Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast State of Sustainability

Product carbon footprints (PCFs) can help companies understand the emissions behind their products, but what does a footprint actually tell you and how should it be used? 

In this episode of State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed speaks with Amber Robinson, sustainability research lead at Altruistic, about the practical choices and complications behind PCFs.

Amber explains the difference between cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave footprints, using a chocolate bar to illustrate how emissions can span farming, processing, packaging, transport, use and disposal. 

The conversation then explores the difference between a simple consumer-facing label and the more detailed information needed to understand how a PCF was calculated. A number is more meaningful when it has context, such as a comparison that helps people interpret it.

For companies collecting data from suppliers, the episode examines why supplier PCFs can be difficult to compare with secondary emissions factors. Amber explains why supplier-specific data can be particularly valuable for tracking real decarbonisation efforts over time, and discusses hybrid approaches that combine secondary factors with supplier data for specific emissions sources.

Saif and Amber also consider PACT conformity and assurance, the role of industry-specific extensions, and how to identify hotspots across products or supply regions. They look beyond carbon to impacts such as water, while noting that collecting more data is only worthwhile when it supports useful decisions.

Amber’s outlook for the next three years: companies will become clearer about what they need PCFs for, with data requests tailored to different uses, from research and development to sustainability reporting. The discussion offers a practical guide to understanding PCFs, as tools for finding opportunities to reduce impact.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

People care about sustainability, but that does not necessarily mean they will pay more for it. 

In this episode of State of Sustainability, Saif Hameed revisits the sustainable consumer and explores what brands need to understand about concern, behavior, pricing, and identity in 2026.

Sustainability concern is rising, particularly among younger consumers and people in emerging markets. But unlike consumers in developed economies - whose concerns may be shaped by media coverage and broad fears about global catastrophe - people in emerging markets often experience environmental problems directly. 

The episode examines why sustainable behaviors are increasing even when consumers do not describe them as sustainability choices. Organic, natural, recyclable, and recycled products are often chosen because they represent health, safety, or better choices for the family - not necessarily because they are better for the planet.

Saif also questions the idea of a universal green premium. While some identity-led brands can command higher prices, most consumers remain highly price sensitive. In some cases, sustainability messaging may even undermine sales if customers associate it with weaker performance, such as 'the paper straw problem'.

As AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini become more influential, brands will need to communicate the identities and values they serve. The biggest opportunity may not be selling sustainability directly, but creating a strong match between what a product represents and how consumers want to see themselves.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

Join us at the State of Sustainability Summit: London
On 14 October, Altruistiq is bringing together senior sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders from leading consumer goods companies for a day of practical discussions on the challenges shaping the future of the industry. From product carbon footprints and supply chain collaboration to AI, regulation and the next generation of sustainability leadership, the summit is designed to equip practitioners with actionable insights and meaningful connections.
Register your interest here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/the-state-of-sustainability-summit-london

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Product carbon footprints promise to make Scope 3 emissions more useful, but can they really deliver the precision businesses expect?

In this episode of State of Sustainability, Saif Hameed, founder and CEO of Altruistiq, revisits product carbon footprints (PCFs), exploring how they have evolved and why they are becoming increasingly important for companies, suppliers, and procurement teams.

Saif explains the relationship between corporate carbon footprinting, life cycle assessments, and PCFs, describing a product carbon footprint as the carbon element of a product’s wider life cycle. He explores how the PACT initiative is helping establish common standards and data-sharing infrastructure, allowing companies to exchange comparable PCFs across complex supply chains.

The conversation examines why PCFs can make Scope 3 emissions more specific, actionable, and defensible than generic emissions factors. They can help businesses move from broad footprint estimates to targeted discussions about materials, energy, sourcing, and supplier-led decarbonisation projects.

Saif also addresses the challenges. PCFs are still built on emissions factors and proxies, meaning they can create a false impression of accuracy. Different providers may produce different results, while suppliers face new costs, capability requirements, and educational demands. The episode also explores the tension between procurement teams seeking practical progress and sustainability professionals seeking maximum rigor.

Find out how ambitious requesters and suppliers are using PCFs strategically, not simply as compliance exercises, but as tools for stronger customer relationships, shared transition plans, and competitive advantage.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

Join us at the State of Sustainability Summit: London
On 14 October, Altruistiq is bringing together senior sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders from leading consumer goods companies for a day of practical discussions on the challenges shaping the future of the industry. From product carbon footprints and supply chain collaboration to AI, regulation and the next generation of sustainability leadership, the summit is designed to equip practitioners with actionable insights and meaningful connections.
Register your interest here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/the-state-of-sustainability-summit-london

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Water sounds like a familiar topic until you actually dive into how messy, local, and operationally sensitive it really is. In this episode of State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed breaks down why water can’t be treated like carbon: it’s not fungible, it’s not evenly distributed, and its impacts are far more tied to place, regulation, and business risk. He explains why water is often overlooked in corporate sustainability, especially in the food and beverage sector, even though it can be just as critical as carbon - and in some cases more immediate.

This episode also explores the current regulatory landscape, showing how disclosure requirements may be easing while expectations for permitting and monitoring are tightening. Saif highlights the growing importance of water permits, the role of microplastics and pollutants in new rules, and why the first water permit refusals may signal tougher scrutiny ahead. 

He also makes the case that companies need to think beyond efficiency alone and focus on scarcity, basin-level risk, and the real business consequences of water stress, supply disruption, and license-to-operate challenges.

The episode also covers practical considerations: understand where your business is exposed, map water-related risk by geography and supply chain, and treat water as a strategic issue rather than just a reporting metric. Saif’s core message is simple: if you want to manage water well, you need to think about it as a business resilience problem first.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

Join us at the State of Sustainability Summit: London
On 14 October, Altruistiq is bringing together senior sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders from leading consumer goods companies for a day of practical discussions on the challenges shaping the future of the industry. From product carbon footprints and supply chain collaboration to AI, regulation and the next generation of sustainability leadership, the summit is designed to equip practitioners with actionable insights and meaningful connections.
Register your interest here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/the-state-of-sustainability-summit-london

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

What does rewilding really mean? And do people championing it really understand how it works in practice? In this episode of The State of Sustainability, Saif unpacks the differences between organic, regenerative, and rewilding practices. As well as why so many sustainability advocates misunderstand rewilding, despite promoting it. 

