Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast – Can the future of chocolate be cocoa-free?

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson talks with Ahrum Pak, CEO and co-founder of WNWN Food Labs about the launch of first cocoa-free “chocola...

Collaboration to drive progress on farmer-focused food resilience

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Grogg, vice president for corporate responsibility and sustainable development at Cargill, talks with Ian Welsh about managing current disrup...

Weekly podcast – The urgent need for better migrant worker protection

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Andrew Wallis, CEO of anti-slavery NGO Unseen, talks about the ongoing challenges for migrant worker protection for business in the UK and ...

Are there reasons to be cheerful about business progress on human rights?

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Bloomer, executive director of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, reflects with Ian Welsh on global collective efforts and collaborat...

Weekly podcast – How the apparel sector can deliver on living wage commitments

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Tiffany Rogers, director of fair compensation and member engagement at the Fair Labor Association talks with Innovation Forum's Hanna Halma...

What the EU’s deforestation-free rules will mean for business

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, WWF senior forest policy officer, UN policy office, talks with Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson about the EU's new defo...

Weekly podcast – How to build food sector supply resilience

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Cargill's vice-president for corporate responsibility and sustainable development, Michelle Grogg, talks about the necessary action points ...

Sustainable supply chains: Key trends for 2023

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Supply chain sustainability is a key corporate goal. In a fast-changing environment, much business discussion has centred around the need to adapt and...

Collaboration to drive progress on deforestation for Indonesian palm oil

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bara Robyn, partnerships and development lead at Earthworm Indonesia, talks with Ian Welsh about Earthworm Foundation's project with a palm oil busine...

Weekly podcast: What business might get right on ethical trade in 2023

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Phil Bloomer, executive director of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, talks about some reasons for optimism for business and h...

Human rights beyond the Qatar World Cup

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Morrison, CEO of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, talks with Ian Welsh about a moment of opportunity for human rights and forced labo...

Weekly podcast: What to expect from the EU’s deforestation-linked products ban

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, senior forest policy officer at WWF in Brussels, talked with Bea Stevenson about the incoming EU regulations b...

UN global pact: Trying to turn off the plastics tap

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Environmental Investigation Agency's ocean campaign leader Christina Dixon talked with Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson about the priorities for the U...

Weekly podcast: Nestlé’s focus on scope 3 emissions, and a realistic plan to end deforestation

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Another chance to hear the two most popular podcast interviews of 2022. At Innovation Forum's future of climate action conference, Rob Came...

Carbon removal, conservation and community resilience: How blue carbon can deliver at scale

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the world’s greatest carbon sink, the ocean and its coastal ecosystems are an essential part of the solution to the climate emergency. Blue carbo...

Weekly podcast: Working on the ground within Indonesia’s palm oil sector

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Partnerships and development lead at Earthworm Indonesia, Bara Robyn, talks with Ian Welsh about the importance of working closely with loc...

What does the route to sustainable landscapes and commodities look like?

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Some on-the-spot reflections at the recent sustainable landscapes and commodities forum in Amsterdam from Tesco's Anna Turrell, Anita Neville from Gol...

Weekly podcast – Can more focus on human rights be the Qatar World Cup’s legacy?

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: John Morrison, CEO of the Institute of Human Rights and Business, talks with Ian Welsh about the prospects for a higher profile for human r...

Climate risk and adaptation: How to prepare farmers for the effects of climate change

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a warming world, farmers remain among the most vulnerable to the increasing environmental hazards brought on by climate change. To mitigate these i...

Monitoring soil health for sustainable and resilient farming

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Biome Maker's co-founder and chief scientific officer, Alberto Acedo, talks with Ian Welsh about the company's BeCrop soil health testing technology t...

Why we need to address plastic production before tackling pollution

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Christina Dixon, ocean campaign leader at the Environmental Investigation Agency talks with Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson about the pr...

West Africa’s waste collection challenges

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Circularium Africa lead advisor and Global Plastic Action Partnership consultant Clem Ugorji talks with Innovation Forum's Bea Stevenson about how to ...

What does the future of plastics and packaging look like?

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

During Innovation Forum’s recent future of plastics and packaging event in Amsterdam, some of the expert participants spoke with Ian Welsh, reflecti...

Weekly podcast – COP27 outcomes: Why the role of business is more important than ever

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Business and climate journalist Mike Scott reflects with Ian Welsh on the recent COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, evaluating th...

Leadership for landscapes and forests: integrating actions and stakeholders

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Proforest's Africa regional director, Abraham Baffoe, and deputy director for conservation and land use, Mike Senior, talk with Ian Welsh about what e...

Weekly podcast – Why traceability matters: blockchain solutions for sustainable chemistry

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Isabella Tonaco, vice-president for strategy execution and marketing, renewable polymers and chemicals at Neste, and Mezbah Sabur, founder ...

