Innovation Forum Podcast

At Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference, Textile Exchange COO Claire Bergkamp talked with Ian Welsh about what she hopes will be the positive impacts from the upcoming COP26 meeting for the apparel sector. They talk about some of the key potential policy changes that might emerge and what business leaders should be doing to prepare for them.   Textile Exchange was a sponsor of the sustainable apparel and textiles event.

Antje Fehling, brand services manager for Europe at Bluesign talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the difficulties in data alignment in apparel sector supply chains. Their discission includes insight into how brands can work towards minimising social and environmental risks, identifying knowledge gaps, and the importance of engaging with suppliers as long-term partners.   Bluesign was a sponsor of Innovation Forum's recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

To reach net zero by 2050, companies must deliver on tough scope 3 climate targets through innovation, circular systems and natural climate solutions. This webinar explores what this means in practice within the food industry. We delve into the role that natural climate solutions play in company climate strategies to 2050, exploring the challenges and opportunities of such intervention in companies’ supply chains. Our panel considers the barriers to implementing NCS in company supply chains, including unclear accounting rules, lack of strong incentives and the need for a shift in mindset, as well as potential solutions. They also examine the internal and external incentives needed for companies to embrace NCS approaches in the landscapes they source from, and analyse current natural landscape conservation and restoration projects and how they’re chosen given the scale for action needed today. Panel: Emily Kunen, climate delivery leader, forests, Nestlé Jon Dettling, global director – services and innovation,

Steven Bethell, founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, talks with Ian Welsh about the massive potential for what can happen to all the apparel items that are donated to charities that can’t be re-sold. Bethell outlines how repurposing can maximise the value in what has traditionally been regarded as “waste” and argues the case for “innovative solutions to the crisis of stuff”.   Bank & Vogue was a sponsor of Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

This week: Eduardo Rojas-Briales, forestry professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and a board member of PEFC, on the potential for forests to provide sustainable regenerative fibre for the apparel sector at scale, and why this could be a solution to be the microplastics pollution problem. Plus: International Energy Agency calls for immediate end to fossil fuel development; Shell shareholders revolt backing tougher fossil fuel targets; 94% of Brazilian logging illegal says WWF; big soy companies accused of having deforestation in supply chains; big plastic companies keep growing capacity; and, Lidl’s carbon-neutral cheese, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh To take advantage of the podcast listener discount to attend the Future of Food conference 15th to 17th June, click here and use code SUB20 at the checkout.

Anastasia Volkova, CEO of Regrow, outlines to Ian Welsh the benefits for farmers who can transparently prove to their customers and other stakeholders the changes and innovations they implement, such as regenerative agriculture and other improvements – including accessing carbon markets. For buyers and brands, transparency brings greater certainty while working towards long-term sustainability targets.   Regrow was a sponsor of the recent Future of Food USA conference. Sign up for the free weekly Innovation Forum newsletter here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

This week: Representatives from Rainforest Alliance, agriculture commodities trader Ecom and finance provider Norandino discuss the implementation of a LandScale programme pilot in a coffee and cocoa growing region in Lamas Province, northern Peru. They talk about how to establish landscape-level targets, assessments and incentives, tackle deforestation, and build more resilient ecosystems and long-term farm incomes. Plus: serious tea sector impacts from climate change says Christian Aid; Shell and ExxonMobil back €2bn Netherlands carbon capture project; McDonald’s antibiotic use disclosure; how Nestlé gets milk from peas; and, electric vehicles to be cheaper than combustion-based this decade, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh   Sign up for the free weekly Innovation Forum newsletter here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

The Genetic Literacy Project’s Jon Entine and Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb talk about why gene editing has yet to make significant impact in the agriculture sector. Entine explains how gene editing mimics what happens in nature, enhancing qualities and eliminating problems. They discuss the differences between gene editing and genetic modification, and why the former should not be bundled together with the latter as regulators and brands catch up with the potential of science. Sign up for the Innovation Forum newsletter here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

This week: Antje Fehling from Bluesign on some techniques that help apparel companies really get to know their supply chain – and why it’s unavoidable that this necessary process requires significant effort. And, Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb and forests expert Simon Lord talk about some of the unintended consequences of simply just planting trees to counter deforestation. As they explain, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Plus, in the news roundup: French and German climate change targets revealed; the UK’s Co-op slashes prices of plant-based meat alternatives; supermarket chains threaten to stop buying from Brazil; and, could legacy coffee variety be a climate-change proof supply solution? Host: Ian Welsh Sign up for the free weekly Innovation Forum newsletter here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

Jim Gawron, manager in the Ford commercial vehicle team, talks with Ian Welsh about how electrification of corporate fleets can be taken to scale – tackling corporate scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in the process. Gawron outlines why the commercial vehicle sector in particular is one where electric vans and trucks can be very competitive when compared with combustion-based alternatives, taking entire vehicle life costs into consideration. They also talk about the public policy changes and the right incentives that can help. For more like this sign up for the free Innovation Forum weekly newsletter here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

