In this episode, we highlight the common mistakes that sustainability professionals make and sound out the solutions. We discuss:

• Market insight: Is SBTi still credible?
• Mistake trends: The most common pitfalls that sustainability professionals face.
• Root causes: The underlying reasons behind these mistakes.
• Data challenges: The limitations of working with aggregate data and best practices for overcoming them.
• GHG to PCF: How professionals can effectively gather and manage supplier data for greenhouse gas emissions reporting.
• Commercial opportunities: Understand the benefits and competitive advantages

Camilla Riddiford, Head of Sustainability at Arla UK, shares her advice on how to turn colleagues from bystanders to sustainability champions (without breaking the bank or your sanity).

In this episode, we discuss:

• Tailored communication strategies for diverse audiences
• Effective content formats that resonate
• Balancing data and narratives for a compelling business case
• Prioritising upskilling, and training programs for key teams

Link to event: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/women-in-sustainability-summer-garden-mixer

In this episode, we discuss:

• Key regulatory reporting trends: the evolving landscape, AI and what it means for your business.
• How to optimise your reporting team: best practices for setting up a high-performing, reporting team.
• Collaboration tips: strategies for working effectively with finance and legal on reporting.
• How to streamline your approach: tools, data infrastructure and ways of working to improve your reporting process.

Saif Hameed and Audrey Leduc, North American Director for Planet Friendly Practices at McCain Foods unpack how to scale regenerative agriculture. They discuss:

• Measuring impact: the key indicators and data points needed to track and demonstrate progress against regenerative agriculture
• Building strategic partnerships: principles for identifying and developing partnerships (that will last)
• Farmer engagement toolbox: how to successfully engage farmers and make regenerative agriculture attractive
• Financial solutions: innovative financing solutions to tackle upfront costs
• Communication strategy: compelling B2B and B2C communication techniques to drive engagement and commercial value.

*Please note that the activation initiatives mentioned (time stamp: 34:12) in the franchises in Canada are with A&W, not Burger King.

Off the back of our flagship sustainability event in Chicago, where we hosted 70+ F&B sustainability professionals working on sustainability data challenges in the agri value chain, a few key trends emerged. In this episode, we dig into:

- “Action first - reporting second”.

- Qualities of the “best” kind of decarbonisation initiatives

- Data transparency is very different between B2B vs B2C

• How to make sure your circularity initiative is revenue-generating

• How to set a carbon cost
• How do you utilise carbon pricing when data in the supply chain at the product level is sparse?
• When is a carbon price most defensible
• Carbon pricing success stories

We have an upcoming webinar on Carbon Pricing (June 26th at 3pm BST), register here: https://www.altruistiq.com/events/setting-up-a-successful-carbon-price

Saif Hameed and Pedro Lafargue, Global Climate Action Manager at OFI discuss:

• The principles for a successful insetting project
• The level of data accuracy needed for compliance vs action
• How to track and account for carbon removals (when standardisation is lacking)
• Best practices for monetising carbon insetting projects

Market highlight:

• How the SEC’s climate disclosure ruling impacts your business

Topic deep dive: A playbook on how to:

• Build a strong business case for sustainability
• Optimise team set up to unlock resources
• Boost company-wide sustainability literacy and buy-in

NEW SEASON LAUNCH.

This season will include the latest corporate sustainability market highlights followed by problem-solving deep dives on all flavours of challenges that sustainability practitioners face.

In this episode, we cover:

Market highlights:

• Corporate black sliding on climate pledges
• The Greenwashing clamp down and how to make water-tight claims

Topic deep dive: Effective sustainability data comms

• Internal communication and engagement tactics for sustainability data buy-in
• External comms: how to demonstrate progress to stakeholders

Any challenges that we've missed? Get in touch with content suggestions and we'll cover them off in our next episode.

In this episode, we discuss how to:

• Launch effective Farmer Reduction Plans: Lessons from McCain and Innocent
• Prepare for supply chain disruptions, drawing learnings from the recent cocoa crisis
• Navigate insetting challenges, specifically how to avoid competitors ‘free riding’ off your reduction initiatives
• Maximise the value of your insets
• Make reductions work at farm level (multi year contracts)

We cover:

• The latest market highlights:
  • They key themes across corporate sustainability reports
  • The U-turn on CSDDD - is this even a bad thing?

