Caroline Petit, deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre, will be joining the POC Conference with a keynote speech to kick-off the day and to present the POC SDG Member Awards.

After opening the inaugural POC SDG Member Awards in 2023, Caroline Petit, deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre, will be returning for the 2025 Products of Change Conference next week to present this year’s SDG Award winners as well as open the Conference with a keynote speech addressed to attendees.

POC’s SDG Member Awards are structured around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, picking four in particular that resonate most with our industry and the impact needed to made.

In partnership with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the POC Awards recognise outstanding contributions from our members across these four categories:

• Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17) – celebrating collaboration that drives collective progress.
• Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG 12) – spotlighting leadership in sustainable product and packaging innovation.
• Climate Action (SDG 13) – recognising measurable impact in reducing emissions and environmental footprint.
• Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG 9) – rewarding breakthrough ideas and systems that are building a future-fit industry.

Together, these awards honour those who are not only making change within their organisations, but also inspiring progress across the wider community.

The Sustainable Development Goals is a framework laying out 17 ambitions to meet by 2030 to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for everyone. The framework spans ambitions such as ‘responsible consumption’, ‘equity’, and ‘quality education’ and acts as a set of goals with which businesses and individuals can align and act in pursuit of. Through various industry Compacts, the United Nations has been working to bring industry and business in closer alignment with the 17 SDGs.

The United Nations and Caroline have been working alongside POC almost since its founding, such as working with us to organise a catwalk at BLE 2022 with Junk Kouture, centred around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as a catalyst for change. Within the set, Junk Couture hosted an exclusive catwalk show, presenting designs from their worldwide competition where 13–18-year-old students are empowered to embrace the principle of sustainable living creating apparel and couture from recycled materials.

And of course, Caroline kicked off the POC Conference (then, SiLC) in 2023 with a keynote speech, engaging the global brand licensing and retail industries with the topic of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the many roles that business can play in the transition to a prosperous and sustainable future. She then launched the inaugural POC SDG Awards, the industry’s first every sustainability awards, to align with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and in celebration of the boldest and most pioneering companies and individuals in the global brand and licensing sector.

Caroline also had a big part to play with the launch of the UN-backed UK Water Week in London with
Products of Change and Wastebuster in June 2024, delivering the keynote speech to open the day. Recognising the water crisis, the UN General Assembly first launched its Water Action Decade in 2018 to accelerate how we transform and manage water to achieve universal access to this right by 2030. 

Products of Change is delighted to be welcoming back Caroline Petit to open the POC Conference next week with a keynote and to hand out the trophies for the POC SDG Member Awards 2025.

“The brand licensing industry has embarked on its sustainability journey and can serve as a powerful catalyst by integrating these goals into every consumer’s environment. My message to POC delegates is simple: use your voice and your products – it is your most powerful tool. When stories are told with purpose, they spark debate, shift perceptions, and influence decisions, even at the highest levels,” comments Caroline Petit, deputy director, United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe, ahead of the Conference.

Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder and CEO of Products of Change, says: “It’s a real honour to be able to celebrate those in the industry who are truly driving real innovation through our Products of Change SDG Awards. To have Caroline from the United Nations returning to the Conference after opening the first ever POC Awards back in 2023, will really help us reflect on all the progress we have made in the last two years. Having Caroline’s and the UN’s continued support for not just POC, but our industry as a whole is a testament to its important role in driving meaningful sustainable change.”

We look forward to welcoming Caroline and you to the Conference next week on Wednesday 5 November. Get your tickets here.