Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Peter Williams, president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, talks with Ian Welsh about how funding for developing world grower communities can best focus on economic empowerment, alongside health, food systems, environmental and health matters. They also discuss why better climate resilience is essential, and how this can be achieved.

This week: Nigel Sizer, executive director of the preventing pandemics at the source coalition, talks about the relationships between deforestation and pandemic prevention, and why taking action to preserve forests is an essential human health imperative.

Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb summarises a session focusing on what the apparel industry can learn from the food sector – at the Textile Sustainability Conference 2021 in Dublin – featuring Tina Owens, senior director, food and agriculture impact at Danone North America, Dave Fitzgerald, head of responsible sourcing at Kellogg, and forest and agriculture expert Simon Lord.

And Narni Brooke-Adil gives an update on all the news about the upcoming Innovation Forum sustainable landscapes and commodities conference from 30^th November to 2^nd December – and details of an exclusive podcast listeners discount on event passes.

Plus news of the EU’s due diligence deforestation regulations; new Value Chain initiative from Gold Standard and SustainCERT to help companies plot their route to scope 3 net zero; and, US $1tn infrastructure investment and jobs legislation signed into law by President Biden.

Host: Ian Welsh

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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