Saif explains the contrast between organic farming's strict, input-focused certification process and regenerative agriculture's more flexible, outcomes-based approach centered on biodiversity and soil health.

Saif also examines the structural realities of mainstream farming across the world. He points out that big, single-crop farms and most of the money in farming are concentrated in wealthier northern countries. Meanwhile, in poorer southern countries, land is often split up among many small owners, making it much harder to run large farms or get organic certification.

Rewilding itself is still an abstract concept requiring a major mindset shift that isn't feasible for every farmer. Despite the challenges, Saif remains cautiously optimistic, seeing rewilding as a necessary evolution in how we approach agriculture and land management going forward.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

Join us at the State of Sustainability Summit: London
On 14 October, Altruistiq is bringing together senior sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders from leading consumer goods companies for a day of practical discussions on the challenges shaping the future of the industry. From product carbon footprints and supply chain collaboration to AI, regulation and the next generation of sustainability leadership, the summit is designed to equip practitioners with actionable insights and meaningful connections.
Register your interest here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/the-state-of-sustainability-summit-london

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode of The State of Sustainability, Saif explores the rise, decline, and future opportunities of plant-based proteins, focusing on the technological innovations, branding challenges, and market dynamics. He shares insights from the industry’s early boom with Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods to the recent slowdown, along with predictions on where the space might go next.

Saif covers the initial hype around plant-based meat and why the sector captured so much attention in 2019 and 2020. He also outlines the core obstacles that slowed momentum, including taste, texture, price, and the difficulty of competing with the deeply established emotional pull of meat brands.

Saif shares his insights into where the category may still win, especially in emerging markets, B2B channels, and ingredient-level innovation. His long-term view is that plant-based protein is not a dead end, but a space that may succeed through sharper targeting, better economics, and new technologies like fermentation and tissue culture.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

Join us at the State of Sustainability Summit: London
On 14 October, Altruistiq is bringing together senior sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders from leading consumer goods companies for a day of practical discussions on the challenges shaping the future of the industry. From product carbon footprints and supply chain collaboration to AI, regulation and the next generation of sustainability leadership, the summit is designed to equip practitioners with actionable insights and meaningful connections.
Register your interest here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/the-state-of-sustainability-summit-london

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode of State of Sustainability, we take a deep dive into cocoa - one of the world’s most familiar commodities, and one of the most vulnerable. Host Saif Hameed opens with a personal path into commodity markets, from early fascination with cocoa trading to a brief stint in potato trading, before turning to the serious question at the heart of the episode: can cocoa remain viable in a world of rising climate risk, disease pressure, land competition, and market volatility?

The story begins with cocoa’s extraordinary price swings, which have taken the market from relatively stable levels to historic highs and then back down again. Those moves are not just about trading noise. They reflect deeper structural stress in a supply chain that is heavily concentrated in West Africa, where Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana account for the majority of global production. That concentration makes cocoa especially exposed to weather shocks, political instability, and agronomic decline.

Saif also explores the challenges facing the farmers who actually grow cocoa. Most are smallholders working on tiny plots, often with aging trees, low margins, and little room to absorb risk. Disease is another major threat, especially cocoa swollen shoot virus and black pod disease, both of which can severely damage yields. The episode also looks at land loss caused by illegal mining in Ghana and the way regulation, including EUDR, is reshaping where cocoa can and cannot be grown.

The demand side is changing too. Manufacturers are reformulating products, shrinking bar sizes, and substituting ingredients as cocoa becomes more expensive and harder to source. Saif closes with a sober prediction: cocoa supply is likely to keep under pressure, volatility will remain high, and the industry may be heading toward a less abundant future.

Let Saif know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode of State of Sustainability, Saif Hameed explores how artificial intelligence is moving beyond simple chat tools and into agentic systems and AI native services, with major implications for sustainability teams. 

He breaks down the difference between traditional AI use, agentic AI connected to tools and context, and service models built around AI plus humans in the loop. The core theme is clear: organisations are increasingly looking for outcomes, not headcount, and sustainability work is likely to feel that shift sooner than many expect.

Saif explains why sustainability functions are especially exposed to automation because so much of their work is repetitive, cyclical, and information-heavy. He argues that AI is well suited to handle tasks like supplier risk scanning, data acquisition, and due diligence workflows, which means teams will need to rethink what value really looks like. Rather than relying on deep subject matter expertise alone, future value will come from leverage, system design, and the ability to combine people, process, and AI effectively.

The episode also looks at how organisational hierarchies may flatten as AI makes information flow, decision-making, and performance management easier to automate. Saif shares lessons from his consulting background and warns against becoming a “translator” role that the business no longer understands or values. For sustainability managers and analysts, the message is practical and urgent: focus on delivering outcomes with fewer resources, because the market is already moving in that direction.

Let me know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

This time, Saif Hameed dives into the new corporate net zero standard from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). This isn’t just another regulation; it’s a pivotal moment for companies looking to thrive in a sustainable future.

SPTi has seen explosive growth, especially in Asia, where businesses are stepping up to meet climate compliance. This shift isn't just about numbers, it’s about redefining what it means to be responsible in today’s market.

But with challenges, such as a crisis of confidence and the need for guideline clarity, what does this mean for your business?

In this episode we explore how these changes impact your sustainability journey and why understanding the new standard is crucial for success.

Let me know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode of State of Sustainability, we explore the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), one of the most significant developments in climate policy, carbon pricing and international trade. As the European Union begins implementing CBAM, businesses around the world are assessing what the new regulations mean for imports, exports, supply chains and decarbonisation strategies.

We break down how CBAM works, why it was introduced, and which industries are expected to feel the greatest impact. From steel and cement to fertilisers, aluminium and hydrogen, the mechanism is designed to prevent carbon leakage and ensure imported products face similar carbon costs to those produced within the EU.

