Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

This week: Rob Cameron, global head of public affairs and ESG engagement at Nestlé, talks about why companies need to continue to focus on carbon, take immediate action at scale, and the potential benefits from regenerative agriculture. He also argues that there will be no transition to a low carbon economy unless it is a “just transition”, and puts the case for always following the science in corporate action on climate change.  

Plus: Carlsberg’s new fibre bottle pilot; US Xinjiang product ban’s impact on cotton supply chains; UK pension scheme transparency on 1.5C targets; and, EU to crack down on greenwashing, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

Innovation Connections from Tesco and WWF is a new accelerator programme that has paired pioneering start-ups with Tesco suppliers to fast-track innovation in the supply chain.

In May, a group of finalists pitched head-to-head in front of a panel of experts from Tesco and WWF, with five exciting projects each awarded funding of up to £150,000. Innovation Connections is part of a long-term partnership between Tesco and WWF that aims to halve the environmental impact of the average shopping basket.

In this podcast, Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh speaks with representatives from the five projects.

• Casey Woodward, founder and CEO of AgriSound
• David Nelson, agronomy director at Branston
• Oliver Kynaston, carbon calculator manager at Farm Carbon Toolkit
• Conrad Young, project lead at Chirrup
• Evelyn Peters, chief executive at Future by Insects.

For more detail on the Innovation Connections programme and the winning projects click here.

This week: Josh Tosteson, president of Everland, outlines a new plan to tackle deforestation at scale through rapidly developing new REDD+ forest projects in threatened landscapes around the world, and accessing the unprecedented levels of climate finance via the voluntary carbon markets.

Plus analysis of some of the outcomes from Innovation Forum’s Future of Climate Action conference from the Scope 3 Peer Group’s Oliver Hurrey.

And, big brands backing new $250m fashion climate fund from the Apparel Impact Institute; Procter & Gamble’s new ambitious water targets; Net Zero Tracker queries credibility of many corporate net-zero plans; and, new ocean plastic concerns, in the news digest.   

Host: Ian Welsh

Anant Ahuja, head of organisational development at Indian apparel manufacturer Shahi Exports, talks with Ian Welsh about the importance of long-term relationships between brands and manufacturers to allow for the investment necessary to get the sector to net zero. Ahuja points out despite the long return on investment for renewable energy projects, many factory owners are keen to make the transition. In a wide ranging discussion, they also talk about some of the immediate impacts of climate change, with increasing heat waves for example, on factory workers.  

This week: Birgitte Holter, head of green and low carbon fertilisers at Yara and Claes Johansson, head of sustainable development at Lantmännen talk about the role of green fertilisers in developing food supply chains that do not rely on fossil fuels. They also discuss how to identify the right partners when developing business models that can really deliver innovation and change.

Plus: Global Fashion Agenda calls for apparel sector action to meet climate goals; $16tn of assets aligned with 2050 net-zero says Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative; G7 agrees to de-carbon electricity supply; and, new plan to counter deforestation proposes 75 new REDD+ projects.   

And, Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop previews the Future of Food conference coming up in Minneapolis on 14^th and 15^th June.

Host: Ian Welsh

Caroline Ledl, head of product management, textiles, at the Lenzing Group talks with Ian Welsh about how bio-based waste materials can be used to create fibres that compete with traditional materials and create high-quality apparel and textiles. A barrier to growth is lack of collecting and recycling capacity – and there is significant innovation required to move to a blend with 50% and more recycled content – but Ledl believes that the sector can deliver.  

It’s clear that animal feed supply chains in their current form are unsustainable for industrial animal production systems. To keep up with increasing global demand for meat, alternatives to the traditional feedstocks should be considered. So, what role can insect protein play?

In this webinar, an expert panel discussed how insects are developing as an alternative protein, the opportunities for scale and impact, and the regulatory and financial environment needed to make it happen.

Panel:

• Sara Walton, sector lead, agri-food standards, BSI
• Arnold van Huis, emeritus professor, laboratory of entomology, Wageningen University
• Cindy Dunston Quirk, CEO and founder, Scout & Zoe’s Premium Pet Products
• Adrian Charlton, principal scientist, Fera Science

This discussion, held in partnership with BSI, was moderated by Toby Webb, founder of Innovation Forum.

This webinar discussion, the latest in Innovation Forum’s “From the front-line battle to stop deforestation by 2030” series, features an expert panel discussing how private-sector investments are helping to end deforestation, protect threatened wildlife and fund significant economic development activities for local communities.

The webinar was held in Stockholm as part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Environment Day celebrations, and featured representatives from groundbreaking forest conservation REDD+ projects in Kenya, the DRC, Colombia and Cambodia. The panel talked about community-based conservation and their successes stopping deforestation, and the challenges involved.

Panel:

• Joseph Mwakima, community relations manager, Wildlife Works, Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project
• Cara Barund, conservation office manager, Wildlife Works, Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project 
• Neneth Freund, francophone Africa liaison, Wildlife Works, Mai Ndombe REDD+ project 
• Lider Sucre, regional director for Latin America, Wildlife Works
• Chaly Y, GIS and communications officer, Tumring REDD+ project 
• Rithiny Teng, national strategic manager, Wildlife Conservation Society, Keo Seima REDD+ project
• Suwanna Gauntlett, CEO, Wildlife Alliance, Southern Cardamom REDD+ project

Host: Ian Welsh, Innovation Forum

The webinar was sponsored by Everland – click here for Everland's Forest Plan.

This week: Business and climate strategy expert Iain Watt talks about some of the challenges for companies getting to net-zero emissions. He argues the need to recognise that science mandates that timeframes are very tight for 1.5C and 2C pathways – but that embracing science-based targets has switched ambitions from what looks achievable to what’s necessary.

Plus: up to 1,000 microplastic particles spread per square metre of farmland per year in Europe; retailers not making credible progress on plastic bags say Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Changing Markets Foundation and others; and, $80bn of losses risked without action on deforestation now, according to a new report from the Accountability Framework initiative and CDP, in the news digest.  

Host: Ian Welsh

Bank + Vogue and Beyond Retro co-founder Steven Bethell talks with Ian Welsh about the growth of apparel resale and remanufacturing at scale, and how to “industrialise the used as an input for the new”. Bethell highlights the importance of both physical and chemical recycling for the development of truly circular models in the garment sector.