Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast: Why financial institutions have $2.7tn of exposure to deforestation

This week: Global Canopy’s Sarah Rogerson and Emma Thomson discuss the latest Forest 500 report, which highlights the lack of deforestation policies at financial institutions and the lack of consistency of approach across commodities for many sourcing companies. They discuss the need for a due diligence approach to deforestation for business, and what the legislation that can help looks like.

Plus: BlackRock letter to CEOs calls for climate action; Ikea’s new 2030 forest positive agenda; and, how a circular economy can mitigate 39% of annual emissions, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

How the US will regain climate leadership

Nathalie Walker, director for tropical forests and agriculture at the National Wildlife Federation, talks with Ian Welsh about the new legislation that is going to require companies to take a tougher approach to environmental and human rights issues when sourcing. She welcomes the positive approach from the new Biden administration in the US, particularly around fossil fuel divestment and encouraging investment in new low emission technology.

Listeners please note that this interview was recorded in late December.

National Wildlife Federation was a sponsor of the recent sustainable landscapes and commodities conference.

Weekly podcast: How to align palm oil value chains

Ying Xuen Hoe, project manager, Proforest Southeast Asia, Rashyid Redza bin Anwarudin, head, group sustainability, Sime Darby Plantation, and Olivier Tichit, director sustainable supply chains, Musim Mas, discuss the use of the Accountability Framework initiative to engage the challenges in palm oil supply chains. They highlight the need for multistakeholder collaboration at landscape scale.

Plus: UK food import standards threatened; Unilever’s new supply chain living wage pledge; PepsiCo’s 2040 net zero commitments; and, the US returns to the Paris accord, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh  

Scaling-up finance for sustainable agriculture

Victoria Crawford, manager of the Investment Partnership Network at Just Rural Transition, and from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, talks with Ian Welsh about some of the steps necessary to unlock potential investment opportunities in sustainable commodity sourcing. There are key roles for public and private capital, and focused collaboration is essential, Crawford argues.

How better visibility can help de-commoditise supply chains

Niels Wielaard founder and CEO of Satelligence talks with Ian Welsh about initiatives that are developing to transfer the lessons learned in one commodity supply chain to others, and to enable the real traceability buyers increasingly demand. Wielaard also reflects on how the rise of true science-based approaches is an enabler that help brands meet their no peat, deforestation and exploitation goals.  

Satelligence was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum sustainable landscapes and commodities conference.

Weekly podcast: 2020 targets missed, so what now for palm oil?

This week: Eleanor Spencer, palm oil specialist at ZSL, on the latest SPOTT survey assessment on the strength of deforestation and conservation commitments at the top 100 palm oil companies. Scores are up, but progress remains disappointing, Spencer argues.  

Plus: ExxonMobil’s scope 3 emissions disclosure; plastic risks ignored by investors; M&S boycotting China’s Xinjiang province because of forced labour abuses; and, protein grown from the air, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh  

What action is necessary for resilient smallholder supply chains?

Peter Stanbury, senior associate at Innovation Forum, talks with Ian Welsh about new research into how business can help develop really sustainable and robust smallholder farming communities. Stanbury argues that all in commodity value chains need to accept that systemic change is required, and only real cooperation can bring this about.

For more information about Innovation Forum’s Innovation Accelerator initiative, click here.

Can beef be sustainable?

David Horlock, managing director for global food and retail supply chains at BSI talks with Ian Welsh about why beef and red meat production has attracted criticism and how the sector can be sustainable. The problem, Horlock argues, is not red meat itself, rather how it is produced.

Weekly podcast: Will a due diligence approach impact deforestation?

This week: Nathalie Walker, director for tropical forests and agriculture at the National Wildlife Federation, discusses how the changing legislative landscape is leading to more of a due diligence approach for companies on deforestation. She analyses how international collaboration on climate change will develop during 2021.

Plus: BlackRock says that sustainable investment will accelerate; WWF says two-thirds of SE Asian banks don’t recognise biodiversity risks; 60m potential climate refugees in south Asia; and, one billion fewer pieces of plastic at Tesco, in the news digest.

Host: Ian Welsh

How to build a resilient production landscape

Marianne Marinet, programmes director for the Earthworm Foundation, Emily Kunen, global responsible sourcing lead for palm oil and seafood at Nestlé, and Sandra Doig, head of sustainability at Grupo Palmas discuss at the recent Innovation Forum sustainable landscapes conference how they have collaborated on developing a sustainable cocoa and palm oil producing landscape in Tocache, Peru. Moderated by Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb.