Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Monday briefing: Rana Plaza collapse ten years on – progress but challenges remain

In this week's preview of what's coming up, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about the ten-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, and why despite the best efforts of many in the apparel sector, the same challenges persist a decade later. They also discuss the upcoming webinar Innovation Forum is hosting with Nestlé on 27th April, at 3pm CEST, with the focus on regenerative agriculture.

Plus, Innovation Forum's Hanna Halmari looks ahead to this week’s sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam, and gives some last-minute updates and information for attendees.

What a fool-proof apparel net-zero plan looks like

This week: Scott Kelly, senior vice president, Risilience shares guidance with Ian Welsh on how apparel brands can implement effective net-zero plans by 2050. They discuss the importance of measuring carbon emissions first, then creating a concrete plan to reduce emissions with interim targets set along the way.

 

Plus: Greenpeace and other groups take the European commission to court over green investment taxonomy; FAO report says climate change is compounding inequalities for women in agriculture; billions more in funding needed to protect tropical forests, says Energy Transitions Commission; and, CDP launches plastics disclosure platform, in the news digest by Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

What does the route to responsible sourcing and ethical trade look like?

Hear some on-the-spot reflections at the recent responsible sourcing and ethical trade forum in London from Clifford Chance’s Rae Lindsay, Fiona Wheatley from Bakkavor and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre’s Phil Bloomer, talking with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh.

They highlight the importance of mandatory human rights due diligence in supplier engagement through in-depth investigation of tier 3 and 4 suppliers. They also discuss the need to initiate real executive leadership and collaboration to drive progress.

Monday briefing: The ongoing transboundary climate risks and adaptation debate

In this week’s preview of what’s coming up, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about the 6th Nordic Conference on Climate Change Adaptation where stakeholders share key lessons learned from their policy approaches in adaptation across cities and municipalities. They also discuss potential impacts from the Extinction Rebellion four-day peaceful protest at the UK houses of parliament this week. Plus they look forward to Innovation Forum’s webinar discussing ESG and incentives that work coming up on Friday 21^st April to mark Earth Day 2023. Click here to register for this webinar (21^st April, 10 am UK time) or to receive the recording in your inbox after the event.

Plus, Innovation Forum's Emily Heslop shares an update on some of the discussion points on the agenda at the future of food USA conference on 31st May and 1st June in Minneapolis.

Weekly podcast: How recycled yarns are a route to circularity for the apparel sector

This week: Anurag Gupta, managing director of Usha Yarns, talks with Ian Welsh about products the company is developing from pre-consumer recycled cotton combined with PET plastic. They discuss the potential for sustainable fibres becoming mainstream, the importance of increasing the value of waste and developing products that don’t require virgin material use.

Plus: further reflections from the recent responsible sourcing and ethical trade forum from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Ruth Thomas and eBay’s Chris Gale. They highlight the importance of access to finance for rural SMEs can aid development and the need for migrant worker empowerment programmes.

And, the era of clean power potentially imminent says new Global Electricity Review from thinktank Ember; the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market launches core market principles; US senators investigate big brands on migrant child labour; UK's Advertising Standards Authority bans Etihad ads for greenwashing, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

Click here to register for the ESG through the supply chain webinar (21st April 11am CET) and click here to join the regenerative agriculture webinar with Nestlé (27th April 3pm CET).

Is ’verified deforestation-free’ the future for palm oil?

Olivier Tichit, director of sustainability at Musim Mas, talks with Ian Welsh about the potential for “verified deforestation-free” programmes to counter the challenges generated by the impending EU deforestation-linked products ban. They discuss the need to proactively halt deforestation by working at a landscape level and engage in multi-stakeholder collaboration, alongside verification to recognise progress.

Weekly briefing: World Bank renews focus on tackling climate change

In this week’s preview, Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about the World Bank annual spring meetings discussing the global economic outlook with a focus on climate change and sustainable development. They also discuss the urgent need to improve traceability in the cocoa sector with continued issues of deforestation and child labour.

 

Plus, Innovation Forum’s Tanya Richard shares information on an upcoming webinar discussing implementation of regenerative agriculture at scale, hosted in partnership with Nestlé. Click here to join the webinar on 27th April at 2pm BST. 

Weekly podcast – Oxfam goes behind the big agribusiness brands

This week: Matt Hamilton, senior advisor for inclusive value chains at Oxfam America, highlights the key insights from Oxfam's latest behind the brands report benchmarking the activities of the world’s biggest agribusinesses, including on empowering women, land rights, transparency and accountability. He shares its findings and provides recommendations for global agribusiness, downstream companies and investors.

Plus: EY research questions credibility of corporate net zero strategies; EU’s draft energy directive pushes 2030 renewable energy target to 42.5%; Aldi's ambitious target for all LEAF-certified UK fresh produce; and, continuing accusations of “waste colonialism” with the US shipping post-consumer plastic to Mexico, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

For Oxfam's new report, click here.

Why the new UN High Seas treaty matters

Andreas Hansen, senior policy advisor of ocean and conservation finance at The Nature Conservancy, talks with Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson about the new UN framework to protect marine biodiversity in international waters. They discuss the potential business impacts for seafood supply chains and how the treaty recognises the oceans’ role in climate change mitigation.

Monday briefing: Climate change focus at World Health Day, and Canada’s carbon tax hike

In this week’s preview of what’s coming up, Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Bea Stevenson talk about why the World Health Organisation, celebrating its 75^th anniversary this week, is focusing on climate change in this year’s World Health Day, and business implications. They also discuss the potential implications of impending carbon tax increases in Canada and how this reflects carbon pricing trends more generally.

Plus, Innovation Forum’s Natasha Bodnar gives an update on some of the participants and discussion points on the agenda at the future of food conference on 3^rd and 4^th May in Amsterdam