This week: Textile Exchange’s COO Claire Bergkamp on how to prepare for this year’s COP26 meeting, the outcomes that are likely, and her hopes for the apparel sector. Plus Steven Bethell, co-founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, on the huge resource potential in post-consumer textiles. In parallel with maximising resale and upcycling, he outlines how chemical recycling techniques and better data analysis of fabrics, can lead to fibre-to-fibre recycling at scale. Host: Ian Welsh For the free weekly Innovation Forum newsletter, sign up here https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

National Wildlife Federation’s Simon Hall, senior manager for tropical forests and agriculture, talks with Ian Welsh about what the route to getting to grips with deforestation risks can look like. The first step is to get away the reactionary crisis management approach and, rather, take a more mature approach with a supplier engagement programme that includes thoughtful incentives to drive behaviour change. For more like this sign up here for the free Innovation Forum weekly newsletter https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter  

Innovation Forum’s “Innovation Accelerator” action research programme recently published ground-breaking research on how companies can enable smallholder development beyond siloed purchasing and initiatives. Through 80+ interviews with those on the front lines of smallholder engagement, we uncovered opportunities for sourcing companies to link directly with smallholders growing a variety of crops. Many of these, beyond those sold as commodities, can help lift communities out of poverty if market access can be enabled. This is linked with the increasing interest in “decommoditisation” and how that can deliver the transparency needed in supply chains. Using a sustainable commodities marketplace approach, the discussions in this 60-minute webinar focus on how buyers can increase broad based economic development in supplier countries by sourcing multiple crops and collaborating on sourcing opportunities for smallholder communities. Speakers: Goetz Martin, head of sustainability implementation, Golden Agri-Resourc

This week: Anastasia Volkova, CEO of Regrow, talks about the challenges for producers to be able to demonstrate implementation of regenerative agricultural practices, and other improvements, to the rest of the value chain, and why this will increase in importance as carbon markets develop. Plus: US to cut emissions by 50% this decade, UK to cut 78% by 2035; Land O’Lakes, McDonald’s, General Mills and Cargill getting in on carbon markets; and PepsiCo to roll out regenerative agriculture techniques over 7m acres, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh To sign up to the Innovation Forum newsletter click here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter

Five years on from the Behind the Brands campaign, Oxfam America’s Matt Hamilton talks with Ian Welsh about progress in the food and beverage sector. They talk about the contrasts between the stretching targets companies set at the top and the difficulties implementing those at the local level. Their discussion includes land rights, climate change, the locations where companies are doing well and less well, and the move from reactivity to proactivity. For more like this sign up here for the Innovation Forum weekly newsletter.

This week: To eliminate emissions in operations – and to tackle scope 3 supply chain emissions – widespread electrification of corporate fleets is pretty much essential. Jim Gawron, from Ford’s electric commercial vehicles team, talks about the potential for the new products coming to the market. Companies think in terms of total cost of ownership – and electric trucks and vans have low on-going costs over entire vehicle life. He argues that the route map to full electrification requires progress on enabling vehicle supply, significantly more charging facilities, public education about the practicalities of electric vehicles and appropriate public policy incentives. Plus: Unilever, Microsoft and Walmart CEOs among the 300 backing Biden’s new environmental commitment; New Zealand to make the finance sector report on climate risks; as little as 3% of land has healthy biodiversity; and, Nike’s new sneaker take-back and refurbish scheme, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh

Gotz Martin from Golden Agri-Resources catches up with Ian Welsh about some of the big palm oil sector's challenges and reflects on the findings from the recent Innovation Forum led research into smallholder farmers. Martin argues that smallholder farming remains stuck in a poverty trap because demands for low costs at buyer companies are not sufficiently linked to sustainability targets, and they discuss some of the funding models and new market models that can help. For more like this sign up here for the Innovation Forum free weekly newsletter: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter  

This week: Simon Hall, senior manager for tropical forests and agriculture at the National Wildlife Federation, discusses why the best approach to company deforestation risks have evolved from dealing with immediate reputation crises into a more thoughtful and strategic approach. There’s a need to think about units of production, traceability through supply chains, reporting and providing information, and verification of the process. Plus: tree loss up 12% in 2020 says Global Forest Watch; carbon offsets review at the Nature Conservancy; and, H+M launches new Innovation Stories series, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh   For more analysis and comment like this sign up for free here: https://www.innovationforum.co.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter  

Jon Entine, who leads the Genetic Literacy Project, a science communication non-profit, joins Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb to discuss chemicals and science in agriculture. Their robust discussion covers topics such as glyphosate, copper sulphate, gene editing and the science and impacts of both synthetic and organic chemicals in food and wine. Sign up to the Innovation Forum newsletter for free here: https://bit.ly/2PATMu0

This week: Oxfam America’s Matt Hamilton discusses the conclusions from the new Shining a Spotlight report into progress on commitments and implementation at the world’s biggest food and beverages brands. This looks into progress over the five years since Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign that focused attention on brand supply chain impacts on climate change, and environmental and social issues more generally. While brands have set stretching global goals, making progress on-the-ground is where the real challenges remain. Plus: 20% of big business now committed to net zero; why climate change will impact national credit ratings; Tesco’s climate manifesto; and, peak meat in 2025, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh For more content like this subscribe to the Innovation Forum newsletter here.