The discussion explores the latest CBAM carbon certificate pricing, the potential impact on global trade flows, and the challenges businesses face as they adapt to new reporting and compliance requirements. We also examine concerns around competitiveness, trade barriers and whether CBAM could accelerate the global adoption of carbon pricing systems.

The episode looks at how major economies, including China and the United States, are responding to Europe's carbon border tax, and whether similar mechanisms could emerge elsewhere. We discuss the implications for emissions trading schemes, green steel production, industrial decarbonisation and the future of sustainable manufacturing.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• What the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is and why it was introduced

• How CBAM is designed to prevent carbon leakage and support EU climate goals

• The industries most affected, including steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, hydrogen and electricity

• The latest CBAM carbon pricing and what it means for exporters

• The potential impact on international trade and global supply chains

• Whether CBAM creates a level playing field or acts as a trade barrier

• How China is responding through the development of its emissions trading scheme

• The possibility of similar carbon border taxes being introduced in other regions

• The role of CBAM in accelerating industrial decarbonisation

• Challenges around emissions data collection, reporting and verification

Key statistics discussed:

• Steel accounts for approximately 69% of the trade volume affected by CBAM

• Fertilisers represent around 15% of affected imports

• Cement accounts for approximately 11%

• Aluminium represents around 5%

• Current carbon certificate prices are approximately €75 per tonne of CO₂ equivalent

• Green steel currently carries a premium of approximately €200–300 per tonne

Whether you're involved in sustainability, ESG, manufacturing, procurement, international trade or climate policy, this episode provides a practical overview of one of the most important regulatory changes shaping the future of low-carbon industry.

Listen now to learn how CBAM could transform global trade, influence carbon pricing strategies and drive the next phase of industrial decarbonisation.

Do you think CBAM will accelerate global decarbonisation, or create new challenges for international trade? Let us know what you think by emailing Saif@altruistiq.com.

To discover how leading organisations are improving sustainability reporting and carbon management, visit Altruistiq.com.

This episode was produced by thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Assets under management in the impact and ESG space are close to an all-time high, somewhere between $1.5 and $1.6 trillion. So why is capital actually leaving the sector? In this episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed takes a detour from resilience and volatility to dig into what's going wrong, and where the genuine opportunities still exist.

The short answer: the industry has an identity problem. ESG labels get applied to mainstream tech stocks on the basis that they carry low environmental risk. Returns across impact funds are wildly inconsistent and the gap between what the sector promises and what it can actually deliver has become impossible to ignore.

Saif traces how impact investing developed along two tracks. Private markets had early pioneers like the Acumen Fund building something genuinely mission-led. Public markets then borrowed the language through ESG frameworks, with rather looser results.

Three lessons from that history:
ESG was never designed to do this job. It emerged in the 1990s as a risk-assessment tool, not as a valid basis for investment inclusion. Retrofitting it into a mainstream strategy was always going to cause problems.

The trade-off question needs an honest answer. You cannot simultaneously maximise financial returns and social impact without giving something up. The industry has spent years avoiding that conversation.

Measurement doesn't scale. Comparing affordable housing projects with renewable energy infrastructure under a single performance framework produces numbers that mean very little.

Where does that leave things? Saif argues the sector needs a significant rebrand and a serious recalibration of financial expectations. But there are three areas where impact investing still has real potential: generating brand equity and strategic value for corporate venture capital; venture philanthropy, where charitable capital gets recycled for compounding impact rather than disappearing into operational costs; and catalytic first-loss capital inside blended finance structures run by multilateral development institutions.

The through-line: accepting below-market returns might be the only way to preserve what impact investing was actually supposed to be.

What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

What if the secret to unbreakable supply chain resilience isn't squeezing your suppliers for the lowest price, but actively paying them to heal the planet?

In this episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed is joined by David Croft, former sustainability lead at Reckitt, Diageo, Waitrose, and Cadbury, to explore the critical shift from short-term agility to long-term resilience in global supply chains.

David shares his extensive experience in building sustainable procurement strategies, emphasising the 'triple win' concept: an approach that delivers value for the business, the supplier, and the planet.

A core focus of their discussion is the changing dynamic between large organisations and primary producers, such as farmers in the cocoa and latex industries. By rewarding sustainable land management, such as nature-based solutions that sequester carbon or prevent downstream flooding, companies can secure reliable, high-quality resources while mitigating significant ecological and financial risks.

Ultimately, this episode offers a compelling look at how addressing environmental externalities head-on is no longer just a compliance exercise, but a fundamental driver of future business growth and resilience.

What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Just 25% of industry experts believe the standalone sustainability function will exist in five years. So what is the next great frontier for sustainability leaders?

In this episode, host Saif Hameed asks a provocative question fresh from hosting the Chicago State of Sustainability Summit: Will corporate sustainability functions still exist in five years? To help answer, Saif breaks down the three massive shifts currently challenging the sustainability professional's day-to-day workflow.

First, integrating green goals into mainstream roles means CFOs, procurement officers, and supply chain teams are absorbing sustainability tasks - a double-edged sign of success.

Second, rapid advancements in automation and agentic AI is likely to completely overtake routine tasks like carbon accounting, data aggregation, and stakeholder reporting in the coming years.

Finally, a macro backlash against corporate sustainability has stifled the ambitious blue sky thinking that characterised the late 2010s, leaving behind more mundane compliance work.

The good news, as Saif explains, is an exciting new horizon for the profession: Volatility Management. Driven by geopolitical conflicts and the terrifying reality that seven of our nine planetary boundaries are now breached, businesses face unprecedented high price variability in crucial commodities like rice, wheat, and cocoa. True business resilience now requires constant transformation and stabilisation to survive these shocks.

Saif explains how sustainability professionals can secure their future by repositioning themselves as volatility managers. By leveraging their three bedrock skills - systems thinking, data insight, and storytelling - and combining them with deep business context, sustainability experts can build the crucial playbooks CEOs need to navigate an increasingly unpredictable world. 

What are your thoughts on this? Are you already pivoting towards volatility management as a way of insulating yourself from these developments in the sustainability space? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Are sustainability teams about to be automated out of existence, or will they lead the food industry's next big shift?

