1. Douala, 28.06.2013 Panel 4: Session on Perspective of civil society

2. Structure
Who we are
What we do
Holistic approach
Evaluation and transparency

3. Who we are
Voice of Organizations in Cocoa in Europe advocates for a sustainable change in the Cocoa sector:
Netherlands
FNV Bondgenoten, STOP THE TRAFFIK, Oxfam Novib
Germany
Südwind-Institut
Belgium
Oasis, Oxfam Wereldwinkels, FGTB/HORVAL
Switzerland
Declaration of Berne

4. What we do
Northern NGOs/Unions played an important role in consumer countries to:
Support cocoa producers to get their voices heard
Collect information on the cocoa business
Increase pressure on companies to strive for sustainability
Raise public awareness through campaigns and media work
Inform consumers and ask them to purchase sustainable cocoa

5. What we do NGOs/Unions can:
Pressure companies to support the sustainability of farmers in remote villages
Remind all stakeholders of their responsibilities for the farmers
Do research and provide information
Explain the situation in producer communities to consumers and media

6. What we do NGOs/Unions - successes:
Awareness and dialog among stakeholders rose
Sustainability initiatives rose dramatically over the last five years partly due to pressure from NGOs
Many more commitments by companies
Providing support to producer organisation
Capacity-building of farmer organisations (also on international level)

7. Needed: A holistic approach - All stakeholders have to be on board
Certification is:
A tool to indicate that there is compliance with certain standards
Is an important step of a process
Success depends on implementation of good processes
Can provide a framework for improvement
Is complementary to regulation
Needed: A holistic approach - All stakeholders have to be on board

8. Holistic approach We have to talk about:
Future of farmers and cocoa farming
Living income
Prices
Access to remote areas
Social components
Social and environmental benefