By Sam Murray

While some people were getting ready to set off rockets and light bonfires on the fifth of November, I was at a conference where other ways of managing materials were being discussed: the Products of Change Conference on Sustainability in Licensing, Brand, Product & Retail.

With a speaker line-up that ranged from representatives of the UN and OpenPlanet (co-producer of ‘Ocean’ with David Attenborough) to Lego, Mintel and ZSL, it was a thought-proving and often inspiring event that reminded everyone that being conscious of sustainability is not just an optional extra for retail and licensing these days.

But, having thought about the conference and its many excellent presentations over the past ten days, I’m more than ever aware that sustainability is also not just about doing the right thing. It’s about doing the regulatory thing.

Just as safety was built into toys and products by law over the years, so packaging and design will increasingly need to take into account environmental issues being built into many legal frameworks.

However, these considerations have been part of the licensing scene longer than you might think. The rise of heritage brands, especially those with charitable or environmental links, like our own client, the Royal Horticultural Society, brought with it a rise in properties whose USP was intimately associated with the environment – and a built-in expectation that sustainability would be a strong part of its licensing programme.

Today, of course, that expectation is extending to most brands and products – leading to less packaging, more recycled or reused materials, and production methods that try to use sustainable or renewable power sources – often, it should be said, with a positive effect on expenditure.

In fact many brands have realised that the pursuit of sustainability is not just about being seen to do the right thing; it can also save money.

All of which is why, in my view, it’s so useful to swap ideas and be aware of trends – and why the Products of Change Conference is a valuable contribution to this process. I’ll certainly be there next year, possibly dodging falling paper rockets on the way home. I do hope they’re compostable.