• The Upskilling Procurement Playbook:
  • How to embed sustainability into procurement BAU
  • The tools and training to enable procurement
  • The incentives on the table

Resources:

• Webinar: How to Scale a Successful Supply Chain Program - www.altruistiq.com/events/how-to-scale-a-successful-supply-chain-program

We cover:

• Mission build fundamentals
• How to tailor your mission across a global market
• The big tech innovations to look out for
• The benefits of building a meaningful mission.

Recommendations:

• Book: The Long and Short of It, John Kaye
• Video: EV or Gas: What Pollutes More?

The complex structure of supply chains can make tracking the impact of sustainability-related interventions a challenge. Supplier-specific information is often lacking and/or hard to come by. However, a lack of traceability shouldn’t deter companies from efforts to drive progress.

There's a solution: supply sheds.

This episode dives deep into:

• What is a supply shed, and how can it help you overcome challenges in reduction tracking
• The benefits of using supply sheds include incentivising traceability and enabling collaboration.
• Challenges to consider, like changes in your supplier base and attribution of reductions.
• Recommendations for companies, from identifying key suppliers to monitoring interventions.
• Is the supply shed here to stay?

Description:

This episode aims to set listeners up with a credible and sensible approach to sustainable data transformation, covering how to:

- Prioritise data sets and manage against targets

- Solve for digitisation, granularity, flexibility, and usability in your infrastructure build

- Streamline interactions with other systems and organisations- Establish optimal relationships with tech teams and third-party providers.

Supplier engagement more often than not results in low response rates and unusable data. Sound familiar? This podcast sets to solve this by breaking down:

• What’s happening today: Mass surveying, “one platform rules them all” and an unrealistic push for “universal primary data”.
• Where we want to get to: Data you can actually use.
• How to get there: Supplier contracts, blended procurement models, strategic upskilling, secure supplier data exchange (PACT)
• Key learnings from the transition

A conversation with Henry Dimbleby and Saif Hameed at COP28, covering:

• Regenerative agriculture: what exactly regenerative agriculture means, how to fund it and how to implement it
• Optimising for supplier engagement and primary data use
• How far corporate influence goes when it comes to on sustainability regulations, frameworks and standards

A roaming COP28 megaphone kicks in halfway through - bear with us.

Live from COP28. We unpack our key takeaways from COP28, specifically:

• Who’s here (and who’s not)
• What everyone is thinking, but not saying
• Where the real progress was made
• Reasons for optimism

Tune in to form your own opinion on COP28.

There’s a growing number of people in the corporate sustainability space that believe universal primary data (ie data gathered from every supplier) is the best way to accurately understand your emissions. After a few debates we wanted to unpack why we don't think this is the case. In this episode, we cover:

• Primary vs secondary data collection strategies
• What primary and secondary data is
• Why we believe the "hybrid approach" is most effective
• How to implement a hybrid approach at scale

We cover how to build an effective sustainability team. We break this into two key areas:

1. Team design

• Create a clear strategy and vision
• Identify the optimal structure and organisational set-up for your team
• Where to resource and unlock budget

2. Roles and responsibilities

• Define the different roles and responsibilities needed
• Identify the skills and experience required for each role
• Find and recruit the best talent

Charles Conn (long serving Chair of Patagonia) and Saif Hameed (CEO of Altruistiq) discuss effective sustainability governance, focusing on how to build consistency around purpose and mission. Points covered: - How to build a mission that is consistently sustainable- How data can be used to prop up the mission and focus of the organisation-How Patagonia has reinforced its mission with appropriate governance (e.g., buy-in, managing incentives)-How to leverage data to reinforce these incentives-The best approach for walking the line between green hushing and greenwashing-Understanding when your environmental data is "good enough" to act upon

How can food manufacturers ensure they have the right data infrastructure in place to go beyond carbon and support more ambitious sustainability objectives? This session will address some of the data infrastructure challenges that food manufacturers face such as data silos, system compatibility, scalability, real-time data accessibility, quality assurance, and integration with external systems. We will also explore how to apply learnings from emissions data to water and biodiversity strategies. The session will equip food manufacturers with strategies to enhance market differentiation, foster innovation, create resilience within complex supply chains and mitigate against reputational risk.

With:

- Saif Hameed, CEO of Altruistiq

- Steff Kulis, Head of ESG Digital Transformation, Kraft Heinz

- Andy Griffiths, Head of Sustainable Procurement, Diageo

- Chris Shearlock, Sustainability Director for Europe, Thai Union

Live Q&A with Saif Hameed. Questions covered: 1.What is the average quality of emissions data today? When should someone actually be worried about their data quality?2.I'm looking to add additional headcount to my small sustainability team. What strategic first hires should I make?3.Do you have any tips for making the business case internally for headcount?4.What is the best way to set up a sustainability team? Centralise the function? Or embed sustainability professionals within other functions?If you have any sustainability-related questions that need answering, get in touch: sos@altruistiq.com

We’re going to talk about three closely related topics:

- How to build a business case for sustainability change in your organisation.

- The use of carbon pricing as a tool to prioritise business cases and align stakeholders.

- Effective carbon pricing strategies, offering up a few shortcuts and insights to help sustainability professionals on this journey.

Does the world on-pack green claims make you nervous?

We get it. Green claims are a minefield.

Today, we're bringing in a veteran of bold sustainability messaging to help us navigate the dark and somewhat dangerous world of sustainability comms. Shaunagh Duncan, Head of Sustainability at Oatly EU & I walks us through making strategic green claims, teaching us when to push boundaries and when to play it safe.

We cover how to :

• Define a bold and impactful communication style
• Walk the line between “greenwashing” and “green hushing”
• Approach on-pack PCFs
• Capitalise on the commercial opportunities of carbon labelling

Show notes:

According to a recent study, Oatly Barista sold in the UK has a 58% lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk.

From: Blonk Consultants (2022), LCA of Oatly Barista, and comparison with cow's milk. Gouda, the Netherlands. Stages include raw material to the point of sale and packaging waste management for average L *produced in the Netherlands and sold in the UK. Findings are subject to assumptions, limitations, conclusions, and critical review statements. See full report here.

We cover how to generate value from better consumer engagement around sustainability. We break this into two pieces:

1. Where to play: how to think about market segmentation and how to size the market opportunity.

2. How to play: the strategies and approaches that work to effectively engage and generate value.

Live Q&A with Saif Hameed.

Questions covered:

1. ESG bonuses: Would you recommend a mix of qualitative and quantitative KPIs because some aspects will remain softer in their nature?

2. We set an ambitious carbon target but had intended to meet a significant share of it through offsets. It now looks like that’s no longer popular. Do we need to change course?

3. What is the benefit of insets vs. offsets?

4. What do you think of the US government’s move into direct procurement of carbon credits?

5. How should I amend my existing supplier agreements to promote the exchange of emissions data?

6. For suppliers who aren't well informed on this agenda,, do you recommend beginning with value chain decarbonisation and risking a slow start? Or offsets? Or both?

If you have a sustainability-related question that needs answering - get in touch: sos@altruistiq.com.

Further reading

• Investors warn ‘fluffy’ ESG metrics are being gamed to boost bonuses

We talk through how to maximise your budget and investments, covering:

1. Optimal internal budget allocation to drive productivity

2. Maximising External Spend: flagging the key watch-outs and learnings when prioritising strategic investments

3. Unlocking project spend for scale-ups

4. Influencing internal budget

We run through the toolkit you need to be a successful CSO. If you're a CSO already, or it's on your career roadmap, this podcast will provide you with practical, boots-on-the-ground insights to maximise your success. We will cover 4 key areas:

1. Understanding your responsibilities as a CSO

2. How to interface with the Board and CEO

3. CSO Superpowers for Success

4. How you can expect your role as a CSO to evolve

Live Q&A with Saif Hameed.

Questions covered:

1.Our Head of Sustainability doesn’t report directly to the CEO. Do you think this is a problem?

2.I am currently looking for an impact software solution and am in conversations with a variety of solution types. How would you compare ESG-wide platforms to carbon-specific platforms?

3. We have multiple teams set up in our company to cover different sustainability topics (scope 1 & 2, supply chain, product LCAs). What’s the best way to help these teams work well together.

