BRAND POWER

Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals settled upon by the United Nations as the building blocks for a prosperous global population, The Walt Disney Company aligns and works to support 12. Previously, the SDG Action Manager has found the average among the 18,000 businesses that engage with the tool to be seven, putting Disney - through initiatives to support its People, Culture, and Content, as well as to address emissions, water use, reduce its waste, trace the impact of its materials, and promote conservation efforts –within the top 13% of companies worldwide that actively prioritise more than ten SDGs.

Among those is the corporation’s commitment to increase the use of recycled plastic content and design its packaging for reuse, recycling, or composting in accordance with its 2030 Material Goals for Disney-branded Products.

But it’s not just the titans of industry leading the better business movement within global licensing. The more radical change is taking place at the hands of the sector’s thriving community of smaller businesses and brand licensing pioneers, the likes of which Licensing Expo visitors will find smack bang in the middle of the action this year, on the Products of Change show space. a Licensing Excellence award, the partnership – brokered by Joester Loria Group – has been cited as ‘the first of many more to come like it.’

LEGO, Magic Light Pictures and Wow! Stuff, Skechers, Carousel Calendars, Stor, Cooneen, Beanstalk, Golden Bear, and Danilo will all be showcasing the strides they are taking in product and packaging to deliver a new future of licensing.

Pacifico is a premium Mexican beer with a long surf heritage and a commitment to protecting our outdoor spaces which it carries out through its Pacifico Preserves initiative and partnerships with the likes of the Surfrider Foundation, the Conservation Alliance, and The National Parks Trust.

“Our goal is to bring sustainability to our clients’ programmes in as many ways as possible,” says Debra Joester. “That includes packaging, fair trade, recycled materials, and better manufacturing processes.”

Elsewhere, among the changemakers to be shortlisted, is Goodyear Brakes and its official range of calipers. With this range, Goodyear is delivering an entirely pioneering model of product deconstruction and reuse to the sector.

“Goodyear Calipers are remanufactured in North America whereby used parts are completely disassembled, cleaned and refurbished with worn components replaced, and restored to their original function,” a Goodyear spokesperson explains.

In 2022, the brand launched a new collection of products in collaboration with Quicksilver that aimed to not only reflect the Pacifico commitment to the environment but uphold pledges made by Quicksilver’s parent company, Boardriders, and the Boardriders Foundation. Now shortlisted for

“Through the process, FDP utilises used calipers as raw materials to manufacture Goodyear Calipers, using 85% less raw material in the process than in the manufacturing of new parts. It also uses just 15% of the energy needed to manufacture new products.”

So, as Licensing Expo comes around again, so does the spotlight on how things can move forward and new processes can be adopted. Five years ago, would you have expected licensed car parts to be in the running for a Licensing Excellence award? Imagine where our propensity for innovation could take us in the next five years – we could even be a business of B Corps.