INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION INSPIRING AN

Was it the showstopping Products of Change stand at Brand Licensing Europe 2021 that first made you aware of Informa Markets’ journey of sustainable development? Or the team’s own sweeping graphic, detailing the group’s evolution of sustainability as it presented a whole new post-pandemic direction of the industry event?

Or could it have been the introduction of the Day of Purpose and the super-special keynote speech from none other than the United Nations itself at the 2022 show?

Whatever it was – and take your pick, there’s been plenty of activity surrounding it – it is undeniable that Informa Markets, the expert team behind Brand Licensing Europe in London and Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, has set upon a new commitment with potential to shape the future of the licensing industry itself.

It’s why, at this year’s Licensing Expo, you’ll find the team doubling down on its Day of

Purpose and you’ve likely already read about the launch of License to Move, its brand-new global wellbeing initiative developed to inspire the entire licensing industry. But, lumped in with a few more LED lightbulbs and a commitment to reduce waste at its trade shows, this only begins to scratch the surface of the sustainability strategy at Informa.

“It’s fair to say that our journey started off really focusing on the environmental side of our events and was very operational led,” Anna Knight, svp licensing, Informa Markets tells Products of Change. “It was about reducing waste, reducing printed materials, working with a sustainable venue… but it didn’t really go beyond that.”

Until one day, it all clicked into place. Now led by Anna alongside Ella Haynes, event director at Global Licensing

Group, the company is on a mission to see sustainable development embedded into the culture of the brand and the team around it.

“The teams are now genuinely excited and motivated by our strategy, especially after seeing the Products of Change Sustainability Pavilion come to life in 2021,” explains Anna. “Having the United Nations speak at BLE last year was a huge moment for us and has had a ripple effect among our colleagues and their collective caring. It’s a huge employee motivator and brilliant that people are noticing what we are doing in this space.

“The biggest challenge, though, has been getting people to understand the depth of our commitment, that this is ESG, not just environmental, and encouraging them to think about it as part of their job and not just an addition.”

Fortunately, these efforts come with some substantial backing from the very top of the Informa tower. FasterForward is the company’s overarching sustainability strategy, a philosophy that envelopes the entirety of the business’ activations. It’s one, Anna suggests, that emphasises just “how incredibly seriously” the company takes its commitment.

It begins with three main pillars: Faster to Zero, Sustainability Inside, and Impact Multipliers. The first, rather self-explanatorily is focused on reaching the team’s Net Zero carbon goal “as efficiently as is humanly possible”, while Sustainability Inside moves that spotlight onto embedding the strategy and philosophy into its brands – whether they are live events, digital platforms, or published works. It’s about finding a way to best promote the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals in an authentic and brand-led way.

“These have been our pillars for a while and we’ve already been doing a huge amount of this at the shows, especially now we have dedicated the third day of BLE and Licensing Expo to being our official Day of Purpose,” says Anna. “And we are going to start talking a lot more about this.”

Then there’s the third pillar, Impact Multipliers, which is a particularly interesting one as it’s an initiative that has the potential to not only shape what the licensing industry of tomorrow could look like, but for whom.

“It relates to how we make a positive impact and involve communities that can’t easily access the products and knowledge that we put out into the market,” Anna explains. “What can we do for the communities around our events? How do we make sure those who are disconnected can be connected?

“If we are creating specialist content, for example, how do we invite students from disadvantaged areas to access it? It might be that we offer discounted rates or give some things away free of charge.”

This is a particular sticking point that Anna and the team are hoping to manifest by working with Diversity Org for the next Brand Licensing Europe show in London, a team whose mission is to teach under-represented and minority students how to obtain high income and corporate careers through Informa’s Fortune 500 partners.

“We want to be the first UK show to work with these guys and bring students from disadvantaged backgrounds to BLE for free mentoring,” says Anna.

“Our big ambition is to bring in more students and young adults. We want to spotlight that because while this generation is having to adapt to this new way of thinking and working, the next generation are expecting it.

Generation Alpha will walk the walk with their wallets and it’s important that this industry is aware of that.”

This will all, no doubt, feed very nicely into yet another programme instigated by Informa to drive development across its brands called The Fundamentals. Far from being the Marvel movie it sounds like, this is actually an event-specific list of objectives each show in the portfolio is expected to meet. In 2022, Licensing Expo and BLE were two of 37 Informa shows that hit all 12 objectives, including wellbeing initiatives, reducing waste, and giving back to the local community. This year, Informa will be growing that list to 16. It’s a great example of the philosophy that presides over all areas of the Informa business: constant evolution and improvement on what went before.

ABOVE: Black Lives Matter held a showstopping catwalk to spotlight the talents of Black Fashion Designers.

LEFT: The United Nation’s Regional Information Centre’s Caroline Petit delivered a keynote speech on BLE’s Day of Purpose last year.