Saif Hameed records this episode on the road ahead of the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago. His argument: traditional sustainability workflows are increasingly vulnerable to AI automation or absorption by procurement and finance. To stay relevant, sustainability professionals need to move into new territory - specifically, nutrition and nutrient density.

Saif walks through the commercial pressures making health credentials non-negotiable for food and beverage companies right now. Retail access is being gated by evolving health standards. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are changing how consumers eat. Clean labels are commanding a premium. Big corporations are responding: Danone and Unilever have both made recent acquisitions to strengthen their health and wellness positions.

That creates an opportunity for sustainability professionals. Product formulation has traditionally sat in R&D, but Saif sees a real gap for sustainability teams to step into - applying the same data and systems thinking they've used for packaging optimisation and EPR reporting to nutritional complexity and portfolio-level decision-making.

Sustainability, he argues, is a transformation capability. This episode makes the case for what that looks like in practice.

We'd love to get your thoughts on this topic. Email saif@altruistiq.com and if you enjoyed this podcast, don't forget to share it with a friend. 

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

"If you were to calculate all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste, it would be the third largest country after the US and China." 

In this episode of The State of Sustainability, Saif Hameed sits down with Catherine David, CEO of WRAP, for a "vibe check" on the global food sustainability landscape. From the shift toward "Resilience" in the US to the "Polluter Pays" principle of EPR, Catherine brings a level of radical candor to the challenges of leading a global circular economy non-profit.

We dive deep into why the industry is moving past surface-level CSR pilots and into "scale play," and Catherine shares a fascinating, counterintuitive discovery about why removing plastic packaging from fruit might actually be the key to reducing household food waste.

Key Discussion Points:

• The WRAP Mission: How a "British export" is helping US and European businesses transition to a circular economy through outcome-driven programs.
• Resilience vs. CSR: Why "Resilience" is the hottest topic in sustainability right now, and why the era of the "sustainability pilot" is officially over.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): A deep dive into the "polluter pays" principle and how it incentivizes businesses to design better, more circular systems.
• The Food Waste Paradox: Insight into WRAP’s research showing that removing plastic packaging and date labels from fresh produce actually reduces waste by changing consumer behavior.
• Leadership in a Volatile World: Catherine’s experience stepping into the CEO role during a period of global economic and political instability.
• The Future of Nutrition: Why nutrient density is poised to become as significant a metric as carbon footprint in the coming years.

"I’m someone who thinks that decisions should be made with evidence, analysis, fact, and data... but the way I actually make decisions is to listen to the key voices and trusted people in my circle." — Catherine David

Meet Saif Hameed in person at the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago on April 15th! To book your place, email saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Are global geopolitical crises derailing your sustainability targets, or creating unexpected opportunities? As the Iran War sends shockwaves through global markets, sustainability professionals must urgently recalibrate their strategies to navigate volatile supply chains, fluctuating commodity prices, and shifting corporate financial pressures.

In this episode of the State of Sustainability podcast, host Saif Hameed, founder and CEO of Altruistiq, dives deep into the macroeconomic fallout of the Iran War and outlines four vital themes every sustainability team needs to prepare for.

Commodity Price Volatility: With crude oil and fertilizer (ammonia, phosphate) costs surging, the financial business case for renewable energy, alternative packaging, and sustainable agriculture has never been stronger.

Financial Market Pressure: A rising global "fear index" (VIX) means corporate leadership will increasingly push for cost-cutting to boost earnings. Sustainability teams must be prepared to aggressively defend their budgets and ROI.

Emerging Market Sovereign Risk: Expensive energy imports and a strong U.S. dollar are depleting foreign reserves in the Global South. This will force procurement teams to restructure global supply chains, which will radically shift your Scope 3 emissions.

Shifting Consumer Habits: Squeezed discretionary incomes require brands to strongly rearticulate their sustainable value proposition to justify guilt-free consumer purchases.

Saif also explains why now is the crucial time to shift from complex 'one time' MAC curves to agile, scenario-based glide paths to keep your targets on track.

Episode Resources:
Check out the latest White Paper: A Marginal Abatement Cost Analysis of Sustainability Initiatives for the CPG Sector Following the 2026 Iran Conflict, here: https://bit.ly/40zTJ2V

Meet Saif Hameed in person at the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago on April 15th! To book your place, email saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

This time we dive into the shifting landscape of corporate climate regulation, focusing specifically on the robust new rules emerging from New York State.

Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq, discusses a recent conversation with Anthony Scaramucci, highlighting how California and New York are forming a regulatory "pincer" that captures major American businesses. Because these two states mandate heavy compliance, federal rollbacks on SEC regulations are becoming somewhat moot. 

Saif breaks down New York's two-track reality for climate reporting: the already enacted 'Micro Track' (Part 253), which targets physical assets like factories and smokestacks, and the soon to be enacted 'Macro Track' (S9072A), which mandates Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting for billion-dollar companies generating as little as $1 million in revenue within New York.

We also explore how these state laws compare to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Saif explains why the EU's broad ESG scope and low revenue thresholds created a multi-million-dollar reporting burden triggering a greenlash from small and mid size businesses such as farming cooperatives. In contrast, the more resilient, emissions-focused U.S. state laws are poised to set a permanent new standard for global business practices.

Finally, Saif shares his perspective on why he hopes for no new climate legislation right now, and explores the impending trickle-down effect of Scope 3 data requests and rigorous third-party auditing that all businesses should prepare for.

Note: If you're going to be in Chicago on April 5th, reach out to Saif on saif@altruistiq.com to meet up at the State of Sustainability Summit!

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

While the corporate world remains laser-focused on decarbonisation and Net Zero targets, a critical component of climate strategy is being overlooked: Adaptation. 

In this episode, we sit down with Mekala Krishnan, partner at McKinsey Global Institute, to discuss why the world needs to simultaneously "walk and chew gum", managing the transition to a low-carbon economy while urgently preparing for the physical risks already locked into the system.

