Reconfiguring Value Chains

The Challenge

Value chains shouldn’t cost the earth.

Yet many of them have ingrained environmental, social and ethical issues - from distressing working conditions and the unequal distribution of power and profits to growing carbon emissions. In addition, these value chains now face extreme volatility due to the intersecting pressures of the climate emergency, geopolitical conflict, shaky economies, and increasing regulatory demands, each of which have a significant impact on logistics and supply.

These issues are only intensifying.

To address them, collaboration is key. It’s how we will remove barriers to progress and innovate solutions in the face of disruptive change. Only then can we ensure sustainable supply, viability, and fair and inclusive livelihoods across global industries.

Our Approach

Right now, people all over the world are taking action to make value chains better for the communities and environment. There is appetite to shake things up, exciting innovations and momentum - but is it going far enough? And is it happening fast enough?

By bringing people together around a shared challenge, Forum acts as a catalyst for change. We work with companies at all levels, from executives to frontline operations, to help them reassess and redefine their roles in creating positive change. We also promote collective action to unlock much-needed transformation, using our expertise to collaboratively develop and demonstrate a feasible and improved future.

Examples of Our Work

Our team is passionate about driving systemic change through collaboration and innovation. Examples of our work include:

Our Future-fit Value Chains programme brings together diverse perspectives from the marginalised to the mainstream, we are developing an initiative that will explore what the future context for agricultural value chains may look like, and alternative models that can enable them to survive and thrive while embedding just and regenerative principles.
Growing our Future, which aims to build a decentralised, scalable market system that drives regenerative and equitable action. We're consulting with stakeholders across the value chain to identify potential pathways to enable sustainable, fairer marketplaces and ultimately mainstream regenerative approaches.
Working with the 2023 Oxford Farming Conference to publish the ground-breaking Supply Chain Synergies report into the challenges and opportunities facing UK food value chains, and providing systemic recommendations for achieving better social and environmental outcomes.
Our seven-year initiative, Cotton 2040, which has helped brands better collaborate across the industry, align in ambition, more easily procure sustainable cotton, and oversee a regenerative, equity-centred cotton growing pilot in the US.

What Our Partners Say

“External factors associated with a deteriorating planet - from tougher legal regulations to preventing increased climate migration – are risks to businesses and their associated value chains. Understanding this is vital to informing where, how and what we will make and sell in years to come. It also informs us where continuous improvement will not be sufficient and how in some cases we will need to completely transform the way we operate. Our work with Forum for the Future is supporting us on this journey.” - CSO, Aditya Birla Group

”Is this worthwhile? Yes! There is currently not a radical enough inquiry in this space pushing across commodities for a new model.” - Wolfgang Weinmann - International Coffee Organization

“Cotton 2040 gave us confidence to set targets and work out how to achieve it, which cottons to consider as sustainable and what programmes to work with.” - Stephanie Shaw - Hush Sustainability Manager

Get in Touch

Interested in rethinking supply chains with us? Get in touch with Hannah Cunneen, Forum’s Principal Strategist to explore how we could build resilient and future-fit value chains together.

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