Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Goetz Martin, director for sustainability and strategic projects at Golden Agri-Resources, discusses with Ian Welsh why companies are now really taking emission reductions seriously. They talk about  the role of monitoring and carbon pricing in tackling deforestation, what good collaboration looks like, and why working with indigenous communities is essential for impact on tackling deforestation and emissions reduction at scale.

This week: Owen Bethell, environmental impact lead, global public affairs, at Nestlé, talks about the company's decarbonisation strategy, and the need for corporate climate advocacy, working with governments, peer companies and suppliers. He argues that this collaboration is integral to bringing increased sustainability impact and making progress at scale towards Nestlé’s net-zero targets.
 
Plus: land conversion for agriculture remains the greatest driver for deforestation; indigenous communities calling for a new pact preserving 80% of the Amazon forest by 2025; tougher EU deforestation regulation on the cards; and, Patagonia's owner transfers company stock into charitable trust to tackle climate change, in the news digest.
 
Host: Ian Welsh

Britvic’s supply chain director Nigel Paine talks with Ian Welsh about how the £2bn soft drinks business goes about identifying its material impacts, setting targets to reduce them in collaboration with supply chain partners, and how net zero strategy should focus on efficiencies. They discuss how, for example, making bottles lighter can cut thousands of tonnes of plastic in packaging, and the importance of a balanced approach to counter unintended consequences of actions.  

Chiara Vitali, senior consultant at Robertsbridge, discusses with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh some new research into trends in patterns of meat eating and how consumer behaviour is changing in different markets. They talk about the environmental and healthy-eating concerns that encourage consumers to turn to more plant-based diets including meat alternatives, and the public and business policy levers that can drive change.   

This week: Renata Nogueira from Cargill discusses how to work with suppliers in Brazil to prevent land conversion and report degraded ecosystems. And Tiphaine Aries from the Carbon Trust talks about corporate net zero planning and a new route to net zero standard.

Plus: Selfridges builds its resale, repair, rental and refill model; brands still have cotton sourced from Xinjiang in apparel lines; the impacts of Antarctic krill fishing; and, new carbon credit insurance scheme, in the news digest.

And, Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop gives an update on the future of plastics and packaging conference coming up on 11^th and 12^th October.

Host: Ian Welsh   

Assistant professor of environmental policy at ETH Zürich Rachael Garrett and Musim Mas’s director of sustainability Olivier Tichit talk with Ian Welsh about their collaboration engaging smallholder farmer communities to deliver the data and traceability that palm oil buyers require. They discuss the importance of not divesting from higher risk sourcing regions and why there is still work to be done to ensure that due diligence regulation delivers the impacts intended.  

Environment and human rights expert Etelle Higonnet, formerly senior advisor at the National Wildlife Federation, talks with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about how environmental and human rights regulations are changing worldwide, in particular around procurement and importation of commodities and products linked with high-risk production regions. They discuss the pressing need for regulatory harmonisation, and how developing capacity in monitoring and enforcement can help get ahead of potential breaches, resolving them before they escalate.

This week: Goetz Martin, director for sustainability and strategic projects at Golden Agri-Resources, talks about how ambitious brand targets are now driving emissions reductions in palm oil supply chains. Investors and palm oil customers are asking lots of questions about the GHG impact of the commodity, and expect data verification and transparency.  

Plus: new Diageo scheme to incentivise regenerative agriculture from east African smallholder farmers; further Qatar migrant worker abuses alleged as World Cup looms; and, ESG screening banned by state governor for Florida $228bn state pension funds, in the news digest.   

Host: Ian Welsh

Krishna Manda, vice-president for corporate sustainability at Lenzing, the textile sector fibre manufacturer, talks with Ian Welsh about how the business has established a net zero strategy. They discuss the importance of board-level ownership and incentives, how to establish science-based targets, the need to signal to stakeholders that you are serious and the importance of near-term target setting to achieve long-term goals.  

This week: Insight from soft drinks manufacturer Britvic’s supply chain director Nigel Paine into the company’s carbon reduction and net zero strategy, developing better supply chain relationships. He talks about how Britvic’s brands are moving to lightweight recycled plastic bottles, and how to ensure that efficiencies in one area don’t cause greater impacts elsewhere.

And Robertsbridge’s Chiara Vitali discusses some new research into plant-based meat alternatives and interventions that can effectively reduce consumption.

Plus: supplier finance incentive scheme from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Rabobank, new EU ESG benchmark labelling scheme on the cards, the looming fertiliser supply crisis, and new water resource sustainability campaign for big companies and investors from Ceres, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh