Innovation Forum Podcast

This week: Jenny Costelloe, chief executive of the Ethical Tea Partnership, discusses how the sector is tackling its environmental and social challenges, and why tea has not been subject to the attention other commodities have had. Costelloe explains why the traditional tea plantation model is becoming outdated, with smallholder farmers becoming principal sector suppliers – and all the farm income and labour risks this brings.   Plus: new regenerative fashion manifesto featuring Stella McCartney, Zalando, Burberry and other big brands; Arla Foods’ food additive pilot to reduce methane emissions from 10,000 cows; and, hydrogen’s greenhouse gas potential 11 times more potent than carbon dioxide, in the news digest.   And Innovation Forum’s Hanna Halmari talks about the upcoming sustainable apparel and textiles conference on the 26th to 28th April. Plus detail of an exclusive podcast listener offer. Host: Ian Welsh

Innovation Forum founder Toby Webb talks with Jon Entine, director of the Genetic Literacy Project, about the rise of the use of gene editing in agriculture, and how fact-based debate has led to a broader acceptance of such techniques. In a wide-ranging discussion they also highlight how the war in Ukraine will significantly impact global food supply and argue the case for GMO grain to help ease the pressures.  

Craig Mills, CEO of Vizzuality, talks with Ian Welsh about how companies are changing the process of engagement with supply chain data. They discuss what best use of corporate sustainability data looks like, and how a move to AI and machine learning has transformed what can be done with it. Mills also outlines how the work of the World Resource Institute and Global Forest Watch has transformed tracking of deforestation, and argues the case for greater free and open data sharing so that innovation and knowledge from tech startups that ultimately fail will not be lost.  

This week: Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s Elizabeth Forster and Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson talk about some of the new areas of legal risk relating to human rights and environmental impacts that companies need to be aware of, and some of the measures that they can take to mitigate them. Plus: Oxfam and Save the Children highlight the food supply crisis in west Africa; IPCC’s mitigation report highlighting need for net negative carbon strategy; and, Plastic Soup Foundation research into microplastics in cosmetics, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh  

IDH’s Matthew Spencer, Proforest’s Ruth Nussbaum and Conservation International’s John Buchanan talk with Ian Welsh about how the SourceUp platform can improve the distribution of value in commodity supply chains, bringing corporate boardrooms and grower communities together. They argue the case for companies engaging more closely with the landscapes they source from and how positive impacts can be scaled up.

Niels Wielaard, founder of Satelligence, and Ian Welsh talk about traceability-to-plantation innovation in palm oil and cocoa supply chains. Wielaard explains why appreciating the complexity of the challenges is important and, crucially, why companies should not shift from sourcing from higher risk countries as a reaction to EU and other due diligence legislation. This could, he argues, simply shift problems to lower risk countries.  

This week: David Grayson, campaigner and former director of the Doughty Centre at Cranfield School of Management, and co-author of the new Sustainable Business Handbook, talks with Ian Welsh about the evolving role of business in tackling climate change, global inequality and the impacts of globalisation. Grayson outlines how shifts in emphasis from the investment community in terms of ESG screening is impacting business planning, and welcomes the growth in sustainability bonds. And, they discuss how the pandemic has led companies to rethink their “just in time” approach to supply chains.      And, Innovation Forum senior associate Peter Stanbury and Welsh review some of the main issues that arose during Innovation Forum’s responsible sourcing and ethical trade conference in London, including how to improve value chain data, the importance of grievance mechanisms, how to focus collaboration, and the potential unintended consequences when companies stop working in high risk regions.   

Megan Passey, head of knowledge and learning at the International Cocoa Initiative, talks with Ian Welsh about use of cash transfer to farmers to target hazardous child labour in Ghana. They discuss why regular funds direct to farmers can be more effective than single lump sums, and why disconnecting them from payments for their cocoa crop is important.  

Toby Webb and Peter Stanbury reflect on Nestlé’s new strategy for the cocoa sector, with the ambition to get to grips with child labour risks, increase farm income and achieve full traceability in the cocoa sector. This will involve farmers having the ability to earn more for their crop alongside making improvements in other areas, including diversifying income and encouraging school enrolment. They argue that Nestlé’s plans represent significant ambition and discuss what the longer-term impacts of this and other initiatives could be.

This week: José Luis López, palm oil and biodiversity programme manager at Solidaridad, and Mario Rafael Rodriguez, senior associate for LandScale at the Rainforest Alliance talk about a collaboration project in the Ocosito landscape in Guatemala using the LandScale framework. In particular, they discuss how LandScale – a new system for measuring sustainability at a landscape level, led by Rainforest Alliance, Verra and Conservation International – has helped to identify human rights and labour risks.   Plus: new research shows that forests, and especially tropical forests, have an even greater role in tempering climate change than previously thought; Nasdaq’s new reference indices tracking carbon price; Ukraine war forces Iceland U-turn on palm oil use in its own products; and UN World Food Programme facing $9bn shortfall, in the news digest. And, Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop gives an update on the Future of Food conference coming up in Minneapolis on 14th-15th June. Host: Ian Welsh  

Textile Exchange’s COO Claire Bergkamp and director of Climate+ strategy Beth Jenson talk with Ian Welsh about some impacts of climate change for the apparel and textiles sector. They discuss the challenges around getting to a net zero position by mid-century, via a 45% cut in emissions by 2030, and the willingness of the sector to make the innovations necessary.  

