Beyond Supply Chain Compliance, A Sustainable Licensing Approach.
Trademark Licensing has been excellent at not only regulating and controlling brand usage, but, as importantly, extending a Licensor’s social and ethical policies too. Where once, not too many years ago, the focus was solely upon licensed product safety, the inclusion now of social and ethical standards has ensured that the lives of those working in the licensees’ supply chains are protected and the brand’s values extended into every facet of its customer engagement too.
The momentum that drove brands towards adopting and extending these ethical standards, is now propelling the sustainability agenda. Despite, or perhaps because of, the pandemic, sustainability is now an emerging as major brand pillar. As the recent ‘State of Green Business’ report made clear:
“for many of the world’s largest companies, sustainability is now seen as key to minimizing risk, increasing resilience, enhancing competitiveness and unlocking new opportunities.”1
Now, with tools at their disposal to make real their sustainability efforts, companies and brand owners are going to increasingly turn their attention to aligning their licensing programs with their core brand values and expect licensees to comply with those same sustainability commitments.
Get ready for license agreements to specify everything from carbon off-setting, recycled content, accredited sustainably sourced materials to ocean-based sequestration and community investment initiatives.
If you would like to see your brand’s ethical standards mirrored in your licensing program, we should speak. Please get in touch directly with Mark Edridge, Chief Operating Officer, Licensing Matters Global: mark.edridge@licensingmattersglobal.com.
Sources
- “State of Green Business 2021, by Joel Makower and the editors at GreenBiz Group 2021
About Licensing Matters Global
Licensing Matters is a global, full-service, boutique licensing agency that works with brands to help unlock their latent equity, deepen their relationships with consumers and expand their footprint into brand new market sectors. LMG’s client roster includes Shell, KFC, European Space Agency, BuzzFeed, Harvard and Yale.
