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Sustainability In Licensing Conference 2021
Continuing to break new ground in the licensing industry, the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021 (SILC21), was staged as a digital event on 24 -25 June 2021. The two day conference was broadcast from state-of-the-art facilities in the U.K to a worldwide audience. All delegates benefited from a full slate of on-demand content from the entire conference, for one month afterwards.
SILC reached a global audience, with over 500 attending the event – 38% from the UK & Ireland, 26% Europe, 25% USA and 11% ROW.
Building on the success of the 2020 launch SILC event, the agenda for the conference included all new content, aimed at everyone in the licensing arena who are looking to progress their respective sustainable journeys – from retailers to licensors, licensees to trade suppliers, content makers to contract writers – right across an industry worth $275 billion.
SILC’s aims are to inspire and inform how the dynamic licensing sector can continue to innovate and grow commercially, while not costing the planet.
SILC 21 will focused on:
- What businesses are doing to drive sustainable practices
- How the industry can use entertainment/content to drive social change
- The changing landscape of legislation and global policy
- Cross section working to catalyse sustainable development
- The future retail and sustainable supply chain transformation
Organised by Products of Change (the online membership platform for sustainable advancement within the industry) and Max Publishing (publishers of Licensing Source Book, LicensingSource.net and organisers of The Licensing Awards and the B&LLAs), SILC 21 was curated by Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of Products of Change.
The jam-packed agenda saw leading lights and visionaries from outside and within the industry as well as retail experts, all sharing their inspiring achievements and demonstrating the gains, both environmentally and financially, that can be made.
Helena Mansell-Stopher, ceo of Products of Change and conference director for SILC said “I have every confidence that the learnings shared at the Sustainability in Licensing Conference will see some significant gains being made on the environmental front too. We’re all on this journey together, but ensuring we establish a more sustainable footing is no distant wish, it’s very much a necessity.”
The digital conference continues to provide a framework and understanding to start your sustainable journey. Sustainability is not only about the materials the we use but the waste from the manufacturing process, the transportation of goods, the wellbeing of staff and the coming together of an industry to drive systemic change.
To future proof your business and the industry we have to develop sustainable strategies that foster company longevity. This requires a business approach that creates long-term value, taking into consideration how a given organisation operates in the ecological, social and economic environment.
CONFERENCE AGENDA
The agenda of the Sustainability in Licensing Conference (SiLC) has been curated to both inform and inspire those from the licensing community, whether from a retailing, licensee, licensor or trade supplier perspective.
The keynote speeches, insightful talks and panel discussions covered what we in the industry can do to further improve our activities with our plan for a more sustainable future.
Leading names across the fashion, toy, publishing and other sectors, from both within and outside the industry shared their insights. New innovative technologies were explained that go to prove that change is possible (and profitable), financial institutions presented how sustainable finance is available to you to implement sustainable change while pointers on how to ‘design out waste’ on the product development front as well as how to market brands to future generations who are ever-more environmentally-conscious, were also covered.
The 2021 conference will deliver a packed agenda that will serve to provide a clear pathway on the industry’s sustainable journey, which in turn will drive systemic change in our sector.
THE 2021 CONFERENCE AGENDA - DAY ONE
09:30
09:35
Opening statement
Outlining how the industry has moved forward since SILC 2021 and the continued need for change, whilst showcasing solutions and business models that can enhance and better the licensing industry.
Speaker:
Helena Mansell-Stopher - SILC Conference Director and Founder of Products of Change
09:35
09:55
Sustainable Insights
Having lived through a period of time like no other, The Insights Family will showcase how the pandemic has moved things on significantly on the business/sustainability front. The research experts will share insights on the increase in youth advocacy and how the consumer is voting with its wallet. Building sustainability into your business not only results in an increase in brand advocacy and financial growth, but also saves the planet.
Speaker:
Jonathan Watson – Chief Product Officer, The Insights Family
09:55
10:15
The Eden Project - Our Future
Having just hosted the G7 summit in Cornwall in its Biomes, the Eden Project will open SILC21, outlining how as an industry we can work together to halt the extensive biodiversity and plant species decline we are currently experiencing to build a better future together.