How Cargill is working to deliver on its cocoa promises

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rupert Day, farmer livelihoods advisor at Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, talks with Ian Welsh about how the Cargill Cocoa Promise programme is designed ...

COPwatch: Has time run out for 1.5C?

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Reckitt’s global head of sustainability David Croft gives some in-person insights from the COP27 meetings in Egypt. He reflects, talking with Ian We...

Weekly podcast – Information is power: how to test soil health and drive agricultural sustainability

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Alberto Acedo, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Biome Makers, talks about how the company’s BeCrop technology can test soil hea...

Bottom-up collaboration to improve landscape and livelihoods

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Proforest's deputy director for company collaboration Veronique Bovee, and landscape coordinator for Indonesia Mila Nuh, talk with Ian Welsh about the...

Weekly podcast: Incentives to improve inadequate waste infrastructure in west Africa

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Clem Ugorji from the Global Plastic Action Partnership, formerly vice-president for public affairs communications and sustainability for we...

Optimised guidelines to reduce deforestation and land conversion impacts

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah Samberg, lead scientist, global policy, at Rainforest Alliance, and McDonald's sustainability director, nature and climate, Pete Garbutt, talk wi...

Weekly podcast: What does landscape approach delivery actually look like?

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Mike Senior and Abraham Baffoe from Proforest discuss how landscape approaches can work in practice, and the growing momentum over the past...

Packaging decarbonisation: what are the incentives to drive success?

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Juliet Ermer and Sarah Laidler from the Carbon Trust talk with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about decarbonisation in the packaging sector, and what ...

Remote-sensing innovations for net-zero and nature-positive supply chains

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For companies working towards their net-zero and nature-positive commitments, the need for clear and reliable intelligence on natural capital is vital...

Weekly podcast: Why brands need to commit to farmer incomes

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Rupert Day, farmer livelihoods advisor at Cargill cocoa and chocolate, discusses some of the sector innovations that are making a real diff...

Transforming supply chains in India through regenerative agriculture

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rahul Raj, co-founder of Sasya Produce talks with Ian Welsh talk about the company's priority to support farmers to implement sustainable agricultural...

Voices from the farm: Priorities, challenges and aspirations for sustainable transformation

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Farmers are at the core of sustainable commodities production; however too often, they are not given a seat at the table. Ahead of our Sustainable ...

How Nestlé advocates for effective climate action

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Owen Bethell, environment impact lead from the global public affairs team at Nestlé, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about Nestlé's prioriti...

Weekly podcast: Delivering successful landscape outcomes for Indonesia’s forests

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Veronique Bovee, senior project manager, and Mila Nuh, southeast Asia regional landscape coordinator, at Proforest, talk about why preservi...

How REDD+ is saving Cambodia’s forests: Southern Cardamom REDD+ project

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Innovation Forum and Everland present a podcast focusing on the Wildlife Alliance Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project from the recent webinar, How REDD+ i...

Farmer focus: Cargill’s collaboration for restoration in Brazil

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Renata Nogueira, South America sustainability lead at Cargill, talks with Ian Welsh about partnering with farmers in Brazil in developing the sustaina...

Weekly podcast: Packaging’s carbon impacts unpacked

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Sarah Laidler and Juliet Ermer from the Carbon Trust talk about the evolving impacts of packaging, what good policy looks like, and potenti...

Progress on deforestation: where are the chinks of light?

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, and Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb talk about the latest trends in tackling deforestation in the world’s tropical...

Weekly podcast: Get to grips with deforestation and land conversion impacts: a how-to guide

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Leah Samberg, Rainforest Alliance's lead scientist, global policy, and lead on the Accountability Framework initiative, and Pete Garbutt, s...

What do we really mean by net zero?

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tiphaine Aries, consultant at the Carbon Trust, talks with Ian Welsh about how companies are responding to the pressures from stakeholders to plan for...

Circular by design: How apparel brands can make informed choices

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

All materials have impacts. Whether it be fossil fuel inputs, land and chemical use, or human rights issues, brands are keen to show verifiable, data ...

Weekly podcast: What an effective vertical food supply chain looks like

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Insight from Rahul Raj, co-CEO of Indian vegetable supplier Sasya Produce. The company specialises in high quality packaged products and is...

A how-to guide for a deforestation-free palm oil supply chain

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Goetz Martin, director for sustainability and strategic projects at Golden Agri-Resources, discusses with Ian Welsh why companies are now really takin...

Weekly podcast: Nestlé’s road to a collaborative net-zero strategy

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Owen Bethell, environmental impact lead, global public affairs, at Nestlé, talks about the company's decarbonisation strategy, and the nee...

