Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Ryan Lynch, practice director, sustainability, at BSI talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about what food sector companies can do to drive action on climate change.

They discuss the policy and regulation that can help, skills that companies need to develop and how to tackle existing constraints preventing adoption and scale. As Lynch comments, the one thing to note regarding these big challenges is that there is no one solution, and that a holistic approach is what’s required.

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

 

In this hour-long session, co-hosted with the Accountability Framework initiative, hear on-the-ground insight from commodity producers – palm oil in Ghana and cocoa in Cameroon – about how the pandemic is impacting their supply chain sustainability efforts and what they are doing to stay on track with their commitments.

Panellists:

• Samuel Avaala, general manager, Benso Oil Palm Plantation
• Roland Besong, sustainability director, TELCAR Cocoa
• Akiva Fishman, manager, forests, WWF

 Hosted by Ian Welsh, Innovation Forum

This week: Stephanie Westhelle, development manager for sustainability and partnerships, Fairtrade America, on challenges for developing farmer incomes in the cocoa sector to ensure long-term producer community viability.

Plus: UN Global Compact reveals big sustainable development goals shortfall; soy sector reaffirms commitment to protect Brazil’s Cerrado; Rainforest Alliance certification shakeup; renewable energy sector labour rights processes lacking essential policies; and human rights defender Andy Hall’s acquittal upheld in Thailand, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

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.    

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.

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

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. 

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.

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

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.