Speakers:
David Harland - Interim CEO, Eden Project
Dan Ryan - Learning Curator, Eden Project
10:15
10:45
Marketing For Behavioural Change
Hubbub is a marketing specialist for brands that want to drive societal change through their marketing campaigns. Having launched successful campaigns such as Tesco’s food waste initiative; the ‘grab your cup’ impact initiative with Starbucks and ‘The Million £Pound Challenge’ with Waitrose, Hubbub will showcase how we as an industry can use our brands to build a better future.
Speaker:
Gavin Ellis – Director and Co-Founder, Hubbub
11:00
11:45
Sustainable Grocers
As the third largest retailer in Europe, there is no doubt that Tesco impacts the environment. However this grocery giant is implementing aggressive targets to reduce this. Here’s your chance to learn about the great initiative the retail group is driving and what it requires from suppliers as well as its own action to meet both its self-imposed targets and new government legislation.
Speaker:
Paul Earnshaw - Senior Packaging Manager, Tesco PLC
11:50
12:50
Panel Discussion - Policy And Legislation
Join our panel of experts as they discuss the latest legislative changes both in the UK and Europe that will impact on the consumer goods sector. The panel will focus on the latest packaging and EPE scheme as well as outlining the road ahead.
Speakers:
James George - Network Development Lead, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Mike Swain - Director, Pack IDS
Stuart Foster - CEO, Recoup
13:10
14:55
Future Technologies To Build A More Sustainable Business
Join the George@Asda team to learn about their latest initiatives to reduce their environmental impact.
Speakers:
Melanie Wilson - Senior Director Sustainability and Ethical Global Sourcing, ASDA
Jade Snart - Sustainability and Compliance Expert, ASDA
THE 2021 CONFERENCE AGENDA - DAY TWO
09:30
09:35
Welcome
Speaker:
Helena Mansell-Stopher - SILC Conference Director and Founder of Products of Change
09:35
10:20
Sport For Social Change
Join Hannah Mills, Olympian and founder of The Big Plastic Pledge, along with Kate Worlock from Sail GP and Simon Gresswell, Founder of SGLP Licensing to discuss how sport can drive social change and how licensing plays a pivotal role.
Speakers:
Hannah Mills MBE - Olympic Medal Winner and Environmental Advocate
Kate Worlock - Head of Licensing and Retail, Sail GP
Simon Gresswell - MD, SGLP
10:25
10:45
Retail Economics - The Changing Economic Landscape Of Retail
Retail Economics takes us through its latest market data, focusing on key retail, shipping and sustainability themes and trends from 2021 as well as share their future forecasting.
Speaker:
Richard Lim - CEO, Retail Economics
10:45
11:05
Sustainable Journey In Toy - Let’s Start At The Very Beginning
Zuru, one of the fastest growing toy companies globally, will present its current sustainability strategies and future ambitions to build a more sustainable toy industry.
Speaker:
Amelia Jory - Global Marketing Manager for Seasonal, Preschool and Celebrations, Zuru
11:00
11:45
Panel Discussion - Gaming For Social Change
With the global gaming industry worth over $300 billion (more than the combined markets for movies and music), the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a surge in mobile gaming as well as an emphasis on social interaction. We talk to a leading group of trailblazers within industry who are driving both sustainable change within the product as well as using the gaming platforms to drive social change.
Panellists:
Daniel Wood - Special Projects Lead, UKie and Games Associate, Creative England
Jane Campbell - Studio Operations Lead, ustwo games
Jude Ower - CEO and Founder, Playmob
Sam Barratt - Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Miles Jacobson - Studio Director, Sports Interactive
12:00
12:45
How To Build A Sustainable Licensing Programme
Following on from Lego’s presentation at the SILC20 conference, the Lego team will share how its sustainability story has gained momentum and focus over the last year, sharing key themes and deadlines that we must hit as an industry if we are to meet our 2030 goals.
