Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Textile Exchange on COP26 apparel sector policy impacts

At Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference, Textile Exchange COO Claire Bergkamp talked with Ian Welsh about what she hopes will be the positive impacts from the upcoming COP26 meeting for the apparel sector. They talk about some of the key potential policy changes that might emerge and what business leaders should be doing to prepare for them.  

Textile Exchange was a sponsor of the sustainable apparel and textiles event.

Apparel’s supply chain data standardisation challenge

Antje Fehling, brand services manager for Europe at Bluesign talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the difficulties in data alignment in apparel sector supply chains. Their discission includes insight into how brands can work towards minimising social and environmental risks, identifying knowledge gaps, and the importance of engaging with suppliers as long-term partners.  

Bluesign was a sponsor of Innovation Forum's recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

Webinar – Incentives that work: how to implement supply chains natural climate solutions

To reach net zero by 2050, companies must deliver on tough scope 3 climate targets through innovation, circular systems and natural climate solutions. This webinar explores what this means in practice within the food industry. We delve into the role that natural climate solutions play in company climate strategies to 2050, exploring the challenges and opportunities of such intervention in companies’ supply chains.

Our panel considers the barriers to implementing NCS in company supply chains, including unclear accounting rules, lack of strong incentives and the need for a shift in mindset, as well as potential solutions. They also examine the internal and external incentives needed for companies to embrace NCS approaches in the landscapes they source from, and analyse current natural landscape conservation and restoration projects and how they’re chosen given the scale for action needed today.

Panel:

• Emily Kunen, climate delivery leader, forests, Nestlé
• Jon Dettling, global director – services and innovation, Quantis
• Gary Paoli, co-founder, Lestari Capital

Hosted by Toby Webb, Innovation Forum

This webinar is supported by Nestlé. For more info about Nestlé’s forest positive strategy, click here

Is apparel upcycling the quickest route to carbon neutrality?

Steven Bethell, founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, talks with Ian Welsh about the massive potential for what can happen to all the apparel items that are donated to charities that can’t be re-sold. Bethell outlines how repurposing can maximise the value in what has traditionally been regarded as “waste” and argues the case for “innovative solutions to the crisis of stuff”.  

Bank & Vogue was a sponsor of Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

Weekly podcast: Can forests solve apparel’s microplastics problem?

This week: Eduardo Rojas-Briales, forestry professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and a board member of PEFC, on the potential for forests to provide sustainable regenerative fibre for the apparel sector at scale, and why this could be a solution to be the microplastics pollution problem.

Plus: International Energy Agency calls for immediate end to fossil fuel development; Shell shareholders revolt backing tougher fossil fuel targets; 94% of Brazilian logging illegal says WWF; big soy companies accused of having deforestation in supply chains; big plastic companies keep growing capacity; and, Lidl’s carbon-neutral cheese, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

To take advantage of the podcast listener discount to attend the Future of Food conference 15^th to 17^th June, click here and use code SUB20 at the checkout.

How producers can demonstrate the value of resilient practices

Anastasia Volkova, CEO of Regrow, outlines to Ian Welsh the benefits for farmers who can transparently prove to their customers and other stakeholders the changes and innovations they implement, such as regenerative agriculture and other improvements – including accessing carbon markets. For buyers and brands, transparency brings greater certainty while working towards long-term sustainability targets.  

Regrow was a sponsor of the recent Future of Food USA conference.

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Weekly podcast: Landscape level challenges for cocoa and coffee in Peru

This week: Representatives from Rainforest Alliance, agriculture commodities trader Ecom and finance provider Norandino discuss the implementation of a LandScale programme pilot in a coffee and cocoa growing region in Lamas Province, northern Peru. They talk about how to establish landscape-level targets, assessments and incentives, tackle deforestation, and build more resilient ecosystems and long-term farm incomes.

Plus: serious tea sector impacts from climate change says Christian Aid; Shell and ExxonMobil back €2bn Netherlands carbon capture project; McDonald’s antibiotic use disclosure; how Nestlé gets milk from peas; and, electric vehicles to be cheaper than combustion-based this decade, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh  

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Will gene editing’s potential be realised in agriculture?

The Genetic Literacy Project’s Jon Entine and Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb talk about why gene editing has yet to make significant impact in the agriculture sector. Entine explains how gene editing mimics what happens in nature, enhancing qualities and eliminating problems. They discuss the differences between gene editing and genetic modification, and why the former should not be bundled together with the latter as regulators and brands catch up with the potential of science.

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Weekly podcast: Unintended risks tackling deforestation, and what a good supply chain tool looks like

This week: Antje Fehling from Bluesign on some techniques that help apparel companies really get to know their supply chain – and why it’s unavoidable that this necessary process requires significant effort. And, Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb and forests expert Simon Lord talk about some of the unintended consequences of simply just planting trees to counter deforestation. As they explain, it’s a lot more complicated than that.

Plus, in the news roundup: French and German climate change targets revealed; the UK’s Co-op slashes prices of plant-based meat alternatives; supermarket chains threaten to stop buying from Brazil; and, could legacy coffee variety be a climate-change proof supply solution?

Host: Ian Welsh

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Ford’s route to electrifying commercial vehicles

Jim Gawron, manager in the Ford commercial vehicle team, talks with Ian Welsh about how electrification of corporate fleets can be taken to scale – tackling corporate scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in the process. Gawron outlines why the commercial vehicle sector in particular is one where electric vans and trucks can be very competitive when compared with combustion-based alternatives, taking entire vehicle life costs into consideration. They also talk about the public policy changes and the right incentives that can help.

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