Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

This week: Danai Mangana, LCA consultant and consumer goods sector lead at SimaPro, PRé Sustainability, talks with Ian Welsh about how corporate sustainability reporting has evolved from communications exercise to evidence-based intelligence. They discuss why companies retreating to compliance-only mode risk falling behind.

Plus: a new global symbol to identify reusable packaging; German consumers underestimate national recycling rates; refill packaging now well established in personal care; and, food and beverage plastics dominate global shorelines, in the news digest by Babette Pages.

Listen to the unveiling the first global progress report from the Nestlé Dairy Plan — a holistic approach to dairy transformation that brings together climate action, regenerative agriculture, animal welfare, farmer resilience and innovation across the value chain.

We heard practical solutions are already delivering results at scale: helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, supporting productivity and farmer incomes, strengthening nature on and around farms, and building more secure supplies of high-quality dairy ingredients for the future.

From digital tools and feed innovation to manure management, biodiversity projects and agri-preneurship programmes, this session will spotlight the partnerships and on-the-ground action making a difference across markets.

We explored what’s working today, what we’re learning, and what it takes to build a more sustainable and resilient dairy system for the long term.

We heard from:

• Antonia Wanner, Chief Sustainability Officer, Nestlé
• Katja Seidenschnur, Head of Sustainability Nutrition and Health SBU, Nestlé
• Wilson Bras, Dairy Farmer from Brazil
• Robert Erhard, Group Dairy Lead, Nestlé
• Marlies Overbeeke, Director for Sustainability Strategy and Customer Partnerships, FrieslandCampina
• Damian Oettli, Head of Markets, WWF
• Andrea Porro, Secretary General, World Farmers' Organisation

The session was moderated by Tom Idle, Founder, Narrative Matters.

Liz Hirshfield, executive director at COTTON USA™ and US Cotton Trust Protocol, and Sledge Taylor, a cotton farmer in Mississippi, talk with Ian Welsh about regenerative agriculture in the US cotton sector. They discuss from the practices Sledge has been using since the 1970s to how COTTON USA™ is building traceability and economic incentives to help other farmers make the transition.

Launched in 2022, the Nestlé Income Accelerator is a family centred approach designed to help close the living income gap for cocoa farming families and reduce child labour risks. The program encourages change at household and farm level and rewards practices that contribute to improved livelihoods, environmental stewardship and community resilience.

During this webinar, Nestlé shared the latest results of the program that is accelerating impact at scale, drawing on an independent impact assessment by the KIT Institute, insights from participating households, and feedback from partners implementing the initiative on the ground.

The discussion brought together independent expert, an implementing partner, a cocoa farmer and a community advocate offering an opportunity for open exchange on what is working, what needs improvement, and how lessons learned can inform future approaches across the sector.

 

 

This week: While in New York for this year’s Sustainable Apparel and Textiles USA, Innovation Forum’s Niamh Campbell spoke with Jimmy Summers, vice-president for EHS and sustainability at Elevate Textiles. They talked about net zero ambitions in the apparel sector and why it’s necessary to get away from the race-to-the-bottom approach that has become the norm.

 

Plus: World Cup emissions set to soar; SBTi's updated corporate net-zero standard; how to transform agricultural waste into carbon-negative products, in the news digest with Babette Pagès. 

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Lauren Woodley, head of nutrition and sensory science at Nomad Foods, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about how Europe's largest frozen food company balances consumer demand for health, taste and affordability. They discuss from tackling persistent myths about frozen food to navigating the trade-offs in reformulation and segmenting products by their role in the diet.

Packaging is gaining increasing boardroom attention, driven by extended producer responsibility fees, legal exposure around environmental claims, and rising material costs from recycled content requirements. This webinar explored how these regulatory pressures interact with consumer demand to influence packaging strategy. We looked at how to build a business case that connects sustainable packaging choices to innovation and commercial returns, not just compliance.

We were joined by a panel of experts from across the packaging value chain, to discuss:

• Compliance as a starting point, not a destination — How EPR obligations can be a strategic foundation to generate cost savings, long-term resilience, and new market  opportunities 

• How to link innovation to commercial returns — From the paperisation of packaging to circular systems, how leading brands are translating sustainability investment into cost savings, consumer trust, and competitive differentiation 

• The ingredients for a future-proof packaging strategy — How to anticipate regulatory changes, fees and bans on formats, and shifting consumer expectations before they become business risks

This webinar was curated by Innovation Forum in collaboration with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, knowledge partner for the Sustainable Packaging Innovation Forum 2026 (Chicago, Oct. 27-28).

This week: Tanja Lischka, senior director for government affairs at Siemens Energy, talks with Ian Welsh about the power grid evolution required as electrification continues to be rolled out, and the challenges and opportunities this represents. 

And, Ian also speaks with Ginny Maceda senior manager for mission and stability at Danone about regenerative agriculture and climate strategy. 

Plus: how green roofs can boost resilience; more inclusive climate action in Latin America; climate change’s impact on displacement in Africa; and, a spotlight on soils in the wine sector, in the news digest with Babette Pages Prange.

Daniel Di Benedetto, geo lead for northern Europe at Centric Software, talks with Ian Welsh about how predictive intelligence can help the apparel sector reduce waste and improve margins. They discuss from AI-driven trend forecasting and shorter decision cycles to repurposing surplus materials before they reach landfill.

This week: Oritain’s chief product and technology officer Paul Bentham talks with Ian Welsh about some new apparel supply chain intelligence that highlights visibility gaps, and why risk management best practice is evolving from assurance to an evidence-based approach. 

Plus: EUDR simplification measures explained, evidence that forests do promote well-being and Indonesia’s tighter state control on commodity export, in the news digest with Babette Pagès Prange. 

Host: Ian Welsh 

Click here for the new report from Oritain.