Speakers:
Sine Klitgaard Moller - Licensing Sustainability Transformation Lead, LEGO
Michael Thejl Nielsen - Business Development Director, The Lego Group
12:45
13:05
Sustainable Ecommerce
With global e-commerce sales jumping to $26.7 trillion, fuelled by COVID-19, and 60% of consumer reporting that they made more environmentally-friendly, sustainable, or ethical purchases since the start of the pandemic, we hear from the founders of Dayrize, a new tech start-up that has built a sustainable ecommerce platform that scores the sustainability and ethicality of the products they sell.
Speakers:
Bart Nollen - Co-Founder, Dayrize
Austin Simms - Chief Operating Officer, Dayrize
13:35
13:55
The Future Of Sustainable Supply Chains
With over 70% of a product’s environmental impact wrapped up in its Scope 3 emissions (factory and transportation of goods), it’s imperative that we understand how to build a more sustainable manufacturing base if we are to meet our sustainability goals.
Speaker:
Julia Redman - Owner, Buyers Eye
13:55
14:10
The Future Of Transparency Within Consumer Goods
Leading tech star-up, Brands Conscience showcases the latest technology in building transparency into your business from the factory through to the consumer. This is the future of transparency within the industry.
Speaker:
Carrie Lomas - Founder, Brands Conscience
14:15
14:55
Panel Discussion - Sustainability In Fashion Retail
Join our leading panel of experts as they discuss how to create a more sustainable future within licensed fashion.
Panellists:
Melanie Wilson - Senior Director Sustainability and Ethical Global Sourcing, ASDA
Jade Snart - Sustainability and Compliance Expert, ASDA
Julia Redman - Owner, Buyers Eye
Ryan Jesse - Founder and CEO, Change Plastic for Good
Karen Hewitt - Co-Founder and Buying Director, Character.com
THE SPEAKERS
The speaker line-up for the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021 included true leaders from the retail world, pioneering licensees, trailblazing manufacturers and inspiring opinion formers from both within and outside the industry, each playing a part in the journey to become more sustainable.
The speakers each shared experiences, facts and ideas which will collectively serve to future proof your business and the industry of which we are all a part, enabling sustainable strategies to be developed that take into consideration how a given organisation can operate commercially as well as ecologically.
Amelia Jory
Global Marketing Manager for Seasonal, Pre-school and Celebrations, Zuru
Austin Simms
Chief Operating Officer, Dayrize
Bart Nollen
Co-Founder, Dayrize
Carrie Lomas
Founder, Brand Conscience
Dan Ryan
Eden Learning Curator, Eden Project International
Daniel Wood
Special Projects Lead, UKie and Games Associate, Creative England
David Harland
Chief Executive Officer, Eden Project International
Gavin Ellis
Director and Co-Founder, Hubbub
Hannah Mills MBE
Olympic Medal Winner and Environmental Advocate
Jade Snart
Sustainability and Compliance Expert, ASDA
James George
Network Development Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Jane Campbell
Studio Operations Lead, ustwo games
Jonathan Watson
Chief Product Officer, Kids Insights
Karen Hewitt
Co-Founder and Buying Director, Character.com
Kate Worlock
Head of Licensing and Retail, Sail GP
Jude Ower
CEO and Founder, Playmob
Julia Redman
Owner, Buyers Eye
Melanie Wilson
Senior Director Sustainability and Ethical Global Sourcing, ASDA
Michael Thejl Nielsen
Business Development Director, The Lego Group
Mike Swain
Founder, Pack IDS and Senior Advisor to the UK Packaging Council
Miles Jacobson OBE
Studio Director, Sports Interactive
Paul Earnshaw
Senior Packaging Manager, Tesco
Richard Lim
Chief Executive Officer, Retail Economics
Ryan Jesse
Founder and CEO, Change Plastic for Good
Sam Barratt
Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Simon Gresswell
Founder and MD, SGLP
Sine Klitgaard Møller
Licensing Sustainability Transformation Lead, LEGO®
Stuart Foster
CEO, Recoup
EVENT NOW FINISHED - BUT ALL CONTENT REMAINS AVAILABLE ON-DEMAND UNTIL
1st AUGUST 2021
MISSED SILC 21?
If you were unable to attend SILC 2021, the great news is that you can still buy a ticket and gain access to the entire conference until 1st August 2021. These learnings can then be shared within your business – it’s a lot of information for just £100!
