Innovation Forum Podcast

This week: Nigel Sizer, executive director of the preventing pandemics at the source coalition, talks about the relationships between deforestation and pandemic prevention, and why taking action to preserve forests is an essential human health imperative. Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb summarises a session focusing on what the apparel industry can learn from the food sector – at the Textile Sustainability Conference 2021 in Dublin – featuring Tina Owens, senior director, food and agriculture impact at Danone North America, Dave Fitzgerald, head of responsible sourcing at Kellogg, and forest and agriculture expert Simon Lord. And Narni Brooke-Adil gives an update on all the news about the upcoming Innovation Forum sustainable landscapes and commodities conference from 30th November to 2nd December – and details of an exclusive podcast listeners discount on event passes. Plus news of the EU’s due diligence deforestation regulations; new Value Chain initiative from Gold Standard and SustainCERT to help companies p

In the final update on the COP26 climate talks, Ian Welsh and climate journalist Mike Scott give their impressions on the events in Glasgow and reflect on the new climate pact that emerged, debating if it was just about as good as could have been expected. Among the pact highlights they consider are the agreements on deforestation, coal and methane, and the drawing up, finally, of rules on how the global carbon markets will work. And, around the central question of the entire event of whether we can keep to 1.5C of warming – as COP26 president Alok Sharma conceded, it’s arguably still alive, but even if it is, it’s only just

The link between climate change and human health is clear. Now we need business to step up and define its role in adaptation as well as mitigation. So, what can companies – and in particular business coalitions – do to make a substantive difference on building human resilience? This webinar panel discusses what business can do now and in the future to drive consumer awareness, risk management, and mitigation strategies that work in real life. The panel assesses what objectives collaborative initiatives should set and how they should seek to deliver. Panellists: David Croft, global director, sustainability, environment and human rights, Reckitt Fiona Adshead, chair, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition James Gomme, director, people and society, WBCSD Moderator: Una Kent, vice president CSR international, Walgreens Boots Alliance

As the scheduled end of the COP26 meetings approaches, in the latest update from Glasgow news about how the final agreement is coming, or not, together, and the major remaining sticking points. Thursday saw announcements from the C40 cities group’s chair Sadiq Kahn on $1bn investment in Latin American city green transport, and the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance gained some new recruits. Plus: Ian Welsh goes back to class and speaks with two members of the eco group – Molly Jensen and Rachael Howie – at the High School of Glasgow.

In the latest update from the COP26 meetings in Glasgow from Ian Welsh, news of how the first draft of the proposed end of summit agreement was received and the surprise joint declaration from China and the US on cutting emissions over the coming decade. Plus more countries and car makers agree to eliminate fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2040, and the rise and rise of iconic Scottish soft drink Irn Bru – it’s latest fan being US congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. And expert insight from Kate Nkatha, commercial director of Fairtrade Africa, about what she hopes will come out of the Glasgow meetings to help farming communities in Africa and elsewhere.

The latest update from Glasgow on the COP26 meetings with Ian Welsh. As Barack Obama wows the city on Monday and Tuesday, reality strikes with the Climate Action Tracker report that suggests 2.4C warming is on the cards. There was positive news with 22 governments aligning on clean technology for industry via the Mission Innovation programme. And Nicola Sturgeon and Nancy Pelosi lead debate on the impacts of climate change on women. Plus insight from Accenture global lead on sustainability services Peter Lacy, reflecting on progress so far and what to look out for over the rest of the week.

In the latest daily update on the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, Ian Welsh reports from the three-day Global Landscapes Forum, where he was joined by the Hon Gary Juffa, governor of Oro province in Papua New Guinea, and Tony Simons, executive director of CIFOR-ICRAF, the body formed by the merger of the Centre for International Forestry Research and the World Agroforestry Centre. They talk about a new initiative supported by the national and local governments in Oro province showcasing the importance of nature-based solutions, preserving biodiversity while helping indigenous communities realise the value of their landscape. Plus: news of what to look for as the COP negotiations move into the second week, and a significant announcement from the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition of Action.

In the latest daily update from Ian Welsh on the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, news from energy day as 190 countries and organisations pledge to quit coal – though the US, China, India and Australia continue to drag their heels. And, how national declarations have now shifted the world to a 1.8C pathway (and improving). With insight and comment from corporate sustainability expert and veteran COPwatcher Mike Barry, and Una Kent, vice-president for CSR International at WallgreeensBootsAlliance and a native of Glasgow.

The key environmental issues related to climate change are clear. But what about the human side? How well does business understand the human implications, and what are the challenges and opportunities they can act upon? In this webinar session, a panel of expert speakers from business, NGOs, academia, and public health explore the relevant issues for business. They discuss what companies are doing today and where the agenda will head post COP26. The session highlights how business needs to now respond positively, and more substantively, to the climate crisis health agenda. Dr Richard Smith, chair, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change Dr Aaron Bernstein, interim director, the centre for climate, health and the global environment at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health Suzy Parker, commercial leader, global sustainability, GSK Consumer Health Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist, Boots UK Moderator: Toby Webb, Innovation Forum

Scott Steedman, director general, standards, at BSI, explains to Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh why engaging on the climate crisis should be a focus of business standards and how the recent London declaration commitment to embed climate science in all standards is an important development. They talk about how the ambitions of the declaration will play out on a practical level as all business sectors decarbonise.   

