Final speaker line-up confirmed for Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021

SILC21 will now be going ahead as an entirely digital event on 24-25 June 2021.

The full line-up of speakers has been announced for the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2021 – making for a jam-packed agenda of insights and discussions at the June event, which are set to inspire and inform all those in the licensing arena and beyond on their respective sustainable journey.

Following the success of the inaugural SILC last year, it has been confirmed that SILC21 will take place entirely digitally across two days – Thursday 24 and 25 June this year.

“The sustainability agenda has moved on dramatically since we hosted SILC 2020 and we wanted to reflect this in this year’s line-up of presentations and panel discussions, focusing heavily on retail, legislation and how we, as an industry, can use brands to drive positive sustainable change,” commented Helena Mansell-Stopher, curator of SILC and founder of Products of Change (owner and organiser of SILC).

“We have the full support from an incredible line-up of speakers and panellists – from leading retailers to sustainability experts; visionary brand owners to trailblazing product manufacturers all set to inspire, educate and connect, for the common good,” stressed Helena.

For those wanting to hear first-hand all about Tesco’s sustainability requirements for suppliers or all about the drive for change in the toy and fashion sectors, this will be covered. Businesses who need to know about European legislative measures that will have a direct effect on their bottom lines as well as the planet, again, the answers will be unveiled at this event.

At retail, change is also demanded not desired, as will be evidenced and discussed by retail panellists such as Asda, Tesco, Character.com, Dayrize and Julia Redman, while on the product manufacturing front, LEGO, ZURU and others will unveil their developments and leading gaming body Ukie will also share its progress.

“While licensing is a key driver for change and is the historic root of SILC, our remit is so much wider and is all the richer for being able to share the incredible insights from qualified sustainability experts with The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Recoup, Retail Economics among the line-up of keynote speakers,” added Helena.

The two-day SILC 21 agenda will see insights and developments being shared by leading lights from Asda, Buyers Eye, Character.com, Dayrize, The Eden Project, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Hannah Mills, Hubbub, The Insights Family, LEGO, Pack IDS, Recoup, Retail Economics, Sail GP, Tesco, UKIE and ZURU.

SILC 2021 follows on from the hugely successful inaugural digital event last November, which was attended by over 500 people from all over the world.

After lengthy discussions with The British Library (which was due to host SILC 2021), it became apparent that, due to the inconclusive government guidelines and the current logistical constraints of the venue, the decision should be made that the 2021 event will take place as an entirely virtual event.

This development has enabled SILC to span two days with all content available to be downloaded, on-demand, for all ticket holders for one month afterwards.

“Sadly, the effects of the pandemic are still with us all. We had hoped that our late June date would have been fine, given the incredible progress with the vaccination programme, but ensuring the safety and confidence of all is paramount,” commented Ian Hyder, director of SILC. “As we already had a large number of virtual ticket bookings for the event, we decided against a date postponement – 24 June is probably a week or so too early for the guarantees that we all need. The line-up of speakers is incredibly powerful and the sustainable change that SILC is helping to facilitate is very potent.”

Tickets to SILC are just £100 (+VAT) and are available from www.sustainabilityinlicensing.com, or from Clare Hollick of Createvents (event support) on clare@createvents.co.uk or by calling 0118 334 0085.

SILC 2021 has a strong roster of sponsors, leading brands who all share the vision. These include Amscan, BBC Studios, Change Plastic for Good, Character World, Dreamtex, GB Eye/Abysse, Hasbro, The Insights Family, Kids Industries, MDR Brand Management, Natural History Museum, Octane5, Open Beijing, TDP, ViacomCBS and Warner Brothers.