This is a secure payment system and you will be emailed a full receipt as soon as you book.
A 20% discount applies to members of POC – Products of Change – please select this option if you’re a paid-up member.
EVENT SPONSORS
The Sustainability in Licensing Conference has been received widespread support from the industry with leading businesses and brands keen to pledge their commitment, sharing in the belief that together real progress can be made in the sector on this vital issue.
HEADLINE SUPPORTER
PRODUCTS OF CHANGE
The Products of Change Group was founded in July 2019 with a handful of industry professionals wanting to drive sustainable change within the Licensing Industry. Within six months the group has grown to sixty individuals from different areas of the industry such as retail, licensees, licensors through to agents. Spanning fashion, toys, publishing and FMCG.
Our ethos is to ‘learn from each-other’ and Educate to Inform Change across the wider industry and transfer our knowledge across sectors.
With Ten years to transform society and limit our impact on climate change its a hard task, but with an extremely dynamic industry and a willingness to change, I do feel that together we can make a difference.
OFFICIAL SUPPORTERS
More consumers than ever before are making an effort to buy greener, healthier, ethically sourced and more environmentally sustainable products, which is great.
Sustainability is a huge priority for me personally, as well as BBC Studios as a business, and I believe the licensing industry must work together to identify more ways to make a positive impact. We as an industry need to ensure we adopt a deliberate and ambitious approach toward forging a sustainable future for our consumers by coming together to help bring more eco-friendly products to market. Climate change isn’t going away and SILC is launching at a crucial time. I think the conference will be a great platform for industry members to learn more, share best practice and collaborate on solutions that can help enable companies work towards producing more sustainable products.
https://www.bbcstudios.com
MDR Brand Management is the first brand management business to be launched by a leading law firm in the UK, and the fourth non-legal business within The Mishcon De Reya Group, sitting alongside MDR Cyber, MDR Discover and Mayfair Private.
It was created in 2018 to address the growing complexity that brand owners face in the global marketplace, and to deliver a unique brand of brand management. It is boutique and recognises that there has never been more overlap between creative, commercial, regulatory, digital and the law.
MDR Brand Management highly supports projects with a truly sustainable vision. Working closely with environmentally friendly brand owners and properties, MDR aims to create ethical licensed products and develop brand extension programmes, with a commitment to the environment, something that is becoming more important by the day.
Sustainability is at the forefront of several of MDR’s ventures, including the recently launched canned water brand, PURENorway Water, which is responsibly produced and packaged in recyclable aluminium cans. MDR has also been appointed to represent a classic, unique, and eco-friendly family of characters which will soon be relaunched in the UK. Given the challenges our planet is facing today, it is the perfect time to revive a positive message about how we can make a difference through simple actions.
For more information about MDR Brand Management, please click here:
https://mdrbrand.com
We are facing a planetary emergency. Our future depends on the natural world, but we are not combating our own destructive impact on the planet. Understanding life on Earth is the greatest scientific challenge of our age.
We cannot hope to develop solutions without research that unlocks the underlying biology and applied science. Alongside the science, all of us need hope: hope that there is a future where both people and the planet thrive. Building and spreading this hope through evidence and action will be the foundation of the Museum’s strategy in the coming decade. In today's challenging times, we will create advocates for the planet: individuals who feel sufficiently informed, confident and motivated to make wise decisions, to get involved, and to use their influence and actions to make a positive difference to the global future. To achieve this, we will harness our collection, our research and our reach. Alongside our ambitious outward reaching targets, we are also looking inwards, challenging ourselves to create a more resilient and sustainable organisation, one that strives towards financial and environmental sustainability. This vision is mirrored in our approach to the Museum’s licensing programme, creating meaningful products in a responsible way that encourage a shared respect for the natural world.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/
Sustainability and ESG at ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS is committed to building sustainability and corporate responsibility into the way we do business. We actively use sustainability as a lens to evaluate our most material impacts with the goal of becoming one of the most environmentally and socially responsible media company globally.
