Licensing Expo mode is now fully-engaged here at Products of Change and we couldn’t be more excited. If not, a little perturbed that the Vegas trip has rolled around quite so quickly, but it sounds like the majority of us are in the same boat.
We’re incredibly proud to announce this week that Products of Change will be bringing together some total titans of the brand licensing industry: Disney, the LEGO Group, Bravado, and the NFL Players Association for a very special panel session on sustainability in licensing when Licensing Expo does get underway in just nine days’ time.
This session will mark the first time leaders in sustainability from across some of the licensing industry’s biggest names will come together to discuss critical topics including what the next tranche of environmental legislation will mean for brand owners and manufacturers over the next seven years.
On Wednesday, 14 June at 3.30pm, I will be joined on the Main Stage by Jakob Max Hamann, sustainability lead at the LEGO Group; Sagan Harlin, senior manager of consumer products and strategy at the NFLPA; Matt Young, president, Bravado (part of Universal Music Group); and the Walt Disney Company’s vice president of environmental sustainability, Yalmaz Siddiqui.
We cannot wait to deliver you this special panel session – Scoping ut the future of Sustainability – at the show and are urging everyone who can to attend. You can register your interest in the session here.
This will make up just part of what we have in store for Licensing Expo this month which includes a series of industry-first Roundtable Sessions and a sustainable product showcase from Products of Change members at the POC booth C142.
On Tuesday, 13 June Products of Change will host a special Sports Roundtable, led by president of NFL Players Incorporated and POC’s Ambassador for Sports in North America, Steve Scebelo. The Roundtable will bring together the Products of Change Sports Workstream to discuss the latest innovation within sports licensing.
The session will run from 1.00pm to 2.00pm on the POC stand C142 and will be open to attend for all Products of Change Members who can register to join in here.
Wednesday, 14 June will see Products of Change bring the industry together for the first in-person Carbon Roundtable. Kicking off at 11am at the POC Stand C142, the session will be chaired by LEGO’s Jakob Max Hamann as the workstream sets out to forge the next steps the licensing industry can take on its journey of sustainable development.
The meeting aims to support crucial conversation around what is required and the tools that are available to calculate and capture scope 3 Greenhouse Gas emissions data within the industry. It will be open to all Products of Change Members who can register here.
The team will then be making its way to the Licensing Expo’s Main Stage at 3.30pm on Wednesday, 14 June for its panel session Scoping out the future of Sustainability before hosting a special POC Members Drinks Reception back at C142 at 4.30pm. You can register for this by clicking here.
As the doors open on Licensing Expo’s third and final day – dubbed its Day of Purpose – Products of Change will set the scene for the industry’s first Transparency Roundtable. Kicking off at 12noon on Thursday, 15 June at the POC Stand C142, Fabacus, Octane 5, Dependable Solutions, and Flowhaven will convene to discuss the technology required to support the brand and licensing industry’s transition to sustainability through data.
Discover what tools we will need to capture the right data as brand owners and licensed manufacturers. Members of the POC community can take part in this special session by registering to attend here.
Prior to this, Catrina )’Brien, director of licensing consumer products at Hasbro will showcase how Peppa Pig swapped muddy puddles for a British coastline branded beach clean-up for World Ocean Day. This session will take place on the Main Stage at 10am until 11am where Catrina will talk through the George@ Asda clothing line launched to support the campaign as well as the partnership with Cleaner Seas Project and Twinkl to deliver a series of rubbish-sorting activities and educational games to teach kids the importance of a healthy ocean. Register for this event here.
On top of all of this, the Products of Change booth C142 will also host an exhibition of products and brands pioneering new and more sustainable methods of operating, with lines from the likes of LEGO, Magic Light Pictures, Amscan, Carousel Calendars, Goodyear, Pacific, Mud Jeans, Floral Street, Skechers, Stor, Cooneen, Beanstalk, Golden Bear, and Danilo all on display. Be sure to find time to check it all out.
But be sure to also come by and say hello to the team. Myself and Rob will be there alongside the magnificent Andrea Green, POC’s Ambassador for North America, as well as the ever-energetic Brenda Seto, POC’s Ambassador for North America and Canada. We love a trade show for getting to see our wonderful community get together and explore some new ideas around doing things differently.
Let’s make Licensing Expo in Las Vegas the place of a bold, new agenda for the licensing industry.
Before we go, let’s also say a massive warm welcome to Merchantwise, a new member of the Products of Change community, joining us all the way from Australia. Can’t wait to tell you all more about their plans for sustainable development the Australia-way.
Have a great weekend.