Why supplier relationships are key to achieving ambitious targets

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Britvic’s supply chain director Nigel Paine talks with Ian Welsh about how the £2bn soft drinks business goes about identifying its material impact...

Is the revolution in plant-based diets a fixture?

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chiara Vitali, senior consultant at Robertsbridge, discusses with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh some new research into trends in patterns of meat eat...

Weekly podcast: Cargill’s commodity sourcing challenges in Brazil

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Renata Nogueira from Cargill discusses how to work with suppliers in Brazil to prevent land conversion and report degraded ecosystems. And ...

Due diligence regulation – the risk of smallholder exclusion

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Assistant professor of environmental policy at ETH Zürich Rachael Garrett and Musim Mas’s director of sustainability Olivier Tichit talk with Ian W...

What bold environmental and social regulation implementation looks like

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Environment and human rights expert Etelle Higonnet, formerly senior advisor at the National Wildlife Federation, talks with Innovation Forum’s Toby...

Weekly podcast: How supply transparency drives competitive advantage

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Goetz Martin, director for sustainability and strategic projects at Golden Agri-Resources, talks about how ambitious brand targets are now ...

The engagement, governance and integration pillars for net zero success

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Krishna Manda, vice-president for corporate sustainability at Lenzing, the textile sector fibre manufacturer, talks with Ian Welsh about how the busin...

Weekly podcast: Britvic’s sparkling net zero and packaging strategy

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Insight from soft drinks manufacturer Britvic’s supply chain director Nigel Paine into the company’s carbon reduction and net zero stra...

Palm oil’s evolving regulatory risks

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ian Suwarganda, head of policy and partnerships at Golden Agri-Resources, talks with Ian Welsh about how regulatory changes in the EU, US and elsewher...

How to boost soil health and accurately measure the carbon benefits

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At the recent online future of food conference, Anastasia Volkova, CEO of Regrow, Britt Lundgren, director of organic and sustainable agriculture at S...

Weekly podcast: Why traceability is not all good news for palm oil

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Palm oil company Musim Mas's director of sustainability Olivier Tichit, and assistant professor of environmental policy at ETH Zürich Rach...

Apparel companies’ role in overcoming barriers to circularity

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference Toby Webb was joined by Anurag Gupta, managing director at Usha Yarns, and ...

Weekly podcast: How to plot a realistic and robust route to net zero

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Krishna Manda, vice-president for corporate sustainability at textile sector fibre manufacturer Lenzing talks about what an effective net z...

Fast fashion has ten years left. If so, what’s next?

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Zalando’s CEO Robert Gentz has stated that the apparel industry must “abandon the fast fashion business model within the next ten years”. The st...

Regenerative agriculture: do believe the hype?

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Ede, group sustainability lead for starches, sweetners and texturisers at Cargill, and Andrew Voysey, head of impact and carbon at Soil Capital,...

Weekly podcast: Agri-sector entrepreneurs backed by Tesco and WWF

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Representatives of the winning projects from WWF and Tesco’s Innovation Connections programme for agricultural supply chain entrepreneurs...

How direct law enforcement prevents deforestation in Cambodia

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Suwanna Gauntlett, founder and CEO of anti-deforestation NGO Wildlife Alliance, talks with Ian Welsh about how protection of forests on the ground ...

Green agriculture: how fertiliser partnership makes perfect

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Birgitte Holter, head of green and low carbon fertilisers at Yara, and Claes Johansson, head of sustainable development at Lantmännen, talk with Ian ...

How the palm oil sector is shifting from environmental to social sustainability

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ian Suwarganda, head of policy and partnerships at Golden Agri-Resources, speaks to Ian Welsh about going beyond compliance with new due diligence reg...

Why net zero could be too narrow a target

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At IF's Future of Climate Action Conference, Rob Cameron, global head of public affairs and ESG engagement at Nestlé, spoke to Ian Welsh about why co...

How to address leakage and establish baselines in deforestation projects

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Tosteson, president of Everland, outlines a new plan to tackle deforestation at scale through rapidly developing new REDD+ forest projects in thr...

Weekly podcast: Renewable energy sector’s community-level human rights risks

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Sam Szoke-Burke, senior legal researcher at the Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment in New York, and Ikal Ang’elei, co-founder and ...

How brands can create jobs for refugees in their supply chains

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nick O’Flaherty, director of UNSTUCK, and Sarah Maurer, head of new product development at Chobani, talk with Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop abou...

What can apparel learn from other sectors on living incomes?

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At Innovation Forum’s recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference, Toby Webb was joined by Anke Ehlers, managing director for global corporat...

What are the drivers for regenerative agriculture at the farm level, and within the value chain?

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: James Ede, Group Sustainability Lead for Starches, Sweetners and Texturisers at Cargill, and Andrew Voysey, Head of Impact and Carbon at So...

