role in supply chains, in the news digest.

 

Host: Diana Kim

 

We'll be continuing the discussion on scope 3 and climate action at the scope 3 innovation forum in Amsterdam on 16-17 June 2026. Join alongside senior representatives from the likes of Arla Foods, The HEINEKEN Company, SBTi, Cisco, Li & Fung, Made2Flow, the European Commission, Holcim, Kraft Heinz and Ørsted. Click here for information on how to get involved.

Why farmer finance is the missing link in resilient food supply chains

Cargill's Leticia Kawanami and Solidaridad's Joel Brounen talk with Ian Welsh about the financial and structural barriers preventing farmers, particularly smallholders, from climate change adaptation and adopting more sustainable practices. They discuss the challenges in corporate commitments in driving meaningful support on the ground, the growing urgency of farmer-centred investment models, and the practical steps companies must take to build resilience across global supply chains.

 

For more information on the Cargill and Solidaridad partnership in Columbia, click here.

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How B2B companies are strengthening trust through transparent communication (webinar audio recording)

As sustainability strategies mature, the pressure is increasing on how companies communicate progress, both within their value chains and to consumers. Many organisations are now asking the same questions: how do we talk credibly about targets, trade-offs and incomplete journeys, without overclaiming or oversimplifying?

In response, Innovation Forum is launching the Sustainable Communication and Engagement Series. Across a set of focused events, we will explore how companies can build more honest, evidence-based narratives around sustainability, and how to engage different audiences. 

This first webinar in the series explores how B2B companies are working with suppliers, partners and customers to strengthen trust through transparent and authentic sustainability communication.

We discuss how businesses are engaging stakeholders around goals, which strategies have worked (and which have not) when communicating across global value chains, and practical steps to keep messaging action-oriented and credible.

Panellists include:

• Nikki Barber, head of corporate communications, ofi
• Hannah Rizo, director of sustainability communications, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
• Enda Buckley, head of sustainability, Carbery Group
• Sara Neame, sustainability communications lead, Givauda

The session was moderated by Tanya Richard, chief operating officer and head of stakeholder engagement & sustainability communications, Innovation Forum

The Sustainable Communication and Engagement Series will continue:

Building credibility in sustainability storytelling: B2C brands and the consumer trust gap

Thursday 22 January 9am EST / 2pm GMT / 3pm CET

As consumers pay closer attention to brands’ sustainability claims, the challenge is no longer solely what companies do, but how they explain it clearly and honestly.

The second webinar in the series will focus on consumer-facing brands and retailers. We will explore how to talk about complex topics such as supply chains, product impact and targets in a way that makes sense to everyday consumers – without overclaiming or greenwashing. 

Discussion will cover what works (and what does not) in campaigns and product communication, approaches to avoiding greenwash and “greenhush” while staying ahead of regulation, and how to measure whether sustainability communication is building trust and influencing behaviour.

Panellists include:

• Sarah Whittaker, head of sustainability communications, Primark
• Ozlem Senturk, senior partner, global sustainable transformation practice, Kantar
• The session will be moderated by Tanya Richard, chief operating officer and head of stakeholder engagement & sustainability communications, Innovation Forum
• with more panellists to be announced

Monday briefing – A farmer’s view on resilience and the realities of climate volatility

This week: As climate volatility intensifies, UK farmer Thomas Gent discusses with Innovation Forum's Hanna Halmari the operational realities of farming during extreme wet and dry seasons and the measurable benefits of soil health. They highlight the untapped potential of farm-level innovation, calls for stronger links between brands and growers, and warns that real progress must scale far beyond today’s isolated pilots.

Plus: Innovation Forum’s Hannah Oborne previews the key forces set to define the 2026 future of food conference, from resilience as a core business strategy to the convergence of personal and planetary health. She explains why farmer engagement remains a non-negotiable priority and how technology and product design are accelerating supply-chain decarbonisation.

Host: Ian Welsh

Join the conversation at the future of food and beverage forum, taking place in Amsterdam on 12-13 May. Click here for information on how to get involved.

Weekly podcast – The benefits of circular fashion: a look at Eileen Fisher’s recycling operations

This week: Carmen Gama, director of circular design at Eileen Fisher, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ellen Atiyah about the operational and financial realities of circular fashion, from sorting and resale to textile-to-textile innovation. They outline why infrastructure gaps remain the biggest barrier and how the brand evaluates the business case for recycling.

 

Plus: US shutdown threatens vital food assistance; UK supermarkets hit by new revelations of forced labour in global tuna supply chain; AI’s soaring energy demand fuels scramble for carbon-removal credits; and, COP30 ends with weak compromise as fossil-fuel roadmap blocked, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

The business case for innovative circular fashion solutions

Barry McGeough, group vice president of innovation and strategy at AmeriCo Group, talks with Innovation Forum's Niamh Campbell and explores how applied innovation, synthetic biology and even energy-sector technology could drive circularity in the apparel sector. They discuss economic pressures, political shifts, and why the industry must look far outside its bubble for the solutions it needs.

Monday briefing – A rancher's view from the front line of regenerative agriculture

This week: Rancher and UK television host, Jay Doan from Blackleg Ranch, talks with Ian Welsh about how Blackleg Ranch has practiced regenerative agriculture mimicking historic bison movements to restore prairie grasslands. They discuss why resilience is the real language that resonates with ranchers, why neighbouring farms resist change even as their soil degrades. They highlight how generational transition, diversification, and a deep respect for the land shape the future of family agriculture in the US.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum's Anamya Anurag introduces the upcoming future of food and beverage forum, taking place in May 2026 in Minneapolis.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

Click here for information on how to get involved in the future of food and beverage forum USA.

Weekly podcast – How regenerative agriculture can cut through

This week: Earthworm Foundation's CEO Bastien Sachet joins Ian Welsh to explore why regenerative agriculture and farmer empowerment remain slow to scale despite years of corporate commitments. They discuss why businesses must rethink supply security through the lens of resilience, why long-term partnerships beat transactional sourcing, and how reinvestment in landscapes can function like reinvesting in a factory.

 

Plus: clean-energy mineral boom strains justice; Tesco pushes unified farm data framework; and, US shutdown threatens vital food assistance, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

What effective EPR could mean for packaging and recycling systems

Amcor’s chief sustainability officer David Clark joins Ian Welsh to unpack the rapid rise of extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes and what well-designed systems can deliver. They discuss how eco-modulated fees can incentivise better packaging, why operational control for industry is critical and how EPR can strengthen recycling economics. They also reflect on the diverse approaches emerging across the US and globally, the design and material implications for brands, and what implementation challenges lie ahead as EPR continues to expand.

 

The 2026 sustainable packaging innovation forum series is now live, taking place in Amsterdam on 10-11 March 2026. Click here for information on how to get involved.

Monday briefing – The reality of digital product passports: what, how, and why?

This week: Tara St James, senior director of sustainability at Canadian apparel brand Moose Knuckles, talked with Ian Welsh at the latest apparel conference in Amsterdam discussing the implementation of digital product passports. They discuss the importance of product traceability technology and the regulations brands are looking out for such as the US' Fashion Act and EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

Host: Ian Welsh