Mekala breaks down the staggering economics of adaptation, estimating that the world will need to spend $1.2 trillion annually by 2050, mostly to protect against heat and drought. However, the business case is undeniable: for every $1 invested in adaptation measures, there is an average return of $3 in avoided damages.

We dive deep into the specific challenges facing sustainability leaders today, including the psychological barrier that "no one gets paid for a disaster that didn't happen". Mekala also exposes a critical vulnerability in Fortune 500 companies: while their direct operations are often designed for "1 in 10,000 year events," their indirect supply chains remain dangerously exposed to climate disruption.

Key Takeaways for Sustainability Professionals:
• The "Walk and Chew Gum" Strategy: Why planning large CAPEX buildouts without accounting for higher warming levels is a failure of risk management.
• The Fortune 500 Blindspot: Why corporate HQs are resilient, but their supply chains and distribution channels face massive resiliency gaps.
• The Heat Penalty: How chronic heat stress will impact worker productivity and agricultural yields, shifting from acute events to chronic conditions.
• The Innovation Opportunity: Why cooling solutions and agricultural resilience represent the next frontier for R&D and investment.
• Building the Business Case: How to frame adaptation to the C-Suite by moving from "invisible benefits" to tangible ROI.

Read the full report here.

Contact Saif directly via email: saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

If 90% of sustainability professionals believe their department won't exist in five years, where does that leave your career?

In this episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed tackles the "sustainability bear market". With roles increasingly absorbed into procurement and finance, professionals must go beyond resilience to become "anti-fragile" - a concept from Nassim Nicholas Taleb, describing systems that improve under pressure. To thrive in 2026, sustainability professionals should be attaining hard, transferable skills in data insights and crisis management.

This episode includes strategic breakdown of where sustainability professionals can open up opportunities and make a difference:
• Corporates: Prioritise high-margin sectors like pharmaceuticals and personal care, where brand equity and free cash flow drive long-term commitment.
• Vendors: Exercise caution with consultancies and software firms, as the sector faces consolidation and AI-driven self-service is reducing demand for traditional advisory gigs.
• Non-profits: Despite recent criticism, these unsung heroes are stabilising and offer vital roles for honest brokers, capable of bridging government and corporate gaps.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode, Saif Hameed is joined by Shannon Bouton, CEO of Delterra, for a wide-ranging conversation about waste, climate and the systems that govern how materials move through our economy. Speaking from snowy Michigan, Shannon brings a global perspective shaped by years of hands-on work designing waste management systems across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and increasingly, the United States.

The discussion explores the often-overlooked connection between waste and climate change, particularly the role of organic waste and methane emissions. Shannon challenges the idea that waste, climate and environmental issues can be treated separately, emphasising instead that they are tightly interconnected parts of a single planetary system. Together, Saif and Shannon unpack why waste has become more visible to consumers and companies alike, and why it has largely avoided the political polarisation seen in other sustainability debates.

A significant portion of the conversation digs into what makes a waste system “leaky,” why certain materials like PET bottles are more likely to be recovered than sachets or thin films, and how economic incentives shape what actually gets recycled. Shannon explains why designing packaging for recyclability, not just recycled content, is critical, and why simplification for consumers may be one of the most powerful levers companies have.

The episode also tackles complex topics like waste-to-energy, extended producer responsibility, and emerging innovations—from advanced recycling to biological solutions for organic waste. Throughout, Shannon offers a clear takeaway for sustainability professionals: there is no silver bullet, but thoughtful system design, material simplification, and aligning economics with environmental outcomes can drive meaningful change at scale.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

On the latest episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed discusses the "wholesale functional shift" and organisational overhaul that defined 2025, where sustainability teams were frequently moved under procurement or legal departments to address supply chain resilience and compliance. 

Saif also highlights a "general demotion" of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), noting that many of these roles have transitioned from reporting directly to the CEO to sitting deeper within the executive chain. This structural change is accompanied by a growing demand for harder technical skills - such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and data science - as companies move away from generalist roles to focus on carbon as their primary, and often solitary, metric.

Looking toward 2026, Saif offers a "cynical realist" outlook, predicting a continued "sustainability freeze" and "green hushing" where companies talk less about their achievements while reducing budgets and incremental initiatives. He anticipates a massive vendor shakeout among distressed software and consultancy providers, alongside a significant "retrenchment" of 2030 climate targets as businesses realize many of their original goals were aspirational rather than achievable. 

Despite these challenges, Saif emphasises that supplier-specific carbon data is becoming "table stakes" for procurement and that actual progress is being made at a much larger scale than a decade ago.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq. 

This time Saif speaks with Buffy CEO Leo Wang about how the bedding brand successfully built a sustainable product while pivoting its market message away from environmentalism toward consumer concerns about safety, comfort, and performance.

Key Takeaways:
• Initial Intent vs. Market Reality: Buffy began around 2017/2018 with the idea that the mass consumer was ready for bedding informed by sustainability values, but mass distribution quickly showed that leading with this message alienated customers.
• Safety and Trust as the Wedge: For many North American consumers, "sustainability" often translates to concerns about safety and trust, focusing on whether a product is safe for the household and family, rather than purely environmental impact.
• The Sugar Pill Strategy: Buffy intentionally "architected" its product to be highly sustainable (the "medicine") but prioritized performance and comfort messaging (the "candy") so the broad audience would unknowingly buy the ethical product.
• Performance is Paramount: Consumers often exhibit weariness toward sustainability claims, worrying that ethical products will be less soft, "crunchy," or defective compared to traditional alternatives, making performance an overriding purchase criterion.
• Sustainability as Table Stakes: Deep sustainability has become "table stakes" for D2C brands - a basic check mark that assures the consumer they are not a bad person by buying the product, but not a primary purchase differentiator.
• Distribution Demands: Distribution channels, including mass retail and digital advertising, force businesses to appeal to the "least common denominators" of consumer criteria, making financial stability and consistency critical over expensive, deep-seated ethical claims that customers rarely absorb.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.
This time, Saif takes the mic solo to dive into a topic that - according to former Starbucks CSO Michael Kobori - is about to become everyone’s priority: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.

