Products of Change member, Vicki Thomas Associates is using this week’s Spring Fair to announce the launch of the University of Northampton’s new Centre for Sustainable Futures, a project the company’s founder has been spearheading for the last year.

With a focus on collaboration between academia and business, the vision for the Centre of Sustainable Futures is to work towards positive environmental, social, and economic impacts for communities at local, national, and international levels.

It also aims to promote resilience of landscapes, communities, infrastructure systems and promote a circular economy in manufacturing and waste management.

The Centre will be led by University of Northampton lecturers and experts in sustainable design processes, including Vicki Thomas herself, the founder of Vicki Thomas Associates.

She will lead a special interest group with a focus on moving to Sustainable Toys and Play, the subject of a special paper she is currently writing for the International Toy Research Association (ITRA) conference in Rochester, New York this August.

The paper – Greening the Toy Industry – will deep dive into the industry and its potential to move to a more circular economic model.

“After a lot of work behind the scenes, we’re delighted to announce the launch of the University of Northampton’s new Centre for Sustainable Futures,” said Vicki. “Through the centre we’re looking to bring together local, national, and international collaborators from across the industry sectors to begin the process of moving to more regenerative models.

“We’ve started some fascinating conversations with local businesses from the food and drink and children’s sectors. It’s great to see so many already taking interest and seeking solutions to their own hurdles when it comes to moving to more sustainable practices. This is just the beginning for what the Centre is setting out to achieve.”

As a jumping off point, the Centre for Sustainable Futures has pioneered a new Sustainability Summit, bringing together local businesses to kickstart the conversations around sustainable development.

A first for Northamptonshire and a first of its kind for higher education institutions in the UK, the summit will take place on Monday, 15 May and Tuesday, 16 May.