4. We have just done our first manual carbon baseline however I’m aware that we had many data gaps and used v generalised assumptions and as such a bit apprehensive to make big investments on potentially incorrect hotspots. Do you have a rule of thumb on data maturity and when to act?

If you have a sustainability-related question that needs answering - get in touch.

Practical tips on how to set up your sustainability data transformation for scalable success. We will cover how to use this as a positive force to drive alignment internally and externally while getting the most out of your time, energy and resources.

This podcast will cover:

1. Creating a sustainability data transformation strategy that aligns with your vision

2.Setting up your data infrastructure for success

3.Managing internal organisational alignment

4.Optimising for external supplier alignment

If you want more practical tips and tricks, follow Saif’s LinkedIn for daily updates: linkedin.com/in/saifhameed

We bust the 3 of the biggest sustainability myths in the industry:

• Myth 1: We should be fazing out plastic
• Myth 2: Feed supplements are the silver bullet to methane reduction
• Myth 3: The future of ‘green transportation’ should be electrified.

P.S. Don't forget to rate and review our podcast to help others discover tactics for corporate sustainability change transformation.

This episode dives into the 20+ year career of Saif Hameed, an activist, government official, NGO co-founder, flower farm owner, and now CEO of Altruistiq, a sustainability data management platform.

We explore how his experience equips sustainability professionals to engage stakeholders across sectors for change. We discuss:

• Saif's Journey: Lessons from activism, government work, NGO experience, and business ventures inform a robust approach to sustainability
• Engaging Stakeholders: Collaboration techniques across activists, government officials, NGOs, and suppliers to accelerate change.
• Why Altruistiq: The inspiration behind Altruistiq and what makes it different

Saif Hameed and Patrick Shewell, Global Director of Packaging at Mondelēz, discuss balancing an iconic brand image with bold sustainability packaging goals. In this episode, we dive into:

• Balancing trade-offs between product functionality and sustainability
• EPR policy inconsistencies and how to manage these across 150+ markets.
• Prioritising packaging initiatives: no brainer vs higher cost initiatives
• Strategies for collaboration with packaging suppliers
• Investing in innovative packaging solutions

Show notes:

• Consumer Goods Forum Packaging Design Guidance

• Extended Producer Guidance: All you need to know about EPR Policy Pulse

In this episode, Saif Hameed and Isobel Wild discuss:

• How different companies are approaching CSRD
• Which team(s) should own the CSRD reporting process
• Double materiality assessment best practices
• What to do with all the data that you're not ready for
• How to move beyond compliance and make CSRD impactful

In this episode, Saif Hameed and Isobel Wild discuss:

Market Highlight: Sustainability Linked Bonuses: Company-wide vs leadership (learnings from LEGO Group)

Topic Deep Dive: Internal Sustainability Training Program

• Success Characteristics: The characteristics that distinguish a good training program from a transformative one.
• Prioritising Teams: Which teams will benefit most from sustainability training and how to prioritise
• Creating Compelling Content: How to tailor content to resonate with specific team needs whilst making it scalable.
• Engagement Levers: The most effective tools. initiatives and experiences to engage leadership teams and company-wide.

Show notes

• Tim Brooks, VP and Head of Sustainability at The LEGO Group. Lessons from setting up Sustainability Linked Bonuses.
• Internal Sustainability Education: How Kerry Achieved 91% Engagement

In this episode, we cover:

• QUIZ: guess the lowest emitting ingredient
• Strategic Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) generation
• The trends catalysing supplier asks for PCFs
• Using PCFs to re-engineer your product
• How to pitch your PCF internally to R&D, Marketing, and commercial teams
• How to pitch your PCF externally to customers and consumers

Saif Hameed and Jesica Sansom, Sustainability Director at Huel discuss how to set up product carbon footprints (PCFs) to deliver real business value.

We cover:

• Data collection: The challenges and workarounds in collecting the granular data needed for reliable PCFs
• Actionable insights: Best practices for using PCF to inform sustainable product design
• Supplier collaboration: How Huel are fostering innovative solutions with suppliers e.g., rethinking ingredient production methods & running field trials with oat farmers
• Claims & comms: How to communicate and demonstrate sustainability progress and why product labelling is not the silver bullet solution.

