Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Sustainable plastics and packaging: innovations and challenges ahead

During Innovation Forum's recent future of plastics and packaging conference in Amsterdam, some of the participants spoke with Ian Welsh, reflecting on the conversations from the two days. These conversations focused in particular on the latest packaging trends and how the sector is shifting towards tougher and mandatory compliance standards, and the role of recycle and reuse schemes.

Hear from Jodie Roussel from Nestlé, UNEP's Llorenç Milà i Canals, Daniel Katz from The Overbrook Foundation and Rainforest Alliance, WRAP's Sebastian Munden, Steve Hardman from the Plastic Collective, and Innovation Forum's Catie Ball and Tanya Richard.

Monday briefing: how far are we from meeting the Paris Agreement goals?

In this week's briefing, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about the launch of this year's UNEP Production Gap report, which tracks the gap between governments' planned fossil fuel production and the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5C. They also discuss the international day for preventing the exploitation of the environment in war and armed conflict on 6th November, which sheds light on the environmental linkages and consequences of conflict. 

Plus, Innovation Forum's Emily Heslop shares some agenda updates and what to expect at the future of climate action conference in Washington DC this week. Registrations are still open to join us there.

Weekly podcast – Landscape collaboration to drive progress towards sustainable land use

This week: Jack Hurd, executive director of Tropical Forest Alliance, and Emily Kunen, senior director, positive agriculture capabilities and forest risk at PepsiCo, talk with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about how companies can act to develop a more sustainable approach to land use at scale. They discuss research conclusions and key takeaways from the Tropical Forest Alliance's latest report on corporate action at scale on sustainable land use.

 

And: insight from CEO of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Joseph D’Cruz, speaking at Innovation Forum’s sustainable landscapes and commodities conference in Amsterdam.  

 

Plus: financial giants call for businesses to set Science Based Targets; over 50% of consumers willing to shift diets for a better world; and, shortfall in climate adaptation funding previously underestimated, in the news digest by Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

To read the Tropical Forest Alliance’s latest report, click here.

Re-evaluating the cost of food

Bex Hall, head of consulting at Sedex, talks to Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about how decreasing food prices, coupled with increasing input costs, can create a squeeze that puts supply chain workers at risk. They discuss how food costs could be spread more equitably across value chains, and the opportunities that could arise from this. 

From nature risk to resilience: rethinking corporate sustainability

This week: Deloitte's senior manager for sustainability, climate and equity, Nabarun Sengupta talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about the role of the new Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) Framework, and how companies are approaching nature-related risks and disclosures. They discuss some reasons to be hopeful about positive momentum on nature-based approaches.

 

Plus: EU adopts Net-Zero Industry Act draft report; major companies call for fossil-fuel phase-out at COP28; and, decline in fossil fuel use imminent, according to the International Energy Agency, in the news digest by Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson.

 

Host: Bea Stevenson

Human rights in the forest: How REDD+ projects strengthen human rights in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities

Successful REDD+ projects that protect forests and preserve biodiversity must work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to safeguard and enhance their rights. Improving livelihoods by providing basic needs and alternative income opportunities is critical to forest conservation that is equitable.

 

Projects require close and extensive community consultation and strong engagement in governance, built on the foundations of full free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

 

This Innovation Forum webinar, supported by Everland features case studies of REDD+ projects in Kenya, Cambodia, Colombia and Peru, providing examples from each about how, when done well, REDD+ projects can generate remarkable breakthroughs for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Participants discuss how financing from the sale of certified carbon emission reduction credits has helped to empower these partnerships with local communities that safeguard and strengthen human rights.

 

The case studies illustrate:

• How REDD+ projects are built upon community-led governance structures.
• The ways in which projects provide opportunities for communities to secure their land titles.
• The comprehensive conservation agreements that enhance partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and local communities that protect livelihoods and forest ecosystems.

 

We heard from panellists from Everland and Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Kasigau Corridor, Alto Mayo, Chyulu Hills and Acapa-Bajo Mira y Frontera REDD+ Projects. To learn more about these projects, click here.

 

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

How climate change is impacting women farmers

In part two of our farmer voice series, Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson speaks with Deborah Osei-Mensah from the Asunafo Cocoa Cooperative in Ghana. They talk about how farmer like Deborah are experiencing extreme and unpredictable weather patterns on the ground, and in particular how this can disproportionately impact women farmers.

Delivering long-term farm resilience through agroforestry

In the first part of our farmer voice series, Wakinya Samuel, a smallholder coffee farmer from Bushika Integrated Area Cooperative Enterprise (BIACE) in Uganda, speaks with Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson about some of the challenges he faces as a result of climate change, including pests and diseases, and lower yields. He also explains how farmers are using innovative practices such as agroforestry to increase crop resilience.

 

 

Monday briefing: a reality check on Paris progress

In this week's briefing, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about the upcoming European Climate Stocktake on EU and global progress on meeting the Paris Agreement, in the leadup to the Global Stocktake. They discuss the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators' 14th meeting, held in Denmark, which will include discussions around SDG reports, data partnership and capacity development for the SDGs.

 

Plus, Innovation Forum's Hanna Halmari shares agenda updates and what to expect at the sustainable commodities and landscapes forum next week. Registrations are still open to join us.

Weekly podcast – A coffee conundrum: the impact of EUDR

This week: IDH's regional director for Asia landscapes, Chi Tran, and senior programme manager for coffee, Tessa Meulensteen, talk with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about the potential impact of the EU's deforestation regulation on the coffee sector and the unintended consequences that may arise.

Plus: UBS and Santander’s “green" bonds linked to Brazilian deforestation; Musim Mas to stop sourcing from smallholders for its EU supply chain in response to EUDR; and, European businesses excluding Scope 3 emissions from net zero planning, in the news digest by Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson.

 

Host: Ian Welsh