Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

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

Building trust with smallholders in Indonesia's palm oil sector

Rob Nicholls, general manager for programmes and projects at palm oil business Musim Mas, and Kaixiang Chin, sustainability manager for Asia at Bunge, talk with Ian Welsh about their long-term collaboration to strengthen the capacity of independent smallholders in Indonesia. They explain how farmer training, regenerative practices and local composting projects are helping to build resilience, improve yields and empower women and young farmers.

Can microbes make the food system more sustainable?

This week: Cargill's vice president of global core research and development, Cordell Hardy, talks with Ian Welsh about how fermentation can reshape food production. From zero-calorie sweeteners to plant-based materials and localised protein sources, they discuss how microbes are being used as miniature manufacturing plants.

 

Plus: cocoa shortages drive rise in chocolate alternatives; luxury brands unite to decarbonise Italian supply chains; Denmark plans world’s first circular fish farm; and, SBTi updates corporate net-zero standard draft, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Building a better recycling system: data, design, and policy

Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, talks with Ian Welsh about how data, design, and policy are transforming recycling in the US. From the CIRCLE Act to California’s CalFFlex initiative, they discuss how to scale circular systems, strengthen end markets, and move beyond recycling as the only solution.

 

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Weekly podcast – What fuels fashion’s challenges?

This week: Innovation Forum’s Niamh Campbell talks with Liv Simplicianco, head of policy and research at Fashion Revolution about the findings in the latest What Fuels Fashion? report.

And at this week’s Critical Minerals Innovation Forum, Ian Welsh spoke with co-COO of mining sector group ICMM Aidan Davy.

Plus: Exxon accused of funding climate denial groups in South America; brands call for stronger plastic waste rules; £100bn wind power dividend in UK; and, the cost of cheap food.