In this two-part series, we dive deep into the essential components of creating and managing a world-class sustainability team.

In part one, we discuss:

• Core characteristics: The key attributes contributing to a well-structured and effective sustainability team.
• Must-have roles: The indispensable positions that every sustainability team needs to function optimally.
• Internal vs. external: When to prioritise internal hiring and when to seek external expertise through consultants or software.
• Budgeting: How to secure the necessary headcount budget for your sustainability team.
• Attracting talent: The best strategies to attract top talent

Saif Hameed and Piers Cooper, Senior Sustainability Research Manager (LCA) at Altruistiq discuss FLAG, what it is, if you should prioritise it, and if you do prioritise it, how to maximise your ROI. They cover:

• A recap: What is FLAG and the measurement requirements
• Strategic importance: When and why should a company prioritise FLAG over other sustainability initiatives
• Measurement challenges: The primary FLAG challenges and solutions to overcome them
• Commercial opportunities: How to leverage FLAG to create competitive advantages and unlock commercial opportunities
• Trend watch: The upcoming changes to FLAG and trends to be aware of.

In this episode, we explore current agricultural supply chain risks and mitigation measures. We cover:

• Emerging threats: The macro and micro risks and specific commodities most vulnerable to climate-related disruptions.
• Building resilience: Strategies to strengthen your supply chain.
• Environmental data impact: The impact on your environmental data and the role of technology to mitigate these risks.
• Business case: How to value and communicate risk to bolster your sustainability business case.

In the second part of this two part series, we discuss essential leadership strategies to supercharge your sustainability team. We cover:

• Team retention: How to retain and motivate top talent in a competitive market
• Skill development: Where and when to invest in upskilling
• Performance metrics: What metrics and bonus schemes are useful to track and implement
• Headcount budget and resource management: How to optimise team resources
• Team culture: Observed tactics for building team culture from Nando's and Starbucks

The majority of businesses calculating baselines use less than >10k emission factors (crazy).

What does this mean?

It means emission calculations aren't accurate and decarbonisation efforts remain invisible.

In this episode we get to the bottom of this and discuss:

• EF Recap: what is an EF and how is one developed
• Current State of Play: Understanding the current landscape of EF usage and challenges.
• The EF Dilemma: Balancing consistency and accuracy in EFs.
• EF Types: Deciphering the differences between supplier-specific and secondary EFs
• Primary Data: The role and need of primary data collection in EF development.
• Solutions and Trends: Discovering innovative approaches to accurate EF calculation and future trends in the field.

In this episode, we discuss the surging popularity of Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs). We cover:

• The PCF Boom: The rapid growth of PCF generation
• PCF value: Where PCFs deliver value and where they fall short.
• PCF challenges: The key challenges to be aware of when generating and sharing PCFs.
• Data readiness: How to balance PCF demands with data accuracy and confidence
• PCF set up: Practical guidance on generating and sharing meaningful PCFs

We’re joined by Fran Haycock, Head of Sustainability at Greencore, to discuss the key considerations when leading a successful sustainability transformation.

We cover:

• Strategy alignment: How to ensure your sustainability transformation aligns with the broader business objectives
• Sustainability team set-up: The priority qualities and skills to consider when recruiting and developing your sustainability team.
• Leadership style: How to evolve your leadership style as your sustainability program matures.
• Budget management: Effective strategies for developing, securing and scaling a sustainability budget.

Collaboration may not be a silver bullet for solving sustainability challenges, but when executed effectively, it becomes a powerful tool. In this episode, we cut through the buzzwords and focus on practical steps for scalable collaboration, exploring:

• Types of collaboration: Challenges and opportunities associated with within-value-chain collaboration, across-value-chain collaboration, and pre-competitive collaboration.
• When, where and who to collaborate with (and not): How to identify the right opportunities and partners—and when it’s best to go solo.
• Creating collaborative initiatives that scale: Key components for setting up partnerships that can scale (not just multiply).
• Who takes the credit? Innovative tools and accounting practices like differentiated product carbon footprints to verify reductions in collaborative efforts.
• Budgeting, resources and incentives: Monetary (price premiums, 3rd party financing) and non-monetary incentives (long off-take agreements) to sustain collaboration.

Links/ resources :

• A guide to supply chain engagement

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