This Social Impact Pioneers episode forms part of the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025. Katie Hyson sits down with Matthew Spencer, Global Director of Landscapes at IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, for a timely conversation recorded live from COP 2025 in Belém, Brazil. With climate risks intensifying and global supply chains under unprecedented pressure, Matthew explores why landscape-level collaboration is emerging as one of the most effective solutions for protecting the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems — while strengthening livelihoods for millions of smallholder farmers.
Matthew shares IDH’s ambitious goal to protect and restore five million hectares of vulnerable landscapes by 2030, addressing deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate impacts through integrated, jurisdictional approaches – working with communities, businesses and governments. Drawing on career of experience, he explains why landscape initiatives not only deliver environmental gains but also help companies share risk, reduce costs, build resilience, and secure long-term supply.
Listeners will hear real-world success stories — from palm oil landscapes in Aceh, Indonesia, to sustainable beef production in Mato Grosso, Brazil — where public-private partnerships have cut deforestation and improved farmers’ incomes. Matthew also highlights the rapidly growing landscape platform SourceUp, which now hosts over 65 initiatives (expected to reach 100 next year), helping businesses fast-track participation by identifying opportunities by commodity, country, or sustainability priority.
Matthew’s Social Impact Pioneer credentials include time with Greenpeace and Oxfam, he’s helped secure the UK’s phase-out of coal while at the think tank Green Alliance and he’s a Turner Fellow at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, researching what has worked in tropical forest protection over the last three decades.
Listen in for Matthew’s views on why climate action and poverty reduction must go hand-in-hand, and what truly drives lasting change in forest protection and sustainable land use.
Packed with practical insights for business leaders, sustainability professionals, and anyone working at the intersection of climate and development, this episode offers rare optimism — and a clear roadmap for collective action.
Tune in to learn how landscape collaboration can drive climate resilience, restore forests, and transform global value chains.
Links:
IDH - idh.org
Matthew Spencer - idhsustainabletrade.com/people/matthew-spencer and
linkedin.com/in/matthew-spencer-90b46a46
SourceUp - sourceup.org
Tropical Forest Forever Facility - tfff.earth
And if you liked this, take a look at the wider Business Fights Poverty Climate Series 2025 here: https://businessfightspoverty.org/climate-series/
