Innovation Forum podcast

Monday briefing – Tackling scope 3 emissions across supply chains, and final COPwatch from Baku

This week: Innovation Forum’s Natasha Bodnar introduces the 2025 scope 3 innovation forum, returning to Amsterdam on 11th-12th June. She highlights agenda themes and latest confirmed speakers, click here for information on how to get involved.

 

Plus: speaking following attendance at COP29, Owen Bethell from Nestlé, gives final reflections on the discussions at the meetings. In conversation with Ian Welsh, he highlights disappointment over the climate finance agreement, while acknowledging the importance of maintaining multilateral discussions.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Weekly podcast – Understanding the opportunities from ethical trade practices

This week: Giles Bolton, executive director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the shifting ethical trading and business and human rights risks and challenges. They discuss why they are getting the board room attention now that has perhaps been lacking in the past.

 

Plus: the European Council pushes back on the “no-risk” amendment to the European Union Deforestation Regulation; US apparently backtracking on limiting plastic production as the INC-5 global treaty talks in Busan loom; the Welsh government to not take part in the UK’s deposit return scheme; and, a concerns raised at the number of industrial agriculture lobbyists present at COP29, in the news digest, by Ellen Atiyah.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

The financial frontier of climate transition: building agricultural resilience in Brazil

Niamh McCarthy from Orbitas, a Climate Advisers initiative, explores with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh the financial implications of climate transitions, focusing on forest, land use and agriculture sectors. They discuss key findings from the latest report by Orbitas and discuss how companies and investors can mitigate risks, leverage climate-smart innovations and seize emerging opportunities while contributing to global climate goals.

EUDR unpacked #1: a deep dive into the current landscape and implications of the regulation

In this three-part webinar series, we’ll cut through the noise and tackle these pressing questions. Join us to hear from key experts representing brands, traders, farmers, NGOs and on-the-ground communities.

With the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) deadline now likely to be extended by 12 months, businesses will gain extra time to prepare — but does this delay offer an advantage or merely prolong the uncertainty? Who really benefits from the extra time, and which organisations will suffer losses for trying to get ahead? Will this extension ease the burden, or does it simply push the challenge further down the road?

For the first in the series, this webinar explored the implications of the amended timeline, which now sets the application date for December 30, 2025, for large operators, and June 30, 2026, for micro- and small enterprises. Join industry experts to understand the regulatory landscape, the steps needed to ensure compliance and the implications of the delay.

Hear from: 

• Dr Julian Oram, policy director, Mighty Earth
• Anastasiya Timoshyna, director of the European programme office, TRAFFIC
• Issifu Issaka, cocoa farmer, national president of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers Association
• Niels Wielaard, founder and CEO, Satelligence
  
  

Moderated by: Ian Welsh, publishing director, Innovation Forum

Monday briefing – How responsible sourcing can drive resilience, and COPwatch from Baku

This week: Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Natasha Bodnar share updates on the upcoming 2025 responsible sourcing and ethical trade forum, taking place in London on 19th-20th March. They discuss latest speaker confirmations and agenda updates to look forward to, including discussions around how to adapt supply chains without leaving smallholders behind, and give detail of an exclusive podcast listener offer. For more information on how to get involved, click here.

 

Plus: speaking from COP29, Owen Bethell, global public affairs lead for environment at Nestlé, gives some on-the-ground reflections. In conversation with Ian, he discusses the limited progress in the first week but also highlights key breakthroughs such as carbon market agreements and optimism surrounding the broader economic transition toward decarbonisation.

Weekly podcast – Deep-sea solutions: the future of net zero metals?

This week: Jon Copley, professor of ocean exploration and science communication at the University of Southampton, talks with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about the critical role of net zero metals in the transition to sustainable energy. They discuss the complexities of deep-sea mining and its ecological impacts, and opportunities in securing the metals needed for a low-carbon future.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum has just launched the 2025 Future of Food and Beverage USA conference, coming up in May in Minneapolis. At the 2024 event Ian Welsh spoke with Dwane Roth, a fourth generation farmer from western Kansas about the challenges of water stewardship amid climate change.

 

And, COP29 opens in Baku amid controversial statements; Nestlé highlights "fourth wave" of coffee trends; two-thirds of smaller businesses risk falling behind CSRD, according to EcoOnline; and, delay on the European Union Deforestation Regulation implementation confirmed, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

Bridging compliance and real progress in sustainable commodities

Innovation Forum’s Catie Ball, Diana Kim and Emily Heslop talk about the evolving landscape of sustainable commodity regulations and the impact of policies including the European Union Deforestation Regulation, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. They discuss how these regulations are reshaping supply chain expectations, particularly for commodity producers, and highlight the potential risks to smallholder farmers and challenges for companies in meeting these new standards. The discussion covers global compliance trends, strategies for companies to build resilience, and the balance between genuine sustainability efforts and the risk of greenwashing.

Monday briefing – Practical steps to deliver sustainability targets with KFC

This week: Innovation Forum’s Anamya Anurag and Ian Welsh talk about what’s coming up at the just-launched 2025 future of food and beverage USA forum in Minneapolis on May 28^th and 29^th.  

And, speaking at the 2024 conference, KFC’s Nivera Wallanni, chief development officer, and Nira Johri, chief sustainability officer, talk with Ian about how the brand has developed sustainability strategy in lock-step with other business development strategy.

Weekly podcast – Navigating compliance challenges amid potential EUDR delays

This week: at the recent sustainable commodities and land use forum, CEO of TRACT, Allison Kopf, spoke with Ian Welsh about how companies are updating their compliance and due diligence procedures. They also talk about the impacts of potential European Union deforestation regulation delay.

 

Plus: quick fire insights from Kresse Wesling, co-founder of Elvis and Kresse, at the 2024 sustainable apparel and textiles conference. She discusses what good sustainability practices look like and how companies can respond to incoming regulation.

 

And, biodiversity COP16 fails to resolve conservation funding, targets unmet; study suggests natural regeneration outperforms tree planting for biodiversity; and, Swiss consumers favour paying extra for dairy with better animal welfare, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

Registrations for the 2025 sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam is now open. Click here for information on how to get involved.

Out of the bottle: redefining beverage sector sustainability

Andy Griffiths, global head of sustainable procurement at Diageo, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the company’s efforts to integrate regenerative agriculture into its global supply chains. They explore the challenges and opportunities of implementing regenerative agriculture, from sourcing raw materials including barley and agave, to rethinking packaging for environmental impact.