This week, Bologna Licensing and Book Fair is being held, with Products of Change and its partners in attendance.

Helena Mansell-Stopher, POC’s founder and CEO, has been in Bologna this week, visiting the show and hosting a panel exploring how leading brands are using their scale, creativity, and cultural relevance to drive meaningful change.

This year’s Bologna Licensing Trade Fair felt like a real step change for the industry, reported Helena. Busier than ever, the show expanded its footprint with new dedicated networking spaces across games, media, toys, and licensing – bringing together a truly diverse mix of businesses, brands, and creatives.

From a buzzing book fair to a vibrant creative zone, it was clear that while AI continues to evolve at pace, the publishing and creative industries are not standing still. If anything, they are pushing harder – championing human creativity, storytelling, and connection in ways that felt both powerful and deeply relevant, said Helena.

For Products of Change, one of the most encouraging shifts was the growing appetite to learn, collaborate, and act on sustainability. We’ve seen a noticeable increase in businesses actively seeking ways to reduce their environmental impact – moving from intent to implementation.

For the fifth year running, POC was proud to return to host a panel: The Power of Brands: Driving Industry Change for the Next Generation. Bringing together voices from across the industry, including: Thomas Saurén, sustainability and content director, Rights and Brands, Sweden; Ann-Katrin Hager, business development manager, CP Lead, Sesame Workshop, Germany; Lily Zahn, publishing product development specialist, Hasbro, USA (pictured in top image).

The discussion moved beyond sustainability in isolation, reflecting a broader shift: sustainability is no longer sitting on the sidelines, but becoming embedded into the everyday operations of businesses. Brands hold extraordinary influence. When they use that influence with purpose, they can reshape industries, accelerate innovation, and build systems that work better for people and the planet.

Crucially, the panel wasn’t just made up of sustainability leads. We heard from creative and commercial leaders too, highlighting that real change happens when sustainability is integrated across the entire business.

“What we’re seeing now is a real turning point. Sustainability is no longer a separate conversation, it’s becoming part of how businesses operate, create and grow. There is still a long way to go, but the progress over the past few years has been phenomenal, and it’s incredibly encouraging to see the industry leaning in with such intent,” commented Helena.

Helena was also part of the judging panel for the Bologna Licensing Awards. Congratulations to all the winners, and a particular congratulations to Sesame Workshop, for winning the Award for Best Licensed Sustainable Project. This was for its Sesame Street E-Wasting Campaign project, developed in collaboration with Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte-Register.

While challenges remain, and different businesses are at different stages of their journey, the direction of travel is clear. Collaboration, innovation, and shared learning will be key as we collectively work towards meeting our 2030 climate goals.