In this episode, Saif unpacks his "hot takes" on EPR that you won't find in standard reports. He explores:

• The rise of EPR: How a concept once dismissed by the "Jesuits of capitalism" as fantasy has evolved into hard law across Europe and the US.
• The hidden drivers: Why cash-strapped municipalities and visceral consumer concerns about waste are accelerating these schemes faster than traditional ESG regulations.
• The compliance headache: The complexity of navigating fragmented global schemes and the "who watches the watchers" problem regarding Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and their conflicts of interest.
• The market reaction: How the "fruit flies" of the corporate ecosystem (consultancies and software providers) are swarming to solve the data burden.
• The opportunity for circularity: Moving beyond the "tax" mentality to a model where brands actually get their materials back - improving durability and reducing costs.

Rather than viewing EPR simply as a cost of doing business or a funding mechanism for waste collection, Saif makes the case for a strategic shift - where forward-thinking companies use these schemes to close the loop on their own products, driving true additionality and system change.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode, host Saif Hameed takes a deep dive into Bill Gates‘s controversial COP 30 memo. Saif is joined by Faisal Tajdar, head of projects at Acasus. 

Acasus is an impact focus consultancy that partners with governments around the world on public sector reform. Across his time at Acasus, the Gates foundation and Mackenzie, Faisal has been involved in healthcare reform work in several countries and multiple continents. 

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

This time, Saif takes the mic solo for another short-form content byte, and he’s tackling one of his long-standing bugbears: ESG. Or more specifically, why it’s the end of ESG as we know it (and why that might not be a bad thing).

In this episode, Saif unpacks why the term “ESG” has always bothered him - and why it might be time to finally retire it. He explores:

• The origins of ESG as a concept designed for financial institutions, not operating businesses.
• How the framework became overloaded with hundreds of unconnected KPIs that can’t meaningfully be compared.
• Why “brand ESG” has lost its meaning - and how its politicisation (particularly in the US) has turned it into a cultural flashpoint.
• The path forward: focusing on what actually matters to each business, by breaking the ESG basket into specific, strategic priorities owned by the right teams.

Rather than treating ESG as a checklist or reporting exercise, Saif makes the case for a return to fundamentals - where companies define what truly drives value, resilience, and impact for them, and commit to doing fewer things, better.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

This time, Saif takes the mic solo for a special short-form episode - part of a new series of “content bytes”, where he shares quick insights on what’s new and topical in the sustainability space.

In this episode, Saif tackles one of the drier – but essential – topics shaping the future of corporate sustainability: regulation. Specifically, he explores the UK’s shift from Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) towards the new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS).

He delves into why this transition matters – the reasoning behind bringing the UK’s reporting frameworks together, the push for greater consistency, and what this means for organisations preparing for the next wave of disclosure requirements.
Rather than simply summarising the standards, Saif takes a more qualitative approach: reflecting on the key shifts these changes represent, their practical implications, and where the broader sustainability reporting landscape may be heading.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach. 

The State of Sustainability Podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability, hosted by Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

This time, Saif is joined by David Sykes. David is an independent consultant on Data Science and AI, and was formerly Global Head of Data Science, Analytics and Engineering at Octopus Energy Group, where he spent the better part of a decade building Octopus’s data and AI capabilities.

His experience offers a unique perspective on how AI can unlock value across business functions - particularly in advancing sustainability and operational impact.

In this episode, David and Saif discuss how AI is reshaping the sustainability landscape - from tools and teams to the mindset shifts needed to make it work. They explore where AI is already creating rapid value, which levers are harder to pull, and what sustainability professionals can do to stay ahead of the curve.

As David puts it:

"Stop using AI just through the chat window and start figuring out what else it can do. Workflows, tool use, MCP which is this protocol for how you connect AIs to other tools so that’s how you might go and connect to Spotify or something like that and then maybe try a vibe coding platform something like Lovable to build something and see how it works. Just push yourself and you’ll learn a lot and upskill through that."

Links to content mentioned in the episode:

• How people are using ChatGPT (OpenAI)
• State of AI in Business 2025 Report (MLQ.ai)
• AI and the Future of Work (YouTube)
• Harvard Business School Working Paper 24-013

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

"Keep in mind, we have IPCC 2019 telling us about the last decade, those words still ring in my ears loudly and clearly: we read in 2019 dear friends, you have one decade to go, if we are not managing to turn around climate change in the next decade, we're going to be shooting past 1.5 and even past two degrees."

The State of Sustainability podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability with me, Saif Hameed, founder and CEO of Altruistiq.

This time, I’m joined by Renat Heuberger. Renat is a Swiss climate activist, serial entrepreneur and impact investor. He co-founded myclimate and South Pole, two pioneering organisations in carbon markets, and today leads Terra Impact Ventures. Over the past two decades, his work has mobilised billions of dollars into climate projects across more than 50 countries, avoiding over a billion tonnes of CO₂. In recognition of his impact, he was named a Social Entrepreneur by the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation.

Renat and I explore the beginnings of the carbon market, the journey of South Pole, and his perspective on what the future holds for carbon markets.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

"What we're going to see over the next probably 20 to 30 years is a profound value shift but it's not necessarily going to come where we most expect it. So Europe for example, I think is being left behind. It's doing a lot of regulation and all the rest of it but in a sense that's old order approach to the sustainability agenda."

The State of Sustainability podcast is where we unpack the topics and trends of corporate sustainability with me Saif Hameed, founder and CEO of Altruistiq. 

This time I'm joined by John Elkington. John is a serial sustainability entrepreneur and has been an observer and collaborator of corporate sustainability since the 80s. 

He’s credited with coining the terms 'green growth' and 'triple bottom line' and has been called the 'dean of the corporate sustainability movement' by Business week. 

John and I explore the current ESG downturn, lessons learned through previous downturns and we look at how companies and countries are adapting. We also  discuss what makes a high performing sustainability professional today. 

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

We've spent the last few months working on improvements to the podcast, lining up a fantastic selection of guests to help us discuss a wide range of topics in the sustainability space. 

