Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

The human rights risks embedded in your daily cuppa

Ethical Tea Partnership chief executive Jenny Costelloe talks with Ian Welsh about how environmental and, particularly, labour and trafficking challenges are coming to the top of corporate agenda in the tea sector. They talk about ETP’s 2030 strategy and the systemic change that is necessary, particularly to address power imbalances that impact women and children at plantations, and how “radical transparency” needs to become widespread.

Weekly podcast: Innovative solutions to the ‘crisis of stuff’

This week: Steven Bethell, co-founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, talks about the growth of circular economy models re-using and re-purposing pre-used textiles and apparel, including innovation in fibre-to-fibre recycling. He outlines why “used” is increasingly being accepted as an input to “new” and why the need for designing for multiple re-use is a growing trend.

Plus: draft new European corporate sustainability reporting standards out for consultation; research into the impact of switching diets away from beef; and, the UK’s new nationality and borders act raises human rights and trafficking concerns, in the news digest.    

And Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop gives an update on the in-person US-focused future of food conference coming up on 14^th and 15^th June in Minneapolis.  

Host: Ian Welsh

Has business really shifted from the why to the how on sustainability?

Prof David Grayson, campaigner and former director of the Doughty Centre at Cranfield School of Management, talks with Ian Welsh about some of the changing demands for business around the climate crisis, global inequality and the impacts of globalisation. Grayson also talks about some of the key challenges for companies in making real progress and the opportunities for the investment community shifting approach towards an ESG focus.

David Grayson is co-author of the new Sustainable Business Handbook.

Weekly podcast: Why a zero-tolerance approach to worker recruitment fees is essential

This week: David Pettet, global human rights and sustainable supply chain director at Reckitt, talks about the critical matters that companies must ensure are embedded into their approach to tackling operation and supply chain human rights risks. He discusses how Reckitt identifies the regions and markets where resources should be focused, as part of a holistic cross-business approach to human rights. And, he outlines the importance of worker grievance mechanisms and why recruitment fees are unacceptable.  

Plus Innovation Forum’s Natasha Bodnar gives an update on the climate and business action conference that’s coming up from the 7^th to 9^th June.  

Host: Ian Welsh

LandScale: tackling landscape level challenges in Guatemala

Mario Rafael Rodriguez, senior associate for LandScale at the Rainforest Alliance, and José Luis López, palm oil and biodiversity programme manager at Solidaridad, talk with Ian Welsh about use of the LandScale system in the Ocosito landscape in Guatemala. In particular they discuss how LandScale has helped identify instances of child labour and forced labour, and other human rights violations.

What EU corporate due diligence rules will actually mean for business

Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson talks with Salla Saastamoinen, director for civil and commercial justice, DG Justice and Consumers at the European Commission about how the EU proposed directive on due diligence corporate accountability will be implemented. They discuss what companies should expect, and how they can align climate and social strategies to meet the new regulation’s requirements.    

Weekly podcast: Tea sector’s blend of supply chain challenges

This week: Jenny Costelloe, chief executive of the Ethical Tea Partnership, discusses how the sector is tackling its environmental and social challenges, and why tea has not been subject to the attention other commodities have had. Costelloe explains why the traditional tea plantation model is becoming outdated, with smallholder farmers becoming principal sector suppliers – and all the farm income and labour risks this brings.  

Plus: new regenerative fashion manifesto featuring Stella McCartney, Zalando, Burberry and other big brands; Arla Foods’ food additive pilot to reduce methane emissions from 10,000 cows; and, hydrogen’s greenhouse gas potential 11 times more potent than carbon dioxide, in the news digest.  

And Innovation Forum’s Hanna Halmari talks about the upcoming sustainable apparel and textiles conference on the 26^th to 28^th April. Plus detail of an exclusive podcast listener offer.

Host: Ian Welsh

Does a focus on the facts lead to acceptance of gene editing?

Innovation Forum founder Toby Webb talks with Jon Entine, director of the Genetic Literacy Project, about the rise of the use of gene editing in agriculture, and how fact-based debate has led to a broader acceptance of such techniques. In a wide-ranging discussion they also highlight how the war in Ukraine will significantly impact global food supply and argue the case for GMO grain to help ease the pressures.  

Why there is no such thing as perfect company data

Craig Mills, CEO of Vizzuality, talks with Ian Welsh about how companies are changing the process of engagement with supply chain data. They discuss what best use of corporate sustainability data looks like, and how a move to AI and machine learning has transformed what can be done with it. Mills also outlines how the work of the World Resource Institute and Global Forest Watch has transformed tracking of deforestation, and argues the case for greater free and open data sharing so that innovation and knowledge from tech startups that ultimately fail will not be lost.  

Weekly podcast: The environmental and human rights legal risks business needs to know about

This week: Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s Elizabeth Forster and Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson talk about some of the new areas of legal risk relating to human rights and environmental impacts that companies need to be aware of, and some of the measures that they can take to mitigate them.

Plus: Oxfam and Save the Children highlight the food supply crisis in west Africa; IPCC’s mitigation report highlighting need for net negative carbon strategy; and, Plastic Soup Foundation research into microplastics in cosmetics, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh