Innovation Forum Podcast

Conference minipod: Nic Sheen, chief technology officer at Authenticate, describes to Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh how a blockchain can work in practice, taking as an example a Parma ham case study Authenticate has developed. Sheen also outlines the four key elements to a blockchain. This the first in a series of short podcasts summarising conference sessions recorded at Innovation Forum's sustainable landscapes and commodities event in London.

This week: Justin Adams, executive director of the Tropical Forest Alliance discusses the challenges working with on-the-ground commodities producers in developing economies who are facing poverty every day. Adams critiques lessons-learned from the Amazon Soy Moratorium that can be applied elsewhere, and analyses why landscapes are not a silver bullet solution. And Frédéric Garcia, advisor for industry to the head of staff of the president of the Mexico, on innovation in Mexico and whether the country is ready for the impacts of industry 4.0. Hosted by Ian Welsh

Kevin Eckerle, director for corporate research and engagement at NYU Stern School of Business and Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh discuss how companies can find a methodology of monetising the “soft” intangibles that keep companies from building a solid business case for their sustainability agenda. Eckerle outlines some case study examples, using Stern’s return on sustainability investment methodology, that demonstrate how to find the data points and future scenario planning that engages corporate boards.

This week: Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, discusses the milestones of progress in the country’s apparel sector in the six years since the Rana Plaza disaster, and argues that the garment businesses needs to be continually evolving and innovating to maintain its position in world markets. She talks about the challenges that new technologies, and industry 4.0, bring to a labour-intensive sector. Plus: Maple Leaf goes carbon neutral, sugarcane’s potential Amazon expansion, and why the ideal daily diet is beyond 1.6 billion’s pockets, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

This week: Lucita Jasmin and Brad Sanders from Indonesian resources company APRIL, Fitrian Ardiansyah from IDH and Indonesia, Justin Adams from Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, and Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb discuss the role of business in making landscape-level conservation and restoration work effectively. Plus: the latest research from ZSL’s SPOTT analysis on palm oil traceability, global energy demands hit climate goals, modern slavery dangers for Cambodia’s apparel sector and new radar remote sensing initiative to bring deforestation transparency, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

Speaking with Ian Welsh at Innovation Forum’s recent business and impacts conference in Detroit, Meghann Jones, senior vice-president, Ipsos, discusses research into the attitudes and actions of younger people towards business sustainability, and environmental and social issues. They are joined by a panel of under-graduate and post graduate students from the University of Michigan and Columbia University who debate where they and their peers find information about products, what they trust and why. Making up the panel: Anya Shapiro, Mayur Bandekar, Connor Larkin and Caitlin Brooke Harris.

Telva McGruder, director, workplace engineering and operations solutions at General Motors, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the cross functional effort and frank internal conversations about what is possible that have been necessary for GM to engage properly with its impacts. She outlines why establishing a number of goals on different time frames is useful as a company moves towards zero emission. They discuss the need to use language that internal stakeholders can understand if you want them to listen and ultimately accept the need for policy change. And, as GM moves towards producing ever-more electrical vehicles, McGruder explains the challenges the business faces persuading consumers to make the swift from traditional options.

The focus of this discussion-based webinar is the Kampar Peninsula ‘Production: Protection’ approach. This involves a $100m dollar commitment, for an area twice the size of Singapore, by APRIL, a large Indonesian resource company. During the webinar, the panel discuss how a large company can make landscape scale protection and restoration happen in Indonesia, the challenges, the opportunities and the progress made so far, for the business, and the environment and communities. The focus is on how to make credible, verifiable progress happen, and work in collaboration to show how a scaled approach can succeed. The panel also look at the potential lessons-learned from this project, known as Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) for other landscapes and the commoditie produced in them. Speakers include: • Lucita Jasmin, director of sustainability and external affairs, APRIL • Justin Adams, executive director, Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 • Fitrian Ardiansyah, executive chairman, IDH (Inisiatif Dagang Hijau) Indonesi

This week: Nathan Shuler, sustainability solutions architect with Schneider Electric, debates the clear benefits that science-based targets can have for companies keen to really tackle their environmental impacts. And, Gotz Martin, head of sustainability implementation at Golden Agri-Resources, discusses how best to encourage and develop sustainable smallholder farmer communities. Plus: palm oil politics in Malaysia and India, Oxfam highlights stark labour risks for supermarket brands, and Thai Union’s insect based protein innovation, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

This week: Kevin Eckerle from NYU Stern School of Business explains how companies can identify the corporate advantages of a sustainable business approach and monetise them. And another chance to hear insight from Ben Vreeburg, Bunge Lockers Crocklan, on palm oil supply chain transparency challenges. Plus: Adidas takes back and recycles more apparel and footwear, Dove cuts plastic, and deforestation jumps 97% in Brazil, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

Speaking in the forests on the east coast of Sumatra, APRIL’s deputy head of conservation Brad Sanders explains to Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb what the pulp and paper giant does to protect areas of pristine forest and restore degraded ecosystems in Indonesia. Sanders explains the importance of water management to keep the forest moist and prevent the peat from drying out. And they discuss some of the social issues relevant to forest preservation – including working with local indigenous peoples to enable sustainable use of the forest lands and river systems.

