Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

This week: Diageo’s head of sustainable procurement, Andy Griffiths, talks with Ian Welsh about the company's rolling out of regenerative agriculture in various supply chains, and the challenges of making packaging more sustainable.   Plus: Starbucks acquires more innovation farms to develop climate-resistant coffee; glass bottles will be excluded from the England's deposit return scheme; 225 NGOs...

Alternative protein business InsectBiotech’s co-founder Ignacio Gavilan talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the company's approach to turning agricultural waste into protein and fertiliser using black soldier fly larvae. They discuss the potential of insect protein to reduce dependency on soy and fish meal in animal feed industries.

This week: Elizabeth Daut, natural resources specialist at USAID, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ellen Atiyah about the HEARTH initiative and how it is driving sustainable development on the ground.  To find out more, join the complimentary webinar on 16th October at 2pm CET. And, Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Hannah Oborne introduce the  future of food and beverage forum, returning to Amsterdam...

This week: The first in a new state-of-sustainability series, Brendan May, business expert and founder of Robertsbridge, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the apparent current crossroads for sustainable business and why some companies are scaling back on their ambitions. They discuss the political dynamics affecting sustainability efforts, the challenges of excessive reporting requirem...

Roel van Poppel and Christopher Stewart from global food ingredients supplier ofi talk with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about the company's Choices for Change strategy. They share insights on ofi’s ambitious 2030 targets for farmer prosperity, climate action and regenerative agriculture, emphasising how data-driven decisions and partnerships are key to transforming supply chains and creating posi...

This week: Innovation Forum’s Ellen Atiyah speaks with Andika Putraditama, director of the Rimba Collective at Lestari Capital, about how nature-based solutions can help deliver corporate sustainability commitments, ahead of a webinar on 17th October . They discuss the partnerships, challenges and opportunities driving nature-based solution models, and how corporates are linking commodity sourcing...

In this episode, host Ian Welsh speaks with Nathan Truitt, executive vice president for climate funding at the American Forest Foundation. They explore the vital role of family-owned forests in the U.S., which comprise nearly 40% of all forested land, and how empowering these individual landowners can lead to significant conservation outcomes, including enhanced carbon sequestration and improved b...

This week: Ian Welsh speaks with Niklas Wallsargård, CEO of agri-sector business Improvin’, about how granular on-farm data can help companies measure and monitor sustainability impacts, and why traceability and farmer engagement are key to scaling positive change. Plus, updates on the potential delay of the EUDR,  criticism of the Common Agricultural Policy, and ASDA’s expanding partnership with...

This week: Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Emily Heslop talk about what to expect at the sustainable commodities and land use forum coming up in October. They discuss latest confirmed speakers from Mars Wrigley, Danone, Unilever and more to incorporate varying corporate perspectives amid the looming deadline of EUDR. Plus: some reflections from last year’s sustainable commodities forum, CEO of Ro...

This week: in the first in story of a startup series, alternative protein business InsectBiotech’s co-founder Ignacio Gavilan talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about why alternative sources of low-impact protein are necessary, and the potential of what is currently waste as feedstock. Plus: packaging waste expert John Kotlarczyk, formerly of Walgreen Boots Alliance, shares sustainable packag...

In this episode of the Innovation Forum podcast, host Ian Welsh speaks with Jonathan Sullivan, vice president of commercial sustainability, and Shai Sela, chief Scientist at Agmatix. They discuss Agmatix's role in digitising solutions for the agricultural sector, highlighting their commitment to using credible science and practical agronomy to drive innovation.

This week: Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Hanna Halmari share latest updates on the upcoming sustainable packaging innovation forum (Philadelphia, 29-30 October). They discuss agenda and speaker highlights including industry-focused roundtable and regulation-focused discussions. Plus: some reflections from last year’s packaging conference in Amsterdam, when Daniel Katz from the Overbook Foundati...

This week: Roel van Poppel and Christopher Stewart from food ingredients supplier ofi talk with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about their recent sustainability strategy launch. They explore how it will shape the company’s collaboration with farmer suppliers and customers across diverse sourcing landscapes, as well as the role of stakeholder engagement in gathering positive and constructive feedback...

In this webinar, we discussed the evolving regulatory environment impacting commodity supply chains. As new regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) come into play, it’s essential for businesses to understand and adapt to these changes. Our expert panel shared their insi...

Krishna Manda, vice president of sustainability at sustainable cellulose textiles manufacturer Lenzing Group, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the complexities in achieving net zero emissions in the textile industry. They discuss the critical role of science-based targets in aligning organisational efforts and the innovative strategies needed to tackle significant challenges, particul...

This week: Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop and Ian Welsh share the latest updates on the upcoming  sustainable commodities and land use forum  in Amsterdam, 22nd-23rd October. They talk about agenda and speaker highlights coming up, specifically focusing on discussions around regenerating nature and biodiversity.  Click here for information on how to get involved.  And do listen out for a special...

This week: Nathan Truitt, executive vice president for climate and funding at the American Forest Foundation, talks with Ian Welsh to discuss the crucial role of family-owned forests in North America's carbon sequestration efforts. They explore how effective forest management can significantly increase carbon absorption, the complexities faced by small landowners, and the potential of voluntary ca...

Laura Satkowski, senior product manager at CIBO Technologies, talks with Ian Welsh about how innovative financing models can support farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices. They discuss challenges and opportunities in blending public and private sector programmes to provide long-term financial support and technical expertise for growers. They also highlight the importance of crea...

This week: Ian Welsh talks with Innovation Forum’s Hannah Oborne about this year’s scope 3 innovation forum USA (in Washington DC, 3rd-4th December), which will focus on how business transformation, supply chain innovation and low-carbon solutions can deliver scope 3 reduction on the road to net zero.  Click here for information on how to get involved.   Plus: insights from Henkel’s chief procurem...

This week: Shai Sela and Jonathan Sullivan from agriculture sector data solutions business Agmatix talk with Ian Welsh about the future of regenerative agriculture, the challenges and opportunities it presents. They discuss the new data-driven RegenIQ framework for promoting sustainable farming practices. Plus: NGOs challenge EU climate targets in court; Capri Sun criticised for opposing plastic s...

Matthew Spencer, global director of landscapes at IDH, talks with Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb about implementing landscape and jurisdictional approaches for sustainable land management. They share practical insights on stakeholder engagement, overcoming political challenges and scaling successful landscape models, using real-world examples from Kenya, Brazil and more.

This week: Krishna Manda, vice president of a sustainable cellulose manufacturer Lenzing, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about challenges in meeting corporate climate targets and strategies for decarbonisation in the apparel sector. They discuss progress so far, the importance of risk sharing between brands and suppliers, and context-specific roadmaps for sector-wide decarbonisation. Plus...

Innovation Forum’s Tanya Richard and Ian Welsh talk about best practices to engage with stakeholders. They discuss the growing need for transparency and authenticity to build trust among stakeholders, and to bring in critical voices to co-create solutions that incorporate various perspectives and geographies across their supply chain.

This week: Laura Satkowski, senior product manager at CIBO Technologies, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about some of the challenges for growers accessing finance — from public and private sectors — to enable more sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices. Plus: US shifts to support plastic production limits in global treaty; UK supermarket Tesco's F&F clothing introduces dig...

Indigo Ag’s senior director of remote sensing and data inference, Nick Malizia, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about the evolving role of remote sensing in agriculture. They discuss the transformative potential of remote sensing for precision agriculture, and of AI in unlocking even greater insights in the future.