We’ve been dealt a dose of rather heavy reading this week, haven’t we? If you’ve tuned into the latest report from the IPCC, you know what I’m talking about – things are really quite urgent. But, I’d like to act as a voice of positivity amongst the fallout right now because, as Ambassador for Partnerships at Products of Change, I’ve been blown away by our industry’s response to the challenge we face.

Let me tell you why.

I was privileged to attend an Ambassador update meeting last week – one of our regular catch up sessions as part of driving our wonderful community forwards. First and foremost, I have to say, it was an incredibly positive atmosphere. There is a real sense that ‘we are all in this together’; the best and only way forward through the coming challenges. Not only that, but there was an inspiring ethos of sharing: knowledge, learnings, experience, challenges, questions, solutions, contacts, and more.

This was a pooling of ideas and resources across a broad range of businesses the likes of which I have rarely experienced in my entire working life.

The benefits resulting from this are available to all members and its value – in every sense of the word – is quite remarkable. We all have a common ambition: to set and achieve sustainability goals right across the licensing world, This encompasses multiple sectors being driven both internally and externally. By working through these challenges and opportunities, together as Products of Change members, we will achieve more faster and more cost-effectively, than if we do it alone.

Simon Gresswell, Ambassador for Sport, exemplified this in his report on a landmark meeting at Manchester City’s Etihad stadium, which was attended by the likes of Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur, the Premiere League’s ‘Greenest Clubs’ officially. Where else would you find the perfect example of highly competitive teams coming together to share a common goal and working together to deliver for the football community – alongside many mutual suppliers and licensors?

This is a grouping worthy of its own commentary, that’ for sure.

Projects currently underway from the Products of Change team include the development of a Legal Framework for the industry – whether you’re a brand owner, a licensee, a manufacturing partner, or anywhere else along the industry’s value chain. Due to launch very soon, this is a system for all industry members to access and use as the basis of their sustainable development… and then share it with their partners.

This mammoth project will set common standards across the licensing world, which will influence and drive positive change in the many businesses and sectors we work in: be it retail, manufacturing, location-based entertainment, publishing, charities, packaging, education, and many more. Right across the globe.

Yes, the Products of Change reach is spreading across the world thanks to a line up of Products of Change Ambassadors leading regional areas such as the US and North America, Canada, Australia, Holland, and across Europe. All these Ambassadors are from member companies – from the very large, like LEGO, to the small, like Louis Kennedy but it clearly demonstrates that in this game, size really doesn’t matter. It is all about the experience and determination you bring and are willing to share with fellow members.

New Ambassadors now include Duncan Shearer, client services director at Seymour Distribution, who is leading the charge for Paper, and Steve Plackett, md of Carousel Calendars who now extensive experience with measuring carbon emissions across his business puts in fantastic stead as the Ambassador for Net Zero.

The meeting saw Mike Swain, Ambassador for Packaging take the spotlight to report back on the first Products of Change Circular Packaging Design Course, which according to all parties was a roaring success. One thing that was highlighted, however, was the continual need for education to be driven across our consumer product industries.

But education is a recurring theme. Not just within the industry itself, but in how we engage and help educate the customer, too. The customer should feel included in the journey we are all one, particularly where the positive changes we make come with knock-on effects upon the prices they may pay.

Perhaps in this sense, there’s a call for an educational programme for consumers on the horizon when it comes to the relationship they have with the products they buy?

When Products of Change hosts a meeting like this, whether it’s a gathering of Ambassadors or one of the many workstreams the team host online, this is a chance to learn. I, for one, am positively buzzing with ideas and questions – all of which I know will be welcomed by the community. As my dad used to say, ‘the only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask.’ My friends know I live this mantra to the full…

The message is a serious one, though. As this week’s IPCC report goes to indicate. There is no time left to leave those questions unasked. You never know who in this community could hold the answer or be working towards the solution. And there is power in numbers when facing any challenge.

So if I urge you to do one thing in the wake of the news this week, it’s to take full advantage of your membership with Products of Change. I guarantee the investment of a little time to see what is happening, participate in discussions, or attend events will bring terrific returns.

Moreover, each and everyone can be an Ambassador simply by spreading the word and encouraging the companies and organisation we work with to join the journey towards sustainable development. And why not start with Products of Change, the only club for those driving change for a sustainable future.