This week: a panel of millenial consumers from the University of Michigan and Columbia University join Meghann Jones, senior vice-president, Ipsos, and Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh to discuss where they find information about brands, and how company policies and engagement on sustainability issues affect their buying choices. Making up the panel: Anya Shapiro, Mayur Bandekar, Connor Larkin and Caitlin Brooke Harris. And another chance to hear from David Cleary, director for agriculture at the Nature Conservancy debating deforestation and farming with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb. Plus: Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and PepsiCo cutting virgin plastic use, Carlsberg’s paper bottle, and RSPO’s new plan to insist brands buy sustainable palm oil. Hosted by Ian Welsh

Ronald Guendal, Bayer Crop Science’s global head of food security and advocacy, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the trends in use of farming techniques and agriculture inputs – including fertilisers and pesticides and the development of new seeds – that are designed to sustainably boost productivity. A particular focus for Bayer is to help the agriculture sector produce more food that is climate resilient. As Guendal points out, farming is both a driver, and a victim, of climate change.

This week: Telva McGruder, director, workplace engineering and operations solutions at General Motors talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about how environmental impacts have been embedded into GM’s business plans. They debate why use of business language is how to have internal conversations about sustainability, and to engage externally with investors and other stakeholders. And they talk about the reasons why companies will typically make strong commitments on impact only when they can see a route to delivering them. Plus, news about Innovation Forum’s upcoming plastics, sustainable landscapes and apparel supply chain events.

This week: APRIL’s Brad Sanders explains to Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb what the pulp and paper giant does to protect areas of pristine forest and restore degraded ecosystems in Indonesia. And Greenpeace’s Louise Edge on the challenges around effectively tackling plastic pollution, and what business should do about it. Plus: Nestlé and P&G to fall short of 2020 goals, big brands linked to deforestation palm oil (again), and US acts on modern slavery teeth, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

Peter Stanbury-Davis, principal of Frontier Practice, talks with Toby Webb about how thinking about political economy can help business engage with the motivations of local peoples in areas of deforestation and landuse-change risk. In this context, they discuss why the Indonesian palm oil pledge – IPOP – ceased working, and some of the underlying misunderstandings that may have led to its demise. Using a political economy analysis approach may well eliminate some of the unintended consequences of actions, however well-meaning they may be.

David Horlock, managing director for global food and retail supply chains at BSI, and Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh discuss how the development of rigorous standards can help businesses build resilience in operations and supply chains. To tackle food supply security, and food fraud, Horlock outlines his CEO stress test, which can help company leaders identify the points of critical risk. Often, he argues, companies still don’t really know who their suppliers are.

Niels Wielaard, co-founder and CEO of Satelligence, explains to Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh how satellite data has been used to track the Amazon fires over the summer, and analysing the vegetation types that have been burning. He clears up some of the confusing statements that have been spread – including that there have been more fires in other years – but stresses that this year is particularly significant because of the number of fires in a year with average rainfall. Previous high fire outbreaks have been associated with much drier conditions.

This week: Ronald Guendal, Bayer Crop Science’s global head of food security and advocacy, on the factors influencing change in food supply security, and emerging trends in farming techniques and use of inputs that are designed to sustainably boost productivity. And CottonConnect CEO Alison Ward on how to develop engaging projects – such as CottonConnect’s partnership with Primark – that can empower smallholder farmers at scale. Plus: climate change at the UN, Bolsonaro hits back at critics, IPCC assesses warming impacts, Japanese seafood, and Coca-Cola’s switch to cardboard packaging, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh

This week: David Horlock, managing director for global food and retail supply chains at BSI, demonstrates how a CEO stress test, and following rigorous standards, can help food sector businesses tackle supply chain security challenges effectively. And insight from Cargill’s Kate Clancy on what drives smallholder farmer viability. Plus: slow progress on climate change readiness and New York Declaration on Forests, the possible $4.5tn upside from a truly innovative new economy, and the plight of the UK’s modern slavery helpline, in the news digest. Hosted by Ian Welsh