Guest blog: How business can tackle deforestation

Guest blog by Narni Brooke-Adil shejoined Innovation Forum in June of this year shortly after
finishing her bachelors in business and finance at Cass Business School. Her interest in sustainability was enhanced after taking a module in the last year of her degree, although she has grown up very aware of the world’s looming sustainability issues, in particular climate change. She was fortunate enough to secure a job with Innovation Forum straight after finishing her exams and is enjoying the role immensely. 

The London deforestation conference will be her first forum and is already shaping up to be a great event, we hope to see you there! 

The newest methodologies, technologies and industry examples for implementing zero deforestation policies

14th-15th November 2017, London

Join us at us at this debate-driven business conference designed to provide delegates with the practical guidance necessary to build and implement effective zero deforestation commitments.

This event will bring together key players from business, government, NGOs and the investment community. We’ll discuss the challenges faced in removing deforestation from corporate supply chains and how to overcome them.

As the fourth London conference addressing this issue, and part of a global series of meetings in Washington DC, Singapore and Jakarta, this event will look at the latest trends, what they mean for business and how you should respond on a practical level.

Some of the core themes include:

• From policy to implementation: in-depth, constructive analysis on the impact of company policies for zero deforestation supply chains
• Defunding deforestation: what actions are financial institutions taking? 
• Innovative technology for tracking, tracing and monitoring: discover the latest innovations available for business to stay on top of their supply chains
• Sustainable procurement: effective strategies to best align internal priorities and engage buyers to ensure procurement teams are on side
• Incentivising ‘middle men’: what can buyers do to engage traders to act on deforestation related traceability?
• Changing government priorities: what is the future role of business in driving the anti-deforestation agenda, as governments neglect climate change and environmental issues?

Through a series of interactive workshops, we’ll also address:

• Human rights violations on plantations: practical solutions to tackling slave labour and other abuses found in palm oil supply chains
• The road ahead for certification: how will certification be affected by market consolidation and corporate changes?  
• Commodity focus: detailed case studies around cocoa, soy and viscose supply chains
• Cracking jurisdictional and landscape approaches: practical steps to ensure engagement from all relevant stakeholders to unlock their full potential.

The event agenda has been designed in a different way to include varied, engaging session formats such as a dragons’ den panel, crisis scenario role plays, case studies, Q&As and workshops. We’ve done this to ensure that every session genuinely delivers practical insights for attendees and is able to drive forward debate around the issues.

Some highlights of the agenda include:

 An in-depth look at IOI Loders Croklaan’s latest deforestation commitments presented by Ben Vreeburg and critiqued by a panel of ‘dragons’, including representatives from Mighty, Robertsbridge and a palm oil buyer.

• BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO will join a panel of banks to talk about efforts within the banking sector to combat deforestation financing.
• A practical session showcasing the latest innovations in technology designed to prevent and detect deforestation within supply chains.
• A workshop focussed on clearing up the common misconceptions around the High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock approaches.

 We have confirmed a strong list of speakers from companies and organisations such as Marks and Spencer, Danone, Mondelez International, Barry Callebaut, IOI Loders Croklaan, Bunge, Olam, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, Pearson, Oxfam, TFA 2020, TFT, RSPO, HCV Resource Network, The Consumer Goods Forum, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and more.

If you would like to secure a place at the conference, you can register here: www.innovation-forum.co.uk/deforestation-london-2017-register  Alternatively email Narni at Narni.brooke-adil@innovation-forum.co.uk

Felix Dodds readers can have a complimentary 15% discount using the code FD15 at checkout.