This week: Salla Saastamoinen, director for civil and commercial justice, DG Justice and Consumers at the European Commission, talks with Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson about how the new EU due diligence directive for companies regarding human rights and environmental impacts will be implemented. They discuss how companies can work to prepare their strategy now to ensure alignment with the proposed regulation, and the potential sanctions for non-compliance.   Plus: new emissions reporting proposals from the US Securities and Exchange Commission; EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism details become clearer; HSBC’s plan to finance the transition to net zero; Swiss Re to stop insuring carbon-intensive energy projects; and, Unilever tracks 188,000 tonnes of palm oil in a blockchain transparency pilot, in the news digest. And, Innovation Forum's Natasha Bodnar provides an update on June’s climate and business action conference. Host: Ian Welsh

Leony Aurora, landscapes and partnership lead at the Tropical Forest Alliance, and Patrick Mallet, director of innovations at ISEAL, talk with Ian Welsh about newly released guiding practices from ISEAL designed to help companies address critical sustainability challenges collectively and at scale. The guidance covers where is makes the most sense to invest, how to maximise impact, how to measure effectiveness and what clear and credible communications should look like.

Ian Suwarganda, Golden Agri-Resources’ head of policy and partnerships, sustainability and communications, and Róisín Mortimer, Tropical Forest Alliance lead private sector engagement and programming, talk with Ian Welsh about the impacts of the EU’s importing regulations. While the establishment of a level playing is welcome, they argue that there should be greater awareness of the challenges for smallholders to demonstrate compliance. There is a risk of sourcing into the EU switching away from higher-risk regions, which could mean that the deforestation and other challenges in these areas will not be addressed.  

This week: Niels Wielaard, founder of Satelligence, talks about how financial institutions are ratcheting up how they expect companies to engage with their supply chains. He outlines the importance of accurate and up to date data as companies take a due diligence approach to what are complex and challenging issues, and the unforeseen circumstances of simply shifting out of sourcing from higher-risk regions. And, Megan Passey, head of knowledge and learning at the International Cocoa Initiative, discusses the results of a cash transfer programme to support cocoa farmers in Ghana, and why such initiatives can be more effective than increasing crop price. Plus, an update from Innovation Forum’s Hanna Halmari on the upcoming sustainable apparel and textiles conference. In the news digest: the International Platform for Insetting’s new practical guide; Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure launches first reporting framework; and, ClientEarth sues Shell’s directors over lack of net zero preparation. Host

In this session, recorded at Innovation Forum’s sustainable landscapes and commodities conference, an expert panel examines how landscape approaches are developing. They discuss the work of the Consumer Goods Forum’s forest positive coalition of action and how to set effective and realistic definitions and deadlines. Joining Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb are Barry Parkin from Mars, Magdi Batato from Nestlé, Olivier Tichit from Musim Mas and Christine McGrath from Mondelez International.  

Through sequestration, soil plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. Improved agricultural practices that promote soil sequestration can help reverse climate change while improving the livelihoods of farmers. However, there is currently no commonly used business standard or approach for measuring carbon in soil. There are many emerging approaches, and more are on the way. So which current approaches can be used by companies today? In this webinar, we discussed current practices, the opportunities for standardised approaches, and the potential positive outcomes in the race to net zero. Webinar panel: Sophie Throup, head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing, Morrisons Ian McConnel, director of sustainability – international business unit, Tyson Foods Prof Peer Ederer, program and science director, Global Food and Agribusiness Network David Fatscher, head of ESG, BSI The discussion was moderated by Toby Webb, founder, Innovation Forum This webinar was hosted in partnership with BSI

Michal Zrust, founder of Lestari Capital, talks with Ian Welsh about the Rimba Collective, a palm oil sector led initiative – involving Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Wilmar and others – set up to achieve forest conservation at scale. Zrust argues why conservation needs to be a core part of doing business and how the project plans to deliver $1bn to protect or restore 500,000 hectares of forest, supporting 32,000 individuals in forest communities in southeast Asia over 25 years.

This week: Patrick Mallet, director of innovations at ISEAL, and Leony Aurora, landscapes and partnership lead at the Tropical Forest Alliance, discuss some new guiding practices for companies engaging in supply chain landscape approaches and jurisdictional initiatives – including how actions can best contribute to performance and how to communicate the results of these actions. Plus: palm oil deforestation levels down in 2021 says new report from Chain Reaction Research; Ukraine conflict’s “global food crisis” according to Yara International; brands scrambling to stop trading in Russia; and, some of the tech needed for any chance of achieving 1.5C warming limit in report from the Energy Transitions Commission, in the news digest. And, Innovation Forum’s Natasha Bodnar gives an update on May’s future of food conference. Host: Ian Welsh

Insight into challenges in the natural rubber sector from: Karen Steer, manager at the Rainforest Alliance and rubber lead for the Accountability Framework; Stefano Savi, director of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber; Philippe de Groot, head of agronomy at SOCFIN; and, Ana Arce, senior manager for corporate sustainability governance at Bridgestone Americas, talking with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh. They discuss how AFi has partnered with GPSNR and its members to develop a policy framework that addresses the specific supply chain risks in the rubber sector, and how the industry is collaborating to streamline and standardise approaches.