Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

COPwatch9: did you really expect more?

In the final update on the COP26 climate talks, Ian Welsh and climate journalist Mike Scott give their impressions on the events in Glasgow and reflect on the new climate pact that emerged, debating if it was just about as good as could have been expected.

Among the pact highlights they consider are the agreements on deforestation, coal and methane, and the drawing up, finally, of rules on how the global carbon markets will work. And, around the central question of the entire event of whether we can keep to 1.5C of warming – as COP26 president Alok Sharma conceded, it’s arguably still alive, but even if it is, it’s only just

The emerging role of business in building systemic resilience

The link between climate change and human health is clear. Now we need business to step up and define its role in adaptation as well as mitigation.

So, what can companies – and in particular business coalitions – do to make a substantive difference on building human resilience?

This webinar panel discusses what business can do now and in the future to drive consumer awareness, risk management, and mitigation strategies that work in real life. The panel assesses what objectives collaborative initiatives should set and how they should seek to deliver.

Panellists:

• David Croft, global director, sustainability, environment and human rights, Reckitt
• Fiona Adshead, chair, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition
• James Gomme, director, people and society, WBCSD

Moderator: Una Kent, vice president CSR international, Walgreens Boots Alliance

COPwatch8: all eyes on Glasgow as COP deadline looms

As the scheduled end of the COP26 meetings approaches, in the latest update from Glasgow news about how the final agreement is coming, or not, together, and the major remaining sticking points. Thursday saw announcements from the C40 cities group’s chair Sadiq Kahn on $1bn investment in Latin American city green transport, and the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance gained some new recruits.

Plus: Ian Welsh goes back to class and speaks with two members of the eco group – Molly Jensen and Rachael Howie – at the High School of Glasgow.

COPwatch7: draft agreement made in Scotland, but not from girders

In the latest update from the COP26 meetings in Glasgow from Ian Welsh, news of how the first draft of the proposed end of summit agreement was received and the surprise joint declaration from China and the US on cutting emissions over the coming decade. Plus more countries and car makers agree to eliminate fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2040, and the rise and rise of iconic Scottish soft drink Irn Bru – it’s latest fan being US congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

And expert insight from Kate Nkatha, commercial director of Fairtrade Africa, about what she hopes will come out of the Glasgow meetings to help farming communities in Africa and elsewhere.

COPwatch6: Obama’s the star, but is it too late?

The latest update from Glasgow on the COP26 meetings with Ian Welsh. As Barack Obama wows the city on Monday and Tuesday, reality strikes with the Climate Action Tracker report that suggests 2.4C warming is on the cards. There was positive news with 22 governments aligning on clean technology for industry via the Mission Innovation programme. And Nicola Sturgeon and Nancy Pelosi lead debate on the impacts of climate change on women.

Plus insight from Accenture global lead on sustainability services Peter Lacy, reflecting on progress so far and what to look out for over the rest of the week.

COPwatch5: how to empower indigenous people to save the forests

In the latest daily update on the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, Ian Welsh reports from the three-day Global Landscapes Forum, where he was joined by the Hon Gary Juffa, governor of Oro province in Papua New Guinea, and Tony Simons, executive director of CIFOR-ICRAF, the body formed by the merger of the Centre for International Forestry Research and the World Agroforestry Centre. They talk about a new initiative supported by the national and local governments in Oro province showcasing the importance of nature-based solutions, preserving biodiversity while helping indigenous communities realise the value of their landscape.

Plus: news of what to look for as the COP negotiations move into the second week, and a significant announcement from the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition of Action.

COPwatch4: it’s not easy going green

In the latest daily update from Ian Welsh on the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, news from energy day as 190 countries and organisations pledge to quit coal – though the US, China, India and Australia continue to drag their heels. And, how national declarations have now shifted the world to a 1.8C pathway (and improving).

With insight and comment from corporate sustainability expert and veteran COPwatcher Mike Barry, and Una Kent, vice-president for CSR International at WallgreeensBootsAlliance and a native of Glasgow.

The climate health issues where business can make a difference

The key environmental issues related to climate change are clear. But what about the human side? How well does business understand the human implications, and what are the challenges and opportunities they can act upon?

In this webinar session, a panel of expert speakers from business, NGOs, academia, and public health explore the relevant issues for business. They discuss what companies are doing today and where the agenda will head post COP26. The session highlights how business needs to now respond positively, and more substantively, to the climate crisis health agenda.

• Dr Richard Smith, chair, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
• Dr Aaron Bernstein, interim director, the centre for climate, health and the global environment at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health
• Suzy Parker, commercial leader, global sustainability, GSK Consumer Health
• Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist, Boots UK

Moderator: Toby Webb, Innovation Forum

How to ensure climate change is the focus of business standards

Scott Steedman, director general, standards, at BSI, explains to Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh why engaging on the climate crisis should be a focus of business standards and how the recent London declaration commitment to embed climate science in all standards is an important development. They talk about how the ambitions of the declaration will play out on a practical level as all business sectors decarbonise.   

COPwatch3: show me the money!

The latest daily podcast on the events at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh. On finance day, UK chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that London will become the first financial centre that’s “net zero aligned” and that big UK companies will be mandated to set out their own plans for net zero emissions. Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary, quadrupled commitments for climate finance to $11bn a year. And, news that the world is now on a pathway to keep warming to under 2C. Today’s guest is Sarah Rogerson, corporate performance manager at Global Canopy, who helps analyse the implications of the big deforestation commitments and how the momentum can be captured and maintained.