Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

What good looks like for food sector environmental impacts

Charlotte Bande, food sector and climate strategy lead at Quantis, talks with Ian Welsh about best practice in the food sector for reducing environmental impacts in operations and supply chains.

They discuss the key points that companies should consider when identifying the commodities that are driving impacts and when engaging suppliers. Bande argues that a central danger is getting stuck in “data traps” – and that there is no point in having perfect data accounting if the actions to back that up are not also in place.

Quantis was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum conference series on the future of food.    

Why serious human rights risks remain in ICT sector supply chains

Felicitas Weber, Know the Chain project director at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, outlines to Ian Welsh the results of the new Know the Chain benchmarking of technology sector companies.

They discuss the specific risks that ICT companies should be aware of, and geographical concerns – Malaysia, China, the Philippines and Thailand are countries that Weber highlights. Debt bondage, recruitment fees, long working hours, exploitation of migrant workers and other vulnerable groups, and a lack of grievance mechanisms and freedom of association are all too common in the sector.

The new Know the Chain benchmark report is available here.

Weekly podcast: How the food sector can really drive climate change action

This week: Ryan Lynch, practice director for sustainability at BSI, discusses what’s required from food companies to meet environmental targets, how to use science-based targets effectively, the rise of regenerative agriculture, and some of  the constraints preventing adoption of innovation at scale.

Plus: Nestlé’s switch from Fairtrade to Rainforest Alliance for cocoa and sugar, why European and Chinese demand for soy is driving Brazilian Cerrado loss, brand plastic pollution failings, and Amazon’s $2bn climate pledge fund, in the news digest.  

Hosted by Ian Welsh

How ‘purchasing with purpose’ is impacting apparel consumer choice

Terry Lawler, fabric development manager for Naia at Eastman, discusses with Ian Welsh changing consumer habits in the apparel sector and why they are becoming more concerned with what goes into products.

Lawler argues that more sustainable products are the future, with more flexible, multi-purpose, garments, with a real shift towards consumers identifying themselves as sustainable shoppers. They talk about why people will be shopping less and looking for better, longer-lasting products.

Eastman Naia was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum sustainable apparel and textiles conference. 

How to engage all the supply chain to deliver more sustainable cotton

Amol Mishra, global commercial director, CottonConnect describes to Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh why partnering with both apparel brands and cotton farmers, covering both ends of the supply chain, delivers more sustainable supply.

Mishra outlines how projects are structured so there is a clear link between investment and economic return, how brands are increasingly using sustainable sourcing achievements in marketing, and why natural capital accounting will help CottonConnect deliver on its goal of transforming the cotton industry for good at scale.

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

Weekly podcast: Why HP and Samsung lead IT human rights benchmark, and food sector net-zero impact

This week: Felicitas Weber, Know the Chain project director at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, on the results of the latest human rights benchmark on the IT sector, and what characterises the companies that are doing well, and those that are lagging behind.

And, Charlotte Bande, food sector and climate strategy lead, Quantis International, on what best practice looks like for food sector companies that are serious about cutting environmental impacts.  

Plus: Unilever’s €1bn climate fund; ILO warns of child labour risks from pandemic; and, plastic rain in the southwest US, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Why clarity from customers helps target salient human rights risks

Intel’s Mike McDonnell, senior manager for supply chain sustainability, talks with Ian Welsh about how knowing what your customers want from your business can help identify the human rights and forced labour risks in your own supply chain.

A central challenge for companies remains inadequate mapping and analysis of supply chains – but there are tools to help. Cross-sector information sharing, helping to make auditing more effective, is also useful, McDonnell argues.

 

 

Pandemic labour rights impacts in coffee and cocoa supply chains

Mary Linell-Simmons, director of marketing at Fairtrade America, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about some of the human rights impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in commodity supply chains.

Taking the the coffee sector, she argues that fluctuating prices driving the timing of crop harvesting brings a number of labour rights risks. And they discuss the child labour risks for the cocoa sector in west Africa, and the necessary sensitivities required to address the challenges.  

Weekly podcast: CottonConnect on why natural capital accounting can help projects scale

This week: Amol Mishra, global commercial director at CottonConnect, talks about some of the challenges around scaling projects in the developing world. He argues the case for designing them so they can have a real impact on producer communities and so that brands have the certainty and supply security they need.

Plus: the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, CDP’s list of shame, land rights in Indonesia and pandemic impacts on ocean pollution, in the news digest.  

Hosted by Ian Welsh

 

The recycling, design and performance balance for fashion

Renee Henze, global marketing and channel development director at Dupont Biomaterials, discusses, with Ian Welsh, some of the challenges for apparel brands in developing real circularity in garments.

They talk about why customers are ever keener to buy products that have greater recyclability, and the pitfalls for business to ensure the recycling infrastructure necessary is in place. And, as Henze points out, the fact that a garment can be recycled doesn’t mean that it is.

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