How climate targets are shifting from what’s achievable to what’s necessary

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ian Welsh talks to business and climate strategy expert Iain Watt about some of the challenges for companies in getting to net-zero emissions. He argu...

Weekly podcast: How to tackle land speculation and deforestation in SE Asia

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Dr Suwanna Gauntlett, founder and CEO of anti-deforestation NGO Wildlife Alliance, talks about how better law enforcement to prevent illega...

Reductions and removals: How do you integrate the two into a successful climate strategy?

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As companies strive to meet their net-zero targets, they must rapidly reduce their supply chain emissions. Leading companies are beginning to go one s...

Weekly podcast: Why Nestlé is focusing on scope 3 emissions

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Rob Cameron, global head of public affairs and ESG engagement at Nestlé, talks about why companies need to continue to focus on carbon, ta...

Five agri-sector innovation projects backed by Tesco and WWF

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Innovation Connections from Tesco and WWF is a new accelerator programme that has paired pioneering start-ups with Tesco suppliers to fast-track innov...

Weekly podcast: How deforestation can realistically be eliminated by 2030

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Josh Tosteson, president of Everland, outlines a new plan to tackle deforestation at scale through rapidly developing new REDD+ forest proj...

How the apparel sector can collaborate to decarbonise

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anant Ahuja, head of organisational development at Indian apparel manufacturer Shahi Exports, talks with Ian Welsh about the importance of long-term r...

Weekly podcast: What fossil fuel free food supply chains might look like

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Birgitte Holter, head of green and low carbon fertilisers at Yara and Claes Johansson, head of sustainable development at Lantmännen talk ...

Can recycled rival virgin apparel fibres?

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Caroline Ledl, head of product management, textiles, at the Lenzing Group talks with Ian Welsh about how bio-based waste materials can be used to crea...

Insect protein as animal feed: why we need it and how to scale it

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s clear that animal feed supply chains in their current form are unsustainable for industrial animal production systems. To keep up with increasi...

How to tackle deforestation now and at scale

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This webinar discussion, the latest in Innovation Forum’s “From the front-line battle to stop deforestation by 2030” series, features an expert ...

Weekly podcast: Why leading companies will have to do more than their fair share on climate

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Business and climate strategy expert Iain Watt talks about some of the challenges for companies getting to net-zero emissions. He argues th...

Why there is no such thing as ‘waste’

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bank + Vogue and Beyond Retro co-founder Steven Bethell talks with Ian Welsh about the growth of apparel resale and remanufacturing at scale, and how ...

From commitments to action at scale: Critical steps to achieve deforestation-free supply chains

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the eight years since companies and governments came together under the New York Declaration on Forests committing to end deforestation by 2020, we...

Weekly podcast: What ambitious apparel scope 3 targets look like

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Anant Ahuja, head of organisational development at Indian apparel manufacturer Shahi Exports, talks about how all of the apparel sector’s...

Why there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution for due diligence

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David Pettet, global human rights and sustainable supply chain director at Reckitt, talks with Ian Welsh about why taking a holistic approach to human...

Weekly podcast: How to create high quality apparel fibres from post-consumer garments

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Caroline Ledl, head of product management, textiles, at the Lenzing Group, talks about the challenges in using recycled content to create h...

Why due diligence may lead to a ‘wave of litigation’

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The potential impacts of due diligence legislation in various jurisdictions are discussed by Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s Elizabeth Forster and I...

The human rights risks embedded in your daily cuppa

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ethical Tea Partnership chief executive Jenny Costelloe talks with Ian Welsh about how environmental and, particularly, labour and trafficking challen...

Weekly podcast: Innovative solutions to the ‘crisis of stuff’

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Steven Bethell, co-founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, talks about the growth of circular economy models re-using and re-purposing pr...

Has business really shifted from the why to the how on sustainability?

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prof David Grayson, campaigner and former director of the Doughty Centre at Cranfield School of Management, talks with Ian Welsh about some of the cha...

Weekly podcast: Why a zero-tolerance approach to worker recruitment fees is essential

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: David Pettet, global human rights and sustainable supply chain director at Reckitt, talks about the critical matters that companies must en...

LandScale: tackling landscape level challenges in Guatemala

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mario Rafael Rodriguez, senior associate for LandScale at the Rainforest Alliance, and José Luis López, palm oil and biodiversity programme manager ...

What EU corporate due diligence rules will actually mean for business

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Innovation Forum’s Bea Stevenson talks with Salla Saastamoinen, director for civil and commercial justice, DG Justice and Consumers at the European ...

Weekly podcast: Tea sector’s blend of supply chain challenges

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week: Jenny Costelloe, chief executive of the Ethical Tea Partnership, discusses how the sector is tackling its environmental and social challeng...