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach

We've been hearing whispers about this trend for months, and now it's time to address it head-on: sustainability teams across major corporations are being restructured, downsized, or absorbed into other departments. In this episode, we dive into this critical shift that's affecting sustainability professionals worldwide. We cover:

• The dramatic shift from the sustainability hiring boom of 2-3 years ago to today's restructuring wave
• Which sustainability roles are most vulnerable (hint: it's not who you might think)
• Where sustainability functions are being relocated within organisational structures
• Whether this integration is actually good for sustainability's long-term impact
• Practical advice for navigating your career during this transition

We're going on a season break and will be back with you in June.

What does “sustainable agriculture” look like from a farmer’s perspective?

Saif Hameed sits down with Adam Henkel, a 7th-generation farmer and 3rd-generation conservationist from Illinois. They break down:

• The true meaning of sustainability on the farm
• Bridging the farmer-corporate gap
• Easy wins vs real challenges in practice
• How corporations and sustainability professionals can help

In short… yes. But is that really a bad thing?

In this week’s episode, we ask whether the hype around sustainability is deflating, and what that means for progress.

We dive into the latest headlines:

• Is the UK on the brink of scaling back its climate ambitions?
• Are we stuck in a loop of ever-rising energy demand?
• What's next for sustainability-linked executive pay?

PLUS: A climate tech reality check.

Is climate tech entering its "trough of disillusionment"? Saif unpacks why corporate budgets are tightening, which solutions are struggling, and what climate tech founders need to hear.

This week’s headlines:

• Trump’s Tariff’s and the climate fall out
• Soaring commodity prices and what to do
• Just Stop Oil to disband - victory or retreat?

PLUS: Our how-to segment tackles a question many of you have asked: how to run a board meeting that secures sustainability buy in.

Got a question for the next ‘How-To’ segment? Join and drop us a message in the State of Sustainability Community: https://altruistiq.com/state-of-sustainability/community

What does it take to build a successful coral reef restoration program? In this episode, Saif Hameed dives into SHEBA®’s groundbreaking coral restoration program with Mars’ Chief Marine Scientist Prof. David Smith and SHEBA®’s Global VP of Marketing Mindy Barry. Points covered:

• Business + Science = Impact: How applying process engineering to conservation created unprecedented restoration scale
• Project set up: Why success starts with understanding local needs, empowering communities, and tailoring interventions to context
• Measuring what matters: Beyond basic coral counts, why and how the team tracks ecosystem health, skills transfer, and ROI.
• Practical takeaways: Consumer insights, cross-team collaboration, and stakeholder alignment strategies

Read more about the SHEBA® Hope Program here: https://www.shebahopegrows.com/uk

Plastic: The Most Sustainable Packaging?

In the high-stakes world of sustainable packaging, incremental change isn't enough. Join Saif Hameed and Melissa Brice, Senior Sustainability Manager at Amcor, a global leader in sustainable packaging as they unpack the complex landscape of plastic decarbonisation.

Key Insights:

• The true carbon impact of plastic vs. other packaging materials
• The hidden trade-offs between recyclability, emissions, and functionality
• Why recycling systems struggle and how EPR can help
• Innovations transforming packaging, from light-weighting to full recyclability
• How businesses can navigate legislation and consumer expectations

Listen now to rethink your approach to sustainable packaging.

In today’s episode we tackle two critical market signals:

• The SEC's dramatic climate disclosure rollback and what it means for corporate transparency
• The Net Zero Banking Alliance's retreat from 1.5°C commitments and if financial institutions are losing their climate ambition

Then we break down the EU Deforestation Regulation essentials:

• Who's affected and compliance timelines
• Geolocation data requirements and verification challenges
• Implementation strategies across different commodity sectors
• Navigating smallholder farmer relationships
• Leveraging compliance data for strategic advantage

If you’re navigating EUDR, sustainability reporting, or just trying to keep up with shifting regulations, this one’s for you. Tune in!

Tired of "supply chain engagement" programs that generate more surveys than carbon reductions?

In our latest episode, Saif Hameed and Beth Jones (Supply Chain Decarbonisation Lead, Altruistiq) cut through the hype to outline a framework for real impact:

• Align before action: Bridge internal agendas and make procurement central—they understand the supplier relationships.
• Evolve data, don't overhaul: Progress from compliance surveys to product carbon footprints - without specific PCF components, you're collecting numbers, not insights.
• Integrate commercials: Embed carbon into procurement metrics (e.g., “The Three C’s: Cost, Cash, Carbon), rather than treating as a side issue.
• Prioritise ruthlessly: Focus on suppliers with the highest emissions, strategic value, and collaboration potential.

Tune in below

Emission Factors (EFs), as we know them, are over. Bold statement? Maybe. True? Absolutely (in our opinion).

In this episode, we break down why traditional emission factors are rapidly being replaced by Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) and what this shift means for businesses.

• The limitations of traditional emission factors
• Why PCFs provide more accurate, supplier-specific data
• Where businesses need to focus their efforts as PCFs scale up
• Key considerations when transitioning from EFs to PCFs

In this episode, Saif Hameed and Kathryn McLeod, Head of ESG Reporting at The HEINEKEN Company, discuss practical approaches for transforming sustainability commitments into funded realities. They explore how to:

Improve finance - sustainability collaboration:

• Strategic governance frameworks that drive effective reporting and collaboration
• Battle-tested approaches for building credibility with finance teams
• Practical tools for embedding sustainability expertise in finance operations

Master sustainable finance:

• Success factors for securing and maximising sustainability budgets
• How to handle budget cuts and mid-year financial reviews
• Proven metrics and tools that make the business case stick - even without immediate returns

Who needs this:

Essential listening for sustainability professionals seeking financial backing and finance leaders stepping into ESG. McLeod unpacks HEINEKEN's approach to transforming sustainability from a cost centre to a value driver.

In today’s episode, we dive into the shifting world of sustainability and its clash with capitalism. We’ll cover:

• Sustainability & Capitalism: Can they coexist in today’s unapologetic capitalist system?
• Why Sustainability is Under Fire: Criticisms and confusion—what’s fuelling the backlash?
• The Business Case: Why sustainability is essential for business—resource scarcity, regulation, and more.
• Reframing for Leaders: How can sustainability leaders better align with business goals?
• Strategic Priorities: What should CSOs focus on over the next 5 years to ensure long-term success?

