First speakers unveiled for Products Of Change’s annual event
The rebranded Products Of Change Conference has announced the first names set to lead this year’s conversation at on the sustainable transformation of the global brand, licensing and retail industries.
Hailed the “most inspiring and engaging industry event ever attended” by audience members, including many from the greetings world such as Danilo, UK Greetings and Carousel Calendars, the event that used be known as the Sustainability In Licensing Conference (SiLC) is back at London’s Royal Geographical Society on 6 November.
Membership organisation Products Of Change (POC) has officially unveiled its new brand identity for the agenda-setting and era-defining annual sustainability event, showcasing the depth and breadth of the industries and business sectors the sustainability education platform reaches.
For 2024, the Products Of Change Conference – Sustainability On Brands, Licensing, Products & Retail will be setting the tone with a line-up of speakers and representatives of some of the biggest, furthest reaching, and most impactful brands, retailers and product manufacturers on the planet.
POC founder and CEO Helena Mansell-Stopher said: “As Products Of Change enters its fifth year, we are honoured to showcase the industry’s innovative solutions and achievements not just of the last 12 months, but in cumulation of the past five years of industry development, too.
“By continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible, we demonstrate the power of collaboration and highlight the incredible potential within our industry.”
With the great strides made on naked cards, biodegradable glitter, the use of recycled and recyclable board and envelopes, and even designs made using beach-scavenged plastics and glass, sustainability is something the greeting card industry is very familiar with.
Regular attendees at previous events include card and calendar publishers UK Greetings, Danilo, Eco-friendly Card Company, and Carousel Calendars – all POC members and each making encouraging headway in their respective sustainable development journeys.
Ticket options are available for those wishing to attend all-day and in-person, including networking opportunities with the day’s speakers and delegates, or for global audiences to watch the event from the comfort of their own offices as it is live-streamed across the world.
Lego Group, Primark and Asda are among the first speakers to be unveiled for the 2024 POC conference, and the opening keynote is from Tony’s Chocolonely, a social impact organisation that says it “happens to make chocolate”, with the aim of a “sweet endeavour to take the bitter taste out of cocoa”.
UK foodservice sales exec Monty Cairnes and trade marketing and events manager Georgina Savva will talk about the choc brand’s efforts to end child labour and modern slavery in the global cocoa supply chain through pioneering supply chain transparency and social impact values established to pay cocoa farmers a premium.
The day’s agenda is also choc-a-block with inspiring, educational and informative content, from panels sessions featuring some the biggest brands on the planet and presentations focusing on industry-shaping data and sustainability metrics to discussions with the High Street’s leading names in fashion retail and more.
Among the conference’s critical subject areas, Carousel Calendars will join FSC Blockchain and DK Books in an exploration of the EU’s new Deforestation Regulation and its direct impact on the international publishing industry.
Other topics include the latest wave of global legislation and regulation set to transform the business landscape; a look behind the scenes at the lengths the children’s print media landscape is going towards decarbonisation; a thorough exploration of High Street fashion retailer Primark’s strive towards affordable sustainability including its pioneering partnership with The Walt Disney Company and the fresh ground it is breaking through Primark Cares; and the latest update on what the POC community has been doing to create an officially-recognised industry standard framework for measuring, tracking, and reducing the sector’s Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
And the Products Of Change Members’ Awards return for the second year to champion members driving real-world, positive environmental and social impact in alignment with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking about the impact of last year’s conference, toy industry stalwart Paul Dearlove, who is also a consultant with Wastebuster, said: “Huge congratulations to all the POC team for hosting such a brilliant day that was so well curated with an amazing array of speakers and genuine feeling of collaboration and collective responsibility running throughout. I cannot recommend this annual event highly enough.”
More information about the Products Of Change Conference – Sustainability On Brands, Licensing, Products & Retail can be found here, with tickets available here.
