An expert panel hosted during Brand Licensing Europe last month by Helena Mansell-Stopher, ceo of Products of Change, saw leading names from the global brand and licensing industry give an insight into how they are navigating the sustainability conversation and their experiences of putting words into action.
Mapping a Sustainable Pathway: How the Industry is Adapting to New Demands featured panellists Jeremy Orriss, director of licensing, Difuzed; Michelle Papayannakos, director of sustainability, Paramount UK; Jakob Max Hamann, senior manager of business development and sustainability governance, The LEGO Group; and Anna Halford, associate principal council, The Walt Disney Company.
Subjects under discussion included each company’s progress in meeting sustainability goals, both from a corporate governance and environmental legislation perspective, and the pitfalls and opportunities along the way.
While global brand owners such as LEGO, Paramount and Disney have robust policies and practices in place pertaining to their own targets, for licensees the situation can be more complex, admitted Difuzed’s Jeremy Orriss.
“There are a lot of good ideas coming from the brand owners and the licensors, but [as a manufacturer and licensee] we are the fulcrum on the seesaw, because we’ve also got the retailer requirements to consider. But we have to start thinking about how we balance all these things.”
An issue for licensees working across different global territories, as Difuzed does, is that there is no standardisation of legislation, said Jeremy. “But the key thing we are looking at at the moment is ensuring we have transparency and traceability… knowing what goes into our product and where it comes from.”
To that end, the company now has four staff out of a total of 50 working solely on compliance and sustainability, with a fifth member soon to be added to the team.
More environmental legislation coming down the line means being an early adopter of sustainable practices will pay dividends later on, the panel pointed out. In particular, further clampdowns on greenwashing, such as the upcoming ban on claims including ‘climate neutral’ or ‘climate positive’, will affect how licensees promote their goods.
“Obviously, we’re concerned about Disney branded products and how they’re associated with green claims and responsible marketing,” said Anna. “So, we have some green claims guidance that we’ve provided to licensees, and there’s training on that guidance. It’s good practice to make sure that people are keeping up with the best practice in that field.”
While legislation can be “scary”, Helena pointed out that in the current landscape, there is a fantastic opportunity for brand owners to drive positive conversations about sustainability. One great example, as explained by Michelle, is Paramount’s Operation Sea Change, which has seen iconic character SpongeBob SquarePants teaming with various campaigns and organisations across multiple territories for eco initiatives, including Surfers Against Sewage’s beach litter-picking Million Mile Clean in the UK. Operation Sea Change also saw SpongeBob partner with LUSH and other licensees for sustainable products.
Difuzed, meanwhile, works directly with some of its licensors to explore different possibilities for end-of-life garment recycling; it recently partnered with Disney and the designer Jimmy Paul to make an upcycled dress – on display at BLE – from Deadpool Christmas jumpers.
“We’re exploring incubator projects at the moment to see what is possible with dead stock,” Jeremy said. “Rather than throwing stuff away, is there a way to use it, and then resell it? By doing that, you’re driving a conversation for the brand.”
Current and upcoming sustainability legislation means the future of consumer products will look different, the panel agreed.
“The challenging part, I think, is maintaining an ongoing discussion around change management in general. We need to make everyone part of the solution, it needs to be a democratised conversation,” said Jakob. The new ways of working that legislation is bringing about will involve “connecting differently, working together differently. I think it is also going to improve businesses and make businesses better and more transparent, and give more in-depth understanding. At LEGO, we have children as our role models, and we are aiming to really inspire them and build the business of tomorrow.”
“It’s about putting sustainability on a level footing with commerciality,” Michelle added. “This is a journey we’re all on together, and [disclosure and transparency] give us a really good platform to have open conversations and hopefully move in the right direction.”
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