Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast – How business can account for food loss to drive food security

This week: IFC’s senior industry specialist, Ahmad Slaibi and Tom Cumberlege, director at the Carbon Trust talk with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the development of their new food loss tool. They discuss how the tool can drive increased food availability and reduce significant food loss in developing countries, as well as further opportunities to collaborate with industry leaders to improve the tool.

Plus: new president of Mexico at crossroads in delivering the country’s energy transition and economic interests; Google to eliminate plastic from its consumer electronics packaging before their plastic-free 2024 deadline; Edinburgh city council sets to ban fossil fuel companies and advertising of high emission modes of transport; global efforts fall short of meeting 2030 targets for renewable electricity generation, says the International Energy Agency; and, climate change is set to be the central focus of UK labour party’s general election campaign, in the news digest. 

Climate transitions: how Brazilian soy can adapt to meet future demands

Niamh McCarthy, director for climate related risks at Climate Advisors, talks with Ian Welsh about the Brazilian soy sector’s risks from climate transition, including potential decreases in producer prices, and the opportunities that can arise from these risks. They discuss the projected rise in demand of plant-based proteins and share action points for companies within the sector to adapt to new demands to build resilience.

Monday briefing – From field to future: engaging smallholder farmers to deliver sustainable food systems

This week: At the future of food and beverage conference in Amsterdam, Jason Archie-Acheampong, international commercial programmes manager at Producers Direct, spoke with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about value chain actor and next-generation engagement in farming. They discuss the importance of improving farmer incomes and how to implement new technologies on-the-ground with farmers in mind.

 

Plus: Bayer Crop Sciences’ head of biologics Benoit Hartmann and Innovation Forum’s Savanna Razzaque talk about what to expect in the next focus on farmers webinar series. This complimentary webinar will focus on how agri-food stakeholders can efficiently scale, accelerate and unlock innovation. Click here to register.

Weekly podcast — The circular future for plastic and packaging

This week: Christopher Layton, director of circular policy strategy at Eastman, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the development of circular economy models for plastics and packaging. They discussed the potential for regional circularity and the regulatory approach that might help.

Plus: final approval for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive; University of Cambridge study shows brightly coloured plastic products are up to 20% less likely to be recycled; US Farm Bill passed focusing on climate, nutrition and agricultural resilience; the Sun Cable project in Australia becomes the world’s largest renewable energy project; China projected to rely solely on recycled materials for electric vehicles in 15 years, according to the Contemporary Amperex Technology; and, the Science Based Targets initiative updates criteria for climate target-setting in the financial sector, in the news digest.

What will drive the regenerative revolution in transforming agriculture?

Vayda's CEO Mike Shoemaker talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh on the company's focus on designing and executing regenerative management plans to help growers protect yields while reducing input requirements. The buzz surrounding regenerative practices in the agriculture sector is seen as critical for addressing climate change. However, the industry is still in early stages, needing to transition from pilot programs to meaningful scale. They also discuss why we need to shift the mindset away from perceived trade-offs between environmental benefits and farm profitability and how regenerative agriculture will demonstrate its ability to meaningfully impact climate change at scale.

Uniting farmers, ranchers and stakeholders across the agricultural value chain

US Farmers and Ranchers in Action's CEO Kevin Burkum talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about the critical role USFRA plays in uniting stakeholders across the value chain to address major global challenges. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability in agriculture, and addresses the financial pressures on farmers and the need for profitability to ensure the long-term sustainability of farming practices.

How can technology and data help us build more sustainable agricultural supply chains?

On May 21st, IF hosted a free webinar in partnership with Cargill

Food and agriculture industries are facing more pressing and interconnected challenges in their ability to feed the world. Advances in data and technology are one tool to help to transform how farmers grow and produce food through sustainable and regenerative practices. 

Additionally, cross-commodity and cross-supplier sustainability data and insights are enabling better traceability and more sustainable sourcing of commodities in agricultural supply chains; making it easier for brands and customers to understand the journey of their food, from farm to fork.

In this webinar, our panel of experts discussed: 

• How can aligning methodologies and sharing of data and insights across supply chains facilitate greater transparency outcomes?
• How can digitalization enhance sustainable sourcing efforts, and how can we ensure all stakeholders are supported in the digital transition?
• How can digital transformation empower farmers to embrace regenerative agriculture practices that build resilience, increase transparency, and protect the future of our food systems?

Hear from the panellists:

• Joanna Fowler, IT Sustainability Manager, Nestlé
• Allison Kopf, CEO, TRACT
• Matt Wood, Senior Director, Sustainability Digital, Data & Analytics, Cargill

This discussion was moderated by Ian Welsh, publishing director, Innovation Forum.

This webinar was hosted in partnership with Cargill.

Weekly briefing – On the road to sustainable, resilient, regenerative food systems

This week: At the recent future of food and beverage forum in Amsterdam, Ian Welsh spoke with Unilever’s global food sustainability director Dorothy Shaver about how the company prioritises sustainability within its business strategy. They discussed some causes for optimism to deliver resilient food systems.

 

And Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop talks about what to expect at the future of food and beverage USA forum in Minneapolis this week. Click here to view the agenda.

Weekly podcast – How business can benefit from engaging in landscape approaches

This week: Patrick Mallet, director for innovations at ISEAL Alliance, and Rachel Wall, project manager for landscapes and collaboration from Proforest, talk with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about how companies can put into practice landscape approaches to environmental and social challenges. They discuss why investing in landscape initiatives is important and how they can benefit from it.

 

Plus: the International Energy Agency warns of insufficient investment to meet critical minerals demand for renewable energy; one fifth of Shell's shareholders back stronger emissions reduction targets; UK supermarkets Co-op, Tesco and Sainsbury’s among the retailers looking to partner with Fairtrade Foundation on ethical sourcing ; and, Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches the Fashion ReModel initiative to scale up circular fashion business models, in the news digest.

 

For more on ISEAL Alliance's position papers, click here.

Have we become too carbon-focused?

Raviv Turner, founding member of the Nature Tech Collective and member of the nature data working group at the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about current trends in nature-based disclosure and highlights best practices the transition from non-disclosure to disclosure. They discuss key regulation coming up such as the EU deforestation regulation and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. They also talk about how business engagement on biodiversity could develop in future.