The latest daily podcast on the events at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh. On finance day, UK chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that London will become the first financial centre that’s “net zero aligned” and that big UK companies will be mandated to set out their own plans for net zero emissions. Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary, quadrupled commitments for climate finance to $11bn a year. And, news that the world is now on a pathway to keep warming to under 2C. Today’s guest is Sarah Rogerson, corporate performance manager at Global Canopy, who helps analyse the implications of the big deforestation commitments and how the momentum can be captured and maintained.

In the latest daily podcast covering the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, Ian Welsh speaks to Mighty Earth founder and CEO Glenn Hurowitz. They react to the leaders’ declaration on forests and land use committing 110 countries to eliminate deforestation by 2030, the first big announcement of the conference – and Hurowitz gives some detail on a new pledge from UK and European supermarket chains not to source meat or dairy linked to deforestation. In the news round up, detail of the 80-nation pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% this decade. Plus, Colombia’s 30% for nature in 2022 commitment, international collaboration on clean tech standards and policies, and China called out for lack of presence at the meetings, once again.     

The first daily podcast covering the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh. All the news from the opening day as delegates struggled with train delays and venue queues, and including reflection on the opening comments from David Attenborough, Boris Johnston, Joe Biden and Narendra Modi’s 2070 net zero pledge for India. Plus insight from climate journalist Mike Scott on what to look out for over the coming days.

This week: Local managers and community leaders explain how a REDD+ project in Kenya is preserving 200,000 hectares of forest and benefitting 120,000 local people. Plus, insight from Apparel Insider’s Brett Mathews about how the new EU product environmental footprint label will impact the apparel sector, and why some brands need to take care about their marketing using sustainability messaging. And, Innovation Forum’s Narni Brooke-Adil gives an update on the upcoming sustainable landscapes and commodities conference at the end of November. In the news digest: in the run up to COP26, explanation how we get to $100bn+ climate finance for the developing world; Australia and Saudi Arabia lay out their net zero plans; and, the climate impacts of plastic production.   Host: Ian Welsh For the complete audio of the REDD+ project webinar, click here.

Stephen Donofrio, director of Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace project, and co-author of the State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2021 report, explains to Ian Welsh why the carbon markets are set to exceed $1bn in 2021. He says why he thinks they will continue to grow as companies voluntarily take action to decarbonise their operations and broader impacts as far as they can, using credible offsets to account for what’s left.

Cassandra Austen, senior economist at Vivid Economics, Joe Robertson, senior advisor for sustainable finance at EAT, and member of the secretariat of the Good Food Finance Network, and Nicolas Ambanya, chief production officer, Twiga Foods, talk with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about a new report – Regenerative Agriculture: An opportunity for businesses and society to restore degraded land in Africa. They talk about the crucial role of regenerative agriculture in land restoration, developing food supply chain resilience and increasing food security. Regen agri practices increase crop productivity, enhance soil fertility, improve water retention, and create other ecosystem services, generating extensive economic, mitigation, adaptation and social benefits. Pilot projects show that eventual 68% to 300% crop yield increases are possible. The report finds that regenerative practices in Africa could be adding more than $15bn in gross value added per year by 2030, increasing up to $70bn by 2040 (one fifth of the c

This week: Peter Williams, president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction talks about the work of the institute in the rural communities of southeast Asia and Africa, some of the factors that are necessary points of focus for effective development projects, and the IIRR’s climate smart village model. Plus: Una Kent, vice-president CSR international, at WallgreenBootsAlliance on her thoughts about the key points from a half-day conference on climate change and human health co-hosted by WBA and Innovation Forum.   And, COP26 momentum builds despite Russia and China apparent no-shows; UN biodiversity COP pledges net-positive impacts; Credit Suisse fined for Mozambique tuna sector corruption; and La Isla Network’s work on potential climate change impacts on agriculture commodity supply chains worker health gaining traction, in the news roundup. Host: Ian Welsh

Musim Mas director of sustainable supply chain Oliver Tichit tells Ian Welsh that he wants to see progress towards more collaboration, better financing, climate resilience in agriculture and better use of renewable energy in a rural setting as outcomes from COP26. Also on his wish list for palm oil smallholders is financial inclusion so that the banking sector adapts its approach making it relevant for grower communities and helping them develop more resilience, not least to tackle climate change.   Musim Mas was a sponsor of Innovation Forum’s future of food conference series.

Textile Exchange’s La Rhea Pepper, Claire Bergkamp and Megan Stoneburner talk with Toby Webb about the challenges for the apparel sector in growing recycling of polyester – still the most used fibre in the industry.   Mechanical recycling of PET plastic bottles to make polyester fibres is relatively straightforward. More difficult is scaling up the chemical recycling processes that could allow for mixed fibre garments to reprocessed into virgin fibres.

Scott Steedman, director general standards at BSI, outlines the background to the new London declaration commitment to embed climate science in all standards. He explains how standards – designed to be bodies of knowledge on what best business practice looks like – can assess carbon footprints, environmental impacts and all the climate change challenges that must be front and centre as the world economy decarbonises. Plus: some reporting from this week’s future for plastics conference, picking up on some of the emerging themes from the event’s sessions and networking. There was a lot of positivity around the collaboration potential, but equally sober realism at the challenges involved in tackling plastic pollution, and developing the waste collection infrastructure systems, that can then lead to reuse and recycling at scale.   And: detail about what’s coming up on 20th October at free-to-attend half-day workshop on how business can empower, educate and build community resilience on climate change and human he