Issue 24: Collaborative efforts to tackle agricultural decarbonisation
Welcome to Innovation Forum Sustainable Business Spotlight.
This weekly newsletter compiles all you need to know about sustainable business from apparel and textiles, to food systems and plastics and packaging. Stay up to date with the latest news from our featured podcasts and articles.
Now let's begin.
Monday briefing
Scope 3 emissions: what can procurement do?
This week: Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh interviews Bertrand Conquéret , Henkel 's head of procurement, at the recent Scope 3 Innovation Forum. They discuss the critical role of procurement in managing Scope 3 emissions and strategies for effective engagement.
Plus: Innovation Forum's Hanna Halmari shares a preview of the upcoming autumn conference season, featuring forums on sustainable commodities and land use, sustainable packaging, and Scope 3.
Latest analysis
Accelerating regenerative agriculture for a resilient food system
Ensuring on-farm profitability and yield during the transition to regenerative practices requires collaboration and communication between farmers and industry stakeholders
Advancing regenerative agriculture farming has become a priority for agri-food stakeholders to mitigate some of the most pressing challenges threatening the resilience of global food systems, whilst tackling climate change. While companies have experimented with regenerative farming practices, these often remain limited to the pilot phase.
To explore this further, Innovation Forum and Vayda hosted a webinar to hold an honest conversation with agri-food stakeholders about the essential strategies needed to accelerate on-farm transformation and ensure long-term sustainable practice changes at an industry level.
Why EPR policies are essential for textile circularity
News digest: Ellen MacArthur Foundation on textile producer responsibilities; public unhappy at lack of climate progress; International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) working to harmonise reporting standards; European Union nature restoration laws; and, Danish agriculture emissions to be taxed
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has released a report stating that extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies are needed to achieve a circular economy for textiles. Collection infrastructure for textiles is currently underdeveloped, with individual national separate collection rates averaging only 14% and reaching a maximum of 50%. Over 80% of textiles globally end up being incinerated, landfilled or leaked into the environment.
The report argues that EPR policies must go beyond just waste management and recycling, and should provide funding to cover the net cost of managing all discarded textiles, not just those with high market value. Without an EPR policy, the collection, reuse and recycling of textiles is unlikely to be meaningfully scaled up.
Latest podcasts
Less is more: collaborative efforts to tackle agricultural decarbonisation
Anke Kwast , vice president for regenerative agriculture and climate frameworks at Yara International , talks with Ian Welsh about the challenges in decarbonising agriculture and why using less inputs can be the sustainable future.
Plus: Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) sees 30% rise in nature impact disclosures; study shows plastic bottles emit harmful volatile organic compounds when exposed to sunlight; industry resists plastic production cap, pushes for recycling focus; and, number of companies setting science-based targets doubled in 2023, in the news digest by Ellen A. .
Leveraging technology for carbon accounting in agriculture
Peter Bunce , vice president and head of cotton and microbials at Indigo , talks with Innovation Forum ’s Ian Welsh about the momentum behind companies addressing scope 3 emissions, particularly in the agriculture sector. They discuss the importance of leveraging technology and partnerships to collect and analyse data efficiently, reducing the burden on farmers while ensuring accurate carbon accounting. Bunce also highlights the potential of voluntary carbon markets to drive sustainable farming practices and warns against delaying progress on carbon reduction due to challenges in addressing biodiversity impacts.
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This newsletter was curated by Diana Kim. Any feedback? Send an email at diana.kim@innovationforum.co.uk.