Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast – Can more focus on human rights be the Qatar World Cup’s legacy?

This week: John Morrison, CEO of the Institute of Human Rights and Business, talks with Ian Welsh about the prospects for a higher profile for human rights and forced labour issues following the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and the COP27 conference in Egypt. They discuss the importance of ensuring a just transition as the world economy decarbonises and some reasons for optimism in 2023, including the increase in consumer-driven business ethics.

Plus: EU's new regulation banning all products linked to deforestation revealed; more corporate biodiversity commitments and actions needed, says CDP; World Benchmarking Alliance’s Nature Benchmark shows looking beyond corporate climate goals is imperative; and, biodegradable packaging startup Notpla wins £1m grant from the Earthshot Prize, in the news digest.

And, Innovation Forum's Emily Heslop introduces the responsible sourcing and ethical trade conference coming up in March 2023 in London, and reveals an exclusive discount for podcast listeners.

Host: Ian Welsh

Climate risk and adaptation: How to prepare farmers for the effects of climate change

In a warming world, farmers remain among the most vulnerable to the increasing environmental hazards brought on by climate change. To mitigate these impacts, business must collaborate with farmers to build their capacity to adapt and adopt climate-smart practices for more resilient livelihoods.

In this webinar, our panel discussed:

• How can business enable income diversification for smallholder farmers?
• What are the leading strategies, tools, and technologies to help farmers transition to climate-smart agriculture?
• What role does regenerative agriculture play in helping to increase climate resilience?

The panel included:

• John Steel, CEO, Cafédirect
• Hardeep Desai, head of farm operations, CottonConnect South Asia

This webinar was moderated by Tanya Richard, head of research and stakeholder engagement at Innovation Forum, and hosted in partnership with CottonConnect.

Monitoring soil health for sustainable and resilient farming

Biome Maker's co-founder and chief scientific officer, Alberto Acedo, talks with Ian Welsh about the company's BeCrop soil health testing technology to drive more sustainable farming. They discuss the benefits of testing soil health, allowing farmers to monitor their production, and the biological and chemical conditions of soil to improve their agricultural management practices.

Why we need to address plastic production before tackling pollution

This week, Christina Dixon, ocean campaign leader at the Environmental Investigation Agency talks with Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson about the prospects for a United Nations global pact on plastic pollution as the first negotiation session commences. They discuss why voluntary measures have not tackled the plastic pollution problem, despite its high public profile.

Plus: more than half major palm oil companies failing to evaluate supplier risk of deforestation, says ZSL; Ahold Delhaize's ambitious decarbonisation initiatives; Vodafone asking consumers to trade in devices to reduce network waste; Rolls-Royce and EasyJet testing green hydrogen-powered aero engine, in the news digest.

And, Innovation Forum's Hanna Halmari shares details about the upcoming sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam in April 2023. Use discount code “podcast” for a €500 discount on conference passes, extended to 6th December for podcast listeners.

Host: Ian Welsh

West Africa’s waste collection challenges

Circularium Africa lead advisor and Global Plastic Action Partnership consultant Clem Ugorji talks with Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson about how to improve the current waste collection infrastructure in west Africa, and communicating with consumers about end-of-life disposal. They discuss the challenges caused by a lack of waste segregation talk about the opportunities that can realise the value from post-use plastic and boost recycling rates in the region.

What does the future of plastics and packaging look like?

During Innovation Forum’s recent future of plastics and packaging event in Amsterdam, some of the expert participants spoke with Ian Welsh, reflecting on conversations from the conference and focusing in particular on how business can build packaging solutions that deliver impact at scale.

Hear from the Consumer Goods Forum’s Ignacio Gavilan, Jodie Roussell from Nestlé, Camiel Steffanie and Sofie Vergucht from Eastman, Trivium Packaging’s Jenny Wassenaar and Christina Dixon from the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Weekly podcast – COP27 outcomes: Why the role of business is more important than ever

This week: Business and climate journalist Mike Scott reflects with Ian Welsh on the recent COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, evaluating the outcomes and commitments made. They discuss the progress on loss and damage, why commitments on phasing out fossil fuel use were weakened and assess the chances of maintaining a 1.5C warming pathway. There is an ever-greater need for climate adaptation for businesses and clearer commitments from governments, they conclude.

Plus: the US Food and Drug Administration approves lab-grown meat production for the first time; Nestlé to roll out home compostable paper-based coffee capsules in France and Switzerland; cocoa supply row continues in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire over farmer income premiums; and, critical feedback from COP27 about the conference processes itself, in the news digest.

And, Innovation Forum's Natasha Bodnar introduces the Future of Food conference coming up in Amsterdam in May 2023.

Take the Innovation Forum survey by clicking here and gain useful insights on sustainability supply chains with exclusive first access. Survey closes 27^th November.  

Leadership for landscapes and forests: integrating actions and stakeholders

Proforest's Africa regional director, Abraham Baffoe, and deputy director for conservation and land use, Mike Senior, talk with Ian Welsh about what effective landscape approaches look like in practice. They identify positive nature, social and climate implications and opportunities for multi-stakeholder collaboration. They discuss what good policies look like to ensure producer voices are heard, create incentives and transparency, and mitigate unintended consequences hindering progress.

Weekly podcast – Why traceability matters: blockchain solutions for sustainable chemistry

This week: Isabella Tonaco, vice-president for strategy execution and marketing, renewable polymers and chemicals at Neste, and Mezbah Sabur, founder of Circularise, talk with Innovation Forum's Toby Webb about the two companies’ partnership to establish digital solutions for a transparent and traceable chemistry value chain. They discuss how blockchain transparency can counter challenges in mass balance monitoring and share what sustainable chemistry at scale might look like.

Plus: insight from Patrick Houdry at Airbus, Eloisa Menguzzo from Dutch pension sector non-profit PGGM and Innovation Forum senior associate Peter Stanbury, speaking with Ian Welsh at Innovation Forum's recent sustainable landscapes and commodities conference in Amsterdam.

And: Lula da Silva's strong commitments to end Amazon deforestation at COP27; apparel brands pledged for low-carbon alternative fibres in initiative from Canopy; corporate net zero targets will require doubling of current pace of change, says Accenture; and, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Changing Markets Foundation report highlights the scale of meat and dairy farming emissions, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

Take Innovation Forum's survey to gain useful insights on sustainability supply chains with exclusive first access to results. Survey available here.

 

How Cargill is working to deliver on its cocoa promises

Rupert Day, farmer livelihoods advisor at Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, talks with Ian Welsh about how the Cargill Cocoa Promise programme is designed to help smallholder farmers become “agripreneurs” that are more resilient to shocks, while building community capacity. They discuss the continuing need to focus on farm incomes, and what good multi-stakeholder initiatives that help drive active collaboration and impact look like.