This three day virtual business conference will debate and showcase real world solutions to the most pressing and urgent challenges in commodity supply chains. We’ll look at what’s driving value chain change and how business is working to deliver on increasingly difficult sustainability targets.

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The speakers

Harold Poelma

Cargill

President, Cocoa & Chocolate

Anderson Tanoto

APRIL

RGE Director, Member of the RGE Executive Management Board and Member of the Executive Committee

Abyd Karmali

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Managing Director, Climate Finance

Kate Schaffner

Kellogg Company

Global Sustainable Agriculture Lead

Martin Huxtable

Unilever

Sustainable Sourcing Director

Sophie Beckham

International Paper

Chief Sustainability Officer

Frances Seymour

World Resources Institute

Distinguished Senior Fellow, Forest and Governance Issues

Hugo Schally

European Commission

Head of Unit, Multilateral Environmental Cooperation, DG Environment

View all speakers

Agenda highlights

Board-level perspectives: Senior insights into the future of sustainable sourcing and what’s required to drive successful collaboration at board level
Natural climate solutions: How business can make them effective – and cost efficient
Soil restoration and regenerative agriculture: How business can engage farmers and implement sustainable agriculture initiatives at scale
Zero-deforestation commodities: Practical, cross-commodity case studies that highlight success on the ground and assess the implementation of No Peat, No Deforestation, No Exploitation commitments
The future of carbon markets: Tackling climate impacts with credible offsetting and insetting
The role of investment in driving company decisions: How will finance support 2030 targets and the journey towards them?

Smallholder resilience and diversification: The necessary steps to improve farmer incomes and livelihoods
The landscape approach to sustainable sourcing: What does success look like today?
Protecting and restoring biodiversity: Company case studies of progress made to monitor, protect and preserve biodiversity and natural habitats
Collaboration and scale: How do we remove the barriers to effective coalitions which drive real transformation in commodities?
Government action and mandatory due diligence: How is the EU set to influence business sourcing from high deforestation risk regions?
Evolving consumer demands: How consumer outrage about unsustainable sourcing can be made useful

View full agenda

Why attend an IF virtual conference?

Discover best practices from industry leaders and get detailed, practical guidance on how to effectively implement policies

Meet & network with an influential audience of key stakeholders through speed networking sessions and pre-planned 1:1 meetings

In-depth problem solving around the key issues within hands-on deep dive workshops and face to face discussion

Making connections at The Sustainable Landscapes and Commodities Forum

How can attendees network virtually?

Speed networking

No need to hang around the coffee cart to begin making connections - join our virtual speed networking for a series of quick-fire 1:1 meetings. Often the highlight of our virtual events, you will have the opportunity to meet a range of attendees within a short amount of time. Then, follow up with new connections and schedule longer, private meetings to continue the discussion.

Group networking

During group networking sessions, attendees are placed in small groups for more relaxed, informal networking. Groups are rotated so you have the chance to meet a variety of people and leave with fresh connections and potential partners.

Schedule meetings

Often at our online events, discussions begin in the chat boxes during sessions and continue behind closed doors for more in-depth conversation between interested parties. Our platform enables you to reach out to other attendees and arrange 1:1 and group meetings. Maximise your impact at the event, and effectively manage your day.

Working groups

During working group sessions all attendees join intimate, face-to-face calls to enable a genuine dialogue and ensure engagement. These sessions are a great opportunity to connect with other attendees who share a common interest and kick-start the conversation.

Pre-conference Action Workshops

Open to all attendees, the below workshops are designed to provide focused discussion and tangible outputs for business.

Preventing deforestation: How to incentivise smallholders and rural communities to protect forests

September 9th 2020

This half day workshop will assess how business can help smallholders and rural communities be paid for protecting forests and nature.

We'll discuss how existing mechanisms can be adapted to create a way to pay farmers to protect nature, and provide clear, practical takeaways as to what a functioning system looks like.

More information available here

Next generation smallholders: What’s required to empower youth and the farmers of the future

October 8th 2020

The second pre-conference workshop will discuss how business can ensure that the next generation of farmers take pride in land and agriculture.

We’ll discuss real life examples and hear from youth groups and representatives about what they want, and hope for, beyond 2020 in agriculture and rural communities.

More information available here

"It’s hard to imagine a virtual conference running more smoothly or effectively – congratulations to the entire Innovation Forum team."

Kevin O’Donnell / Global Director, Sourcing & Operations Sustainability / General Mills

"The Innovation Forum team practiced what they preached and innovated to create a really excellent virtual event. The diversity of sessions both in terms of content and technical style kept the audience engaged so that there was real user experience of attending a conference. Upsides such as the "speed networking" should remain part of the conference formula if /when we all meet face to face"

James Streeter / Founder and Director / Viridian Advisory

"I very much enjoyed the virtual conference - from plenary sessions to working groups. There was a great variety of topics and such knowledgeable industry speakers."

Jeffrey Engels / Director, Livelihoods & Economic Opportunities / Pact Inc.

"...the team did a fantastic job and I was blown away by how engaging and effective the virtual format was...the virtual speed networking was wildly effective and should be used at all events moving forward. Virtual or in person."

Than Baardson / CEO / Unseen

"The conference was very valuable use of my time; increasing my network, reminding me of some key areas of focus to consider and learning from others."

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What’s different about this forum?

Innovation Forum is:

Candid: Entirely off-the-record discussion that enables open and honest disclosure from speakers and genuine participation from the audience.
Practical: A clear focus on the practical and actionable guidance that can drive change throughout industries and supply chains.
Focused: We provide enough time, resources and expertise to the issues that really matter. We don’t skate the surface, but get to the crux of the issues to provide in-depth, constructive discussion.

Innovation Forum is NOT:

A PR platform: Enthusiastic speakers are NOT given free rein to fill a session presenting their companies, allowing no time to actually get to the crux of the issues.
A talking shop: This is NOT an opportunity for a group people in a room to simply agree with everything said, regardless of outcomes.
All promise, no delivery: We will NOT promise what we can’t deliver. The issues covered are complex. They won’t be solved at a two-day conference. But we will help deliver progress through in-depth, constructive and practical advice around specific issues.