In partnership with Ecologi, we will be offsetting all carbon from the SILC event. Gold Standard are a governing body of NGO’s who ensure projects that reduce carbon emissions feature the highest levels of environmental integrity
Sustainability In Licensing Conference 2021
Continuing to break new ground in the licensing industry, the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021 (SILC21), is to be staged as a dual-cast physical and digital event on 24 June 2021. The full day conference will be staged at The British Library in London as well as being digitally streamlined in real time, with all ticket holders able to access the content afterwards.
The inaugural SILC reached a global audience, with over 500 attending the event – 38% from the UK & Ireland, 26% Europe, 25% USA and 11% ROW. We are all set to further grow our global reach with the 2021 event.
Set to build on the success of last year’s SILC event, the agenda for the upcoming June conference will include all new content, aimed at everyone in the licensing arena who is 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 focus 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 will be curated by Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of Products of Change.
The jam-packed agenda will see 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 physical and digital conference will 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 will cover 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 are scheduled to share their insights. New innovative technologies will be explained that go to prove that change is possible (and profitable), financial institutions will present 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, will also be covered.
The 2021 conference – with registration from 8:45am and ending after 5pm – 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 - CONFIRMED TO DATE
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.
Presenter: Helena Mansell-Stopher - SILC Conference Director and Founder of Products of Change
Sustainable Insights
Unveiling the latest global data including consumer insights with comparisons to SILC 2021 and the adaptations and advancements that have taken place in the last year.
Presenter: Jonathan Watson – Chief Product Officer – The Insights Family
Sport For Social Change
Olympic Champion Hannah Mills presents how sport can act as a catalyst to drive sustainable and social change, highlighting her work for the Big Plastic Pledge.
Presenter: Hannah Mills, Olympic Champion, founder, Big Plastic Pledge
Panel Discussion: Legislation And Policy Changes
Join our expert panel to understand the evolving changing landscape throughout Europe, China and the USA within legislation changes.
The Importance Of Change Within The Toy Sector
A major global toy company will present and offer insights into the importance of change within the toy sector.
Panel Discussion: Talking Toys
Major toy companies discuss parallels and how they can work together to drive sustainable change across the sector.
The Consumer Choice
Dayrize, aiming to become the biggest e-commerce market place for sustainable products, will present for the first time its scoring system for consumers to make informed decisions and understand the environmental impacts of product purchases.
Presenter: Bart Nollen, co-founder, Dayrize
Sustainability In Bricks and Mortar Retail
Major pan-European grocer presents its requirements for the industry in order for its goals to be met across a large-scale retail territory.
Panel Discussion: Retail's Common Goals
Major retailers discussing how as a united approach sustainable change can be made across the industry at large.
SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES IN A CHANGING WORLD
Focusing on the importance of economic analysis among retail insights as well as trends and changes in a post-Brexit, post-COVID world.
Presenter: Richard Lim – Chief Executive Officer of Retail Economics
The Future Of A Sustainable Supply Chain
Your Scope Three emissions can be up to 70% of your carbon output. In this presentation we will look at ways to build a more sustainable supply chain.
Presenter: Julia Redman, founder, Buyers Eye.
Gaming For Social Change
Join UKie and a European panel of gaming experts to discuss how the industry can drive sustainable transformation through its content.
THE SPEAKERS
The speaker line-up for the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021 includeS 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 will each share 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.
Jonathan Watson
Chief Product Officer, The Insights People.
Sine Klitgaard Møller
Licensing Sustainability transformation lead, LEGO®.
JAMES GEORGE
Network Development Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
RICHARD LIM
Chief Executive Officer, Retail Economics.
SECURE YOUR DELEGATE PLACE(S), BOOK NOW
ATTENDING SILC 2021
SILC 2021 will be a dual-cast event. What this means, in real terms, is that you can join the physical event at the British Library in London, or you can watch from home/office as a digital attendee. Both options offer fantastic value for money, whether you join the live event and the networking that brings, or use the digital event to absorb the great content from a distance. If you have any questions about which option is right for you, get in contact with one of the team who will be happy to have a chat with you.
If you are ready to book tickets, you can do this below. Please ensure you select the right option – LIVE or DIGITAL. 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.
Tickets remain fully refundable/deferrable in the event that the live event may not proceed due to restrictions, so you may book with confidence.
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.