In today’s episode, we discuss the future of Science Based Targets (SBTs) - whether they’re still relevant, what’s going wrong and what alternatives are out there. Tune in as we explore:

• What’s really happening with the Science-Based Targets Initiative
• What changes are needed to restore confidence in SBTs
• Alternatives to target-setting that are gaining traction
• Predictions for the future of SBTs in 2025. Companies that are most likely to pull out

In this episode, Saif Hameed is joined by Colin Browne, CEO of Cascale and former COO of Under Armour, for a no-nonsense conversation on the apparel industry's sustainability shift. Colin shares key leadership and collaboration strategies for driving this change.

What you'll learn:

• Effective leadership principles: Tips for preparing to meet with your CEO on sustainability — what to consider and how to get buy-in.
• Decarbonise manufacturing: The optimal brand partnership approach to accelerate decarbonisation with manufacturers, without bogging them down with excessive audits.
• The new supply chain: How to rethink sourcing and supply chain design with smart, sustainability-driven criteria, like renewable energy reliability.
• Monetise sustainability: Easy ways to turn decarbonisation into a business opportunity, enhancing brand equity and capturing market share.

As 2025 approaches, the landscape of climate data management is evolving rapidly. In this episode, we unpack two big bets and two red herrings that sustainability professionals need to know about:

Big bets for 2025:

• Emission factors will become commoditised: Expect new databases to emerge as EF providers overprice their offerings.
• Data security will drive siloes: As accuracy improves, stricter data sharing policies will fragment data access.

Red herrings to avoid:

• Generative AI will fix everything: Don’t buy the hype.
• Real-time data is a must: Weekly or monthly data is far more practical.

Shownotes:

• State of Sustainability Food & Bev Summit Chicago, March 19th 2024: Register here.

In this episode, we sit down with Maia Reed, Global Climate Data Lead at Mars Petcare, to explore how one of the world's largest companies is tackling carbon reduction within agriculture supply chains.

What you’ll learn:

• Setting Up Carbon Reduction Projects: Insights into leveraging supplier relationships to overcome implementation challenges.
• Bridging Data Gaps: Tackling data scarcity with tailored management approaches and grassroots solutions.
• Balancing Compliance vs. Impact: Navigating the trade-offs between inventory and intervention strategies.
• Empowering Farmers: Using carbon insights to improve livelihoods and inform sustainable sourcing.
• Innovation in Action: Embedding sustainability into R&D, with a focus on alternative proteins.

Saif Hameed explores the biggest announcements, trends, successes and failures of 2024. He breaks down:

• The explosive growth of Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) and their impact on supply chains
• Why PCF exchange is lagging behind PCF generation and what this means for businesses
• The return of secondary data in emissions reporting and how to balance it with primary data
• Packaging as the new zone of collaboration for emissions reductions
• Why procurement teams need more support to meet increasing sustainability requirements

Tune in to get to grips with these trends and learn how to get ahead for 2025.

Related resources:

• How to Set Up a Useful Product Carbon Footprint (Guide)

In this episode, Saif Hameed explores how businesses can credibly deploy and account for Scope 3 emission reductions. He breaks this down into five key steps:

1. Setting up data
2. Identifying interventions
3. Implementing projects
4. Measuring and tracking progress
5. Validating and verifying results

Along the way, we tackle challenges like mass balance measurement, avoiding double counting, and preparing for frameworks like Land Sector Removals Guidance (LSRG). Tune in for actionable insights to navigate Scope 3 reductions with confidence.

Join Saif Hameed and John Lee, Director of Nature and Mission Sustainability at Danone, as they discuss the best approach to prioritising and scaling farm-level reductions for carbon and crucially, nature. In this episode, we explore:

• Empowering Procurement: How to effectively engage procurement teams and align behind shared sustainability initiatives
• Collaborating with Suppliers: The role of Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) and supplier-centric emission sharing in fostering collaborative partnerships.
• Accelerating Innovation: The process of testing pilot programs and prioritising those with the greatest potential for scale-up.
• Leveraging Customer Demand: How to harness growing consumer interest in sustainability to reduce emissions through collaborative efforts.

Paul Goff, Traceability and Sustainability Product Manager at H&M shares how the fashion giant is using technology to unlock transparency, decarbonise its supply chain, and set a new standard for sustainability in the apparel industry. From navigating global supply chain complexities to fostering lasting partnerships with suppliers, Paul dives deep into the practical steps H&M is taking to drive change. In this conversation, we discuss:

• Managing apparel supply chain complexities: How H&M manages the complexities of a global supply chain and what companies can learn from their approach
• Supply chain engagement: The key to successful supply chain engagement—what works for both H&M and their suppliers, and how to make these partnerships last
• Production decarbonisation: How to approach decarbonisation at the factory level and on a larger scale
• Digital tech: How H&M is using technology to increase supply chain transparency, improve traceability, and hold suppliers accountable for sustainability goals
• Innovation: How H&M prioritises finances and scales innovation to meet their sustainability goals

Links & resources:

• Early-stage innovation at H&M
• Green investment in a low-carbon textile industry

Get the transcript here: https://altruistiq.com/state-of-sustainability/resource/h-ms-big-bet-on-sustainable-supply-chains-and-why-its-working

Where does the result of the US election leave corporate sustainability? In this episode, we cover:

• Big bets: How the Trump administration will impact corporate sustainability efforts

• Policy Shifts: Key policy changes to watch and their implications

• Budgets: Tips for managing sustainability budgets amidst shifting priorities

• Team Dynamics: Changing structure and priorities for corporate sustainability teams

• Global Perspectives: New emerging global hubs driving sustainability innovation
• Expert Advice: Strategies for maintaining ambition and commitment to sustainability goals despite political uncertainty.

Transcript here: https://www.altruistiq.com/state-of-sustainability/resource/what-does-trump-mean-for-corporate-sustainability