Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast: Are gen-Z consumers really engaging with corporate sustainability issues?

This week: Tamara Ansons, behaviour science consultant at Ipsos, on new research that shows how younger consumers are engaging with corporate sustainability issues. And Niels Wielaard, founder of Satelligence, on how using remote sensing data can help brands with tropical supply chains reduce deforestation risks.

Plus: 50m hectares more deforestation says Greenpeace, plastic ingestion dangers, and UK legislates for net-zero emissions, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Click here for more detail about the Ipsos-Innovation Forum research. We’re looking for new partners to work with to develop more research that is really valuable for business. Interested? Click here to get in touch.

ETI on what supply chain due diligence on labour issues looks like

Peter McAllister, executive director, Ethical Trading Initiative, and Ian Welsh discuss trends in how companies are engaging with modern slavery in supply chains, and why forced labour keeps appearing in new places.

McAllister argues the case for transparency and normalising in consumer eyes that there are going to be problems and it’s how they are fixed that’s important. He outlines why businesses should adopt a due diligence approach to track labour migration, and how to ask the right questions internally for companies and when engaging with suppliers.

How companies can really capture the ROI from sustainability innovation

Tensie Whelan, director, NYU Stern Centre for Sustainable Business, and former president of Rainforest Alliance discusses with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb her work helping future business leaders embed sustainability in operations and demonstrate the causality of the relationship between good ESG performance and economic return. Whelan argues that company accounting is currently designed to value capital assets and not take account of some of more intangible indicators of company value such as IP or sustainability of operations.

Weekly podcast: PepsiCo on the benefits of precision agriculture

This week: David Wilkinson, head of agriculture procurement at PepsiCo, on the technology that, at scale, is growing efficiencies in-the-field in the brand’s supply chains. And Libby Bernick, managing director of Trucost Corporate Business, S&P Global, on why market mechanisms currently don’t reflect the true cost of food, and the role of better data management in solving this.

Plus: Waitrose trials packaging-free refills, labour challenges in Pacific tuna supply chains, and endemic low wages in the apparel sector, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Hugo Boss on the case for pre-competitive collaboration in the apparel sector

Andreas Streubig, director, global sustainability, at Hugo Boss discusses with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh how the fashion business organises its supply chains, developing more transparency. Streubig argues the case for sector-wide platforms and pre-competitive collaboration to deal supply chain challenges, and to combat the risks of a fragmentation of approaches.

Customers, he says, are ever-more aware of sustainability issues but that these are not yet significantly influencing buying decisions.

De Bijenkorf on how retailers can create a buzz around apparel sustainability

Justin Pariag, head of sustainable business at Dutch retailer De Bijenkorf, talks with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about how such a business can influence the sustainable apparel movement.

They discuss the role of department stores in driving sustainable change through engagement with both end consumers and the brands. Pariag argues that story-telling is crucial to engage the former with products that are more sustainable.

Weekly podcast: Danone on what’s driving sustainability in agriculture

This week: Mariano Lozano, CEO of Danone North America, speaks to Toby Webb about making the business case for real change in agriculture practices. And Jill Wheeler and Duane Martin from Syngenta talk with Ian Welsh about specific commodity supply challenges and innovations that can provide solutions.

Plus: plastic waste gets political in the Philippines and Malaysia, river antibiotic pollution, and innovation in food supply in Singapore, in the news digest.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Why personal contact helps tackle food sector point-of-recruitment slavery risks

Vanessa Di Cuffa, UK people change director, ABP Food, talks with Ian Welsh about how modern slavery legislation has driven behaviour change in the meat industry in the UK, and in particular on point-of-recruitment risks.

She argues that transparency and establishing personal relationships with supply chain workers are crucial. They also debate how to get around the forced-labour challenges for food sector companies when traditional business models focus on driving down costs.

Veja on how to look for better suppliers

François-Ghislain Morillion, co-founder of trainer brand Veja, explains to Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh how the business has developed short and sustainable supply chains for materials in its shoes, which now includes recycled polyester from plastic bottles.

They debate the challenges in finding new source materials that are truly sustainable, and the design pitfalls around product development. After all, consumers will only buy products that work properly and look good.

How to develop the best apparel factories, and learn from the process

Sebastian Siegele, managing director of Sustainability Agents (SUSA), discusses with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh how to improve factory conditions in the apparel sector by developing best practice examples that demonstrate clearly the economic and productivity benefits from getting beyond social compliance.

He argues for redirecting of resources from endless social auditing to demonstrating to factory management that there are upsides for all from better working practices.