We identify, measure, and map our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts across our global operations, and have a team dedicated to driving our ESG and sustainability strategy forward. We are working to manage and report our material impacts and transparently address them with our stakeholders. We believe this work strengthens our ability to innovate and better serve our partners, audiences, and shareholders. Transparency is a value inherent to our sustainability strategy: we are working to understand, and make public, our greatest risks and opportunities as we continue to grow, looking at everything from our consumer products’ supply chains, to the content we produce for our networks, to the footprint of our television and movie productions across the globe.
From our LEED®-Certified headquarters building in New York City, to our companywide diversity and inclusion initiatives, to our commitment to strong corporate governance practices, we will continue to manage the impact of our economic, environmental, and social value across our brands and businesses.
Character World have been working on an important project over the last 12 months focusing on how as a business they can be more sustainable. Their plan is clear, simple and concise but it is a journey. Instead of focusing on individual elements, Character World have taken a holistic approach to sustainability throughout the entire business.
This holistic approach covers everything from using more sustainable and recyclable materials in their product, packaging and shipping cartons to the post-consumer care through their partnership with WRAP. Character World have also joined OPRL (On-Pack Recycling Label) scheme enabling more consumers to recycle more material correctly, more often.
Sustainability is at the forefront of Character World’s future plans with everything from new innovations to being vigilant about new processes and techniques being developed in production capabilities.
Danny Schweiger, Joint Managing Director:
“It would have been easy to just look at a single product, but we wanted to do something meaningful and impactful throughout the business. We can’t do this on our own, we are working with retailers, licensors and factories to tackle sustainability. We have clear and ambitious plans for the future. We firmly believe a good night’s sleep shouldn’t cost the earth.”
For more information please visit https://www.characterworld.com/index.php/wecare/
https://www.characterworld.com
At TDP our approach to sustainability has seen work across many areas. Our commitment is to make changes wherever and whenever possible, in order to achieve our goals, not just for headlines but for the right reasons.
In manufacturing, our plant in India has its own water treatment facility and at the start of this year we made the investment in renewable energy. This work was completed in the Spring and we are now 100% solar powered at our facility in Tamil Nadu. In 2019 we appointed a Director of Corporate, Social Responsibility, part of whose brief is to continually monitor working conditions and achieve best practice so our staff and the community they work within, are well treated and kept safe.
We are committed to continually improve our own packaging solutions, to use recycled materials, be recyclable and drive out waste at every opportunity.
Real change will only be achieved through collaboration and we call upon all partners to embrace and activate the vital changes needed.
https://www.tdptextiles.com
According to the UN, we have just 10 years to save our planet from disastrous climate change. Our world requires urgent action, and consumers are rightfully demanding that businesses become part of the solution. As a progressive, innovative industry, we know that licensing can make a difference.
That's why Brandgenuity is delighted to support SILC in its inaugural year. We're excited to bring best practices in sustainability to our clients, and to work with our colleagues to reduce the environmental footprint of our industry.
https://brandgenuity.com
Boutique bedding specialist Dreamtex Ltd demonstrated its commitment to sustainability when it partnered with National Geographic in 2019 to launch a recycled bedding collection in support of the iconic brand’s ‘Planet or Plastic?’ mission.
In this innovative market-first, Dreamtex worked with Repreve®, the leading performance fibre made from recycled plastic bottles, to apply National Geographic designs across its bedlinen range and introduce this unique, ethical material exclusively into the UK market. Up to 12 recycled bottles are used to make a single duvet and up to 18 to make a double, plus, in a move to be even more environmentally responsible, the product is sold in recycled packaging with no polythene bags. The response from retailers, media and consumers to the beautiful “Save Our Oceans” inspired bedding has been phenomenal and more National Geographic designs will be launched this year. Dreamtex is proud to be supporting SILC and raising awareness of eco-friendly materials in the manufacture of home textiles and is excitedly looking forward to extending the Repreve® product to other licenses in the near future, including current collaborations with Life Magazine, BBC Earth and in the longer term popular children’s bedding collections such as L.O.L. Surprise! and PJ Masks.
http://www.dreamtexltd.com
GB eye is delighted to be an official supporter of the very first Sustainability in Licensing conference, helping to raise awareness and encourage change within such a diverse industry.
Our sustainability journey started in 2019 when we began work towards the whole company becoming zero to landfill, we achieved this in 2020 and it was the first step on a very long road. Since then we have solidified three key areas within our strategy; sustainable, ethical and conscious. Ethical working practices have been at the heart of everything we do for a very long time so this is a natural progression for us, our focus now is to ensure our products and processes are sustainable and we deliver what the conscious consumer requires.
A key aim is to use local suppliers and in-house manufacturing to reduce the reliance on overseas supply however we understand the need to have a balance of products to meets the demands of a fast moving industry, so ensuring imported products meet our sustainability criteria is essential to making this work but there is so much more.
Our latest product launches include environmentally friendly drinks bottles and tote bags featuring some of the biggest and most popular brands. They are all ethically sourced and printed within our local area, fully recyclable and with minimal packaging this range has been incredibly well received.
Nicola Hallam, head of product at GB eye. “The eco-range has been a core focus for us throughout 2020, as we continue to look at ways in which to reduce our carbon impact on the environment, Expanding our product ranges to include more sustainable products is the first step in exploring new ways to better protect the world around us. We look forward to adding to the collection in 2021 with further internationally recognised licensed names.”
Considering everything from product design and packaging to green energy and recycling is a challenge, but its one we are ready for. We have received great support from licensors, customers and business partners and look forward to a sustainable future.
http://www.gbeye.com
The Insights Family
Across the world, children’s voices throughout society are becoming stronger and more relevant. Children’s influence on their parents and brands continues to grow every day. Understanding what attitudes kids hold and how these affect their purchasing decisions is critical for all brands and organisations.
Our latest data shows that the environment continues to be a core issue amongst younger generations, and the age kids start to take notice is getting younger and younger too. It’s not just talk either, kids spending habits are changing as well.
Partnering with SILC gives The Insights Family a platform to provide children, parents and families with a voice to shape their worlds.
theinsightsfamily.com
Kids Industries
We’re the only full-service marketing agency that specialises in the family market on the planet. We connect human emotions with market intelligence to make your business even stronger.
https://www.kidsindustries.com
TALK TO THE TEAM
Behind the scenes of The Sustainability in Licensing Conference is a close-knit team of people with complimentary skills and personalities, but who all share in the vision of ensuring this significant conference really hits the mark.
Owned by Products of Change Media LTD – which is a joint venture between Max Media Ventures and Products of Change, the Sustainability in Licensing Conference benefits hugely from the partnership formed with Helena Mansell-Stopher.
Meet the team…
HELENA MANSELL-STOPHER
Director of SILC 2021
With a 20 year career in the licensing industry across media and lifestyle brands and a wealth of knowledge across all categories and retail. With a course in Business Sustainability Management under her belt, from the University of Cambridge Helena will continue to work with brand owners, retailers and category experts to drive change within the licensing arena.
JAKKI BROWN
Director of SILC 2021
As a co-founder of Max Publishing (which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary), Jakki has been at the forefront of driving the editorial side of the business as well as being heavily involved in the creation and evolution of the company’s well established and respected B2B awards programmes across both licensing and consumer products sectors.
IAN HYDER
Director of SILC 2021
Having made licensing the focus of his attention for the last 15 years at Max Publishing, of which he is Joint MD, Ian has very much been part of the industry’s evolution. Leading on the commercial front he has brought to life the Licensing Source Book, the Licensing Awards, the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (B&LLAs) and digitally LicensingSource.net.
ROB WILLIS
Director of SILC 2021
As a director and co-owner of Max Publishing, which includes The Licensing Source Book, LicensingSource.net, The Licensing Awards and the B&LLAs, Rob’s network spans widely across licensing and consumer products. This 20-year address book will be extensively utilised to ensure that SILC 2021 is a key discussion point in the sector.
CLARE HOLLICK
Bookings and Event Organiser of SILC 2021
Createvents is an established event management company, specialising in the organisation and delivery of corporate events, conferences and award ceremonies.
Contact Clare for any or all ‘on the day’ questions such as dietary, accessibility, or anything else to ensure you are perfectly taken care of – it is Clare’s speciality.