While environmental sustainability is a principal focus of POC, social sustainability is just as important and is something we acknowledge each year on International Women’s Day (8 March).
This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme is ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,’ centred around the ambition for equal enforcement of legal rights globally.
According to UN Women, no nation has yet closed the legal gaps between men and women, with women holding only 64% of the legal rights that men hold worldwide – a frankly sobering statistic that highlights how far we still have to go.
“In fundamental areas of life, including work, money, safety, family, property, mobility, business, and retirement – the law systematically disadvantages women. From harmful social norms to discriminatory laws, women and girls continue to face entrenched obstacles – even pushback – to equal justice. If progress continues at its current pace, it will take 286 years to close legal protection gaps. That is not a timeline, it’s surrender,” says UN Women.
So, this year is all about dismantling the structural and legal barriers to equality, as “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 7.
Women and their essential role in the rule of law was highlighted at the United Nations @80 Conference earlier this year. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, founder & CEO, International Civil Society Action Network, spoke of how it is women who are on the ground building peace, and that is essential that women are at the peace table – as still, women’s voices are marginalised from high level negotiations.
Andreas Persbo, director, Open Nuclear Network, built on this, saying how it has been shown in observations and studies from the likes of NGOs and the UK Government, that there is an increased probability of success, and longer lasting success in mediation if women are in the room – by 20-35% in fact. “It is all of our responsibility,” he said, “We cannot afford to leave 50% of people out of the conversation.”
And as are women’s voices and work essential to the success of sustainability endeavours. We know that women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, but we also know that they possess the leadership to solve them.
For this year’s IWD 2026, Products of Change is proud to celebrate and spotlight the women across our community who are not just leading sustainability but embedding it. These are not only sustainability directors, they are also legal leaders, commercial innovators, educators, partnership builders, system changers.
They are enabling sustainability to move from ambition to action across our industry.
Mette Bjerregaard Boisen
Senior program project lead, The LEGO Group
Behind the scenes, Mette has been unlocking sustainability progress across the LEGO licensing ecosystem, translating ambitious goals into practical guidance for partners and accelerating industry alignment.
Laura Bonareu
Co-founder & managing director, Organic Sound (Hallotex Group)
Championing textile-to-textile recycling and circular innovation, Laura is bringing new material solutions to market with determination and pace. She proves that challenger businesses can accelerate change – and influence the wider system.
Eszter Csicsai
Senior Manager, Sustainability, Mattel
Eszter’s leadership inside a global toy business is helping embed practical, scalable sustainability solutions. Her influence supports cross-functional teams to align innovation with environmental ambition, with a vision to building new infrastructure for future circularity.
Kate Goldman-Toomey
Executive director of partnerships, Open Planet
Through science-led storytelling and content, Kate is enabling behavioural change at scale. Sustainability transformation starts with understanding – and Kate is helping society and industry connect the dots.
Anna Halford
Lead Counsel, The Walt Disney Company
From within legal, Anna champions sustainability across the media and licensing ecosystem, ensuring governance frameworks enable progress rather than restrict it. True systems change requires cross-functional leadership — and Anna embodies that.
Dr Mirjam Hazenbosch
Sustainable business programme manager, Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
Mirjam translates complex legislation and requirements into practical action. From policy navigation to internal innovation, she is helping businesses move from compliance to proactive environmental leadership.
Wendy Mather
CEO, RDP Creative
Wendy’s leadership has driven measurable environmental reductions across her business, including the removal of single-use plastics. Winner of the POC SDG Awards 2026 for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, she exemplifies operational courage and long-term commitment.
Julia Redman
POC Fashion Ambassador; founder, Buyer’s Eye; lecturer at the London College of Fashion
Julia bridges buying, sustainability and education together, shaping both industry practice and the next generation of leaders. Her work ensures sustainability is embedded from classroom to commercial decision-making.
Tracey Smith
Commercial partnerships & licensing manager, The Eden Project
Tracey has embedded environmental purpose into licensed products for over a decade. From piloting Digital Product Passports to aligning partners with brand values, she demonstrates how licensing can become a vehicle for change, her team at The Eden Project were also awarded a POC SDG award in 2025 for SDG 17: Partnerships for th Goals.
Cheryl Thompson
Lead sustainable waste operations manager, Tesco
Cheryl has spent the last five years embedding circular innovation within one of the UK’s largest retailers. Her ability to align commercial teams with sustainability ambition is driving tangible systems change.
As a women-led business, Products of Change continues to champion women’s voices as we lead the industry forwards on its sustainability journey. Happy International Women’s Day 2026 to all from POC #ForAllWomenandGirls.
