Agenda
The 2026 conference will shine a spotlight on the businesses, brands and retailers who are stepping up to the challenge of building new systems for our industry.
We will showcase practical, repeatable examples of what’s working – from materials and design, to data, circular models, supply chains and retail execution — and celebrate those already proving that progress at scale is possible.
At the core of POC has always been connection. In 2026, we will continue to bring brand owners, manufacturers, retailers and solution providers together – not just to talk, but to collaborate. We’re expanding our matchmaking opportunities across the Conference experience, creating more intentional spaces for partnerships to form, ideas to turn into pilots, and pilots to turn into industry-wide change.
We’ll also be welcoming an even wider network of innovators into the world of brand, licensing and retail – introducing the tools, technologies and thinking that will shape the future of how our industry must operate.
POC Conference 2026 is not about watching change happen.
It’s about being part of the group building it.
If you believe our industry can do more – and do better – we invite you to help shape what comes next.
9:30 AM
Registration & networking breakfast
9:30 AM
Welcome to the Products of Change Conference
Setting the scene for the day ahead: where are we as an industry, what has changed, and what do the next four years require from us?
Full Details
A look at how Products of Change is evolving to help industry move from individual action towards greater alignment, shared infrastructure and collective impact.
Speaker:
Helena Mansell-Stopher
Founder and CEO - Products of Change
9:40 AM
Sustainability at scale
A practical look at how Decathlon is embedding sustainability and circularity into its retail model, products and customer experience – and why this is increasingly important to the future of its business.
Full Details
Speaker:
Chris Allen
UK Director of Sustainability - Decathlon
9:30 AM
Networking session #1
A facilitated opportunity to make new connections, find potential collaborators and meet others tackling similar challenges.
9:30 AM
Reimagining the future of uniform
What happens when you put the next generation at the heart of the design process Girlguiding shares the journey behind its new uniform, developed alongside young people and with circularity, longevity and the future needs of its community in mind.
Full Details
Girlguiding shares the journey behind its new uniform, developed alongside young people and with circularity, longevity and the future needs of its community in mind.
Speaker:
Michelle Marley
Change Programme Buying Manager, - Girlguiding
10:00 AM
Paper, creativity & circularity
A story of business transformation through reshoring, manufacturing and clever paper engineering. UK Greetings shares how it is rethinking production and design across greetings cards, bags and gift wrap – demonstrating how reducing impact can unlock innovation, create new opportunities and strengthen UK manufacturing.
Full Details
Speaker:
Tamara Sender
Associate Director Fashion & Retail - Mintel
9:30 AM
Embedding sustainability into the business of licensing
How do you move sustainability from ambition to becoming part of the everyday way a licensing business operates?
Full Details
Rights & Brands shares how it is embedding sustainability across its licensing business, partnering with Flowhaven to build the systems and infrastructure needed to enable change at scale. A practical look at how technology, partnership and better systems can turn sustainability commitments into business as usual.
Speaker:
Michelle Marley
Change Programme Buying Manager, - Girlguiding
9:30 AM
Products of Change Awards 2026
Celebrating the individuals, organisations, partnerships and innovations helping move the industry forward.
9:30 AM
Networking Lunch & Speed Networking #2
Time to eat, connect and continue the conversations from the morning, alongside a second opportunity for facilitated one-to-one networking.
10.10 AM
Taking the pulse of industry: The POC Partner Maturity Index
What is the data telling us about where our industry really is?
An introduction to emerging insights from the Products of Change Partner Maturity Index – exploring where businesses are progressing, where the gaps remain and what this tells us about the support and infrastructure the industry needs next.
Full Details
Speakers:
Helena Mansell-Stopher
Founder and CEO - Products of Change
Andrea Green
Advisor and ambassador for North America- Products of Change
Dr Mirjam Hazenbosch
Sustainable Business Programme Manager- ZSL
Jonathan Baker
Chief Commercial Officer- Fabacus
Anna Halford
Lead Counsel- Disney Consumer Products
10.10 AM
Collaboration in action
Meaningful progress rarely happens alone. BBC Studios and Moose Toys share how working together across brand, licensing, product development and sustainability has helped challenge conventional thinking, transfer knowledge and accelerate innovation.
Full Details
Speakers:
Anita Majhu
FMCG and Brands & Licensing Sustainability Lead - BBC Studios
Greg Simmons
Director of Sustainable Product Development- Moose Toys
11:00 AM
Turning regulation into opportunity
A practical example of sustainability meeting commercial reality. The Works shares how it has been working with its buying teams and suppliers to mitigate EPR costs, rethink packaging and use changing regulation as a catalyst for innovation across a mass-market retail business.
Full Details
Speaker:
Matthew Graham
Head of Quality Assurance, Sourcing & Sustainability - The Works
Sam Meyrick
Sustainability Manager - The Works
11:20 AM
Break
11:45 AM
Innovation showcase: The future starts here
Pioneering innovators take to the stage to showcase the materials, technologies and solutions helping businesses turn ambition into action.
Full Details
Fast-paced, practical and future-focused: what is the innovation, what problem does it solve and how could it help our industry move forward?
The session will conclude with a short reflection from Products of Change, bringing together the key themes from the day and looking at what we collectively take forward next.
Speaker:
Christian Lanckman
Sustainable Packaging Manager - The LEGO Group
9:30 AM
Closing reflections
Setting the scene for the day ahead: where are we as an industry, what has changed, and what do the next four years require from us?
Full Details
Speaker:
Helena Mansell-Stopher
Founder and CEO - Products of Change
5:05 PM
Networking & Drinks
If you believe our industry can do more – and do better...
we invite you to help shape what comes next with us at the Royal Geographical Society on 11 November 2026.
