Wow, wow, wow. What an amazing few days. I’m still trying to take it all in!
We’ve just had our most attended Products of Change Conference to date, with more supporters, more showcases of innovation and the most wonderful feeling of community. I knew it was going to be a special week, but I wasn’t quite prepared for how it would feel to see everybody together.
And something else really struck me yesterday: the week of the POC Conference has grown into something of a movement, with people organising their own meetings, dinners and catch-ups outside the Conference, independently, after being connected through the community – that just blows my mind!
Hearing people say who they’d met up with, what they were working on together and where those conversations might lead has been just wonderful, connections are taking on a life of their own, and that feels like such an exciting step for our community.
For us, the week began on Tuesday, when our Industry Leadership group met at the beautiful Natural History Museum to share what’s working, where we’re making progress and, just as importantly, where we’re getting stuck; this is so valuable for the industry.
We all have challenges we’re trying to work through, and being able to sit together, talk openly and ask: “could we find a solution to this together?” is such an important part of what we do at POC.
Thank you so much to Maxine Lister, Louisa Skevington and Scott Hildreth for hosting us. And to the wonderful Alex Treharne for your generosity throughout the day and dinner. Such a lovely way to begin the week.
Then Wednesday arrived. Our biggest-ever POC Conference. Whoop whoop!
There were so many moments when I looked around the room and thought, “Wow, look at what this community is building.” People sharing ideas, asking questions, catching up with old friends and making new connections. There was so much honesty in the room, so much to learn, and such a positive energy throughout the day.
And wow Stuart Goldsmith, he was just amazing, he brought so much warmth, humour and energy to the conference, and made our awards feel incredibly special.
We partnered with the phenomenal team at Brothers Make who took our awards to the next level (I want one ). I absolutely love them and are already working on what we could do together for 2027! Read the full awards story, with all the winners here.
We were so lucky to have the wonderful Andy Gray bring the conference sessions to life through his creativity; I know so many in the room were mesmerised. Just wow. We will have digital files of his illustrations in the coming days to share with you.
To everyone who spoke, supported, showcased their work or joined us in person or online: thank you. I know how busy everybody is, and I never take for granted the time and energy you give to being part of this. You can read our full wrap-up of the Conference here and the recordings of the session will be available Tuesday next week.
You might think we would have put our feet up on Thursday, but there was one more important conversation to have!
Our Industry Leadership group came together again, this time with the World Resources Institute, to discuss our Scope 3 methodology and work towards alignment on how brand owners report emissions from licensed products.
There is a lot of work behind that conversation, so being able to sit together and discuss the next steps meant a great deal. Thank you to Penguin Random House for hosting us, to Melissa Minty, Russell Watts and David Sprei for welcoming us, and to everybody who joined and contributed.
Looking back across the week, I feel incredibly proud of how far we’ve come together. We created the conditions by bringing you together, but it’s what you choose to do afterwards that makes the difference. Seeing you build those relationships, arrange your own conversations and find ways to work together has been one of my biggest highlights.
I’m coming away with a very full heart, plenty to think about and a long list of things to follow up on!
Most of all, I’m coming away feeling grateful. For our team, for this community and for everyone who keeps showing up with ideas, honesty and a willingness to help move things forward.
Thank you for making it such a special week. I can’t wait to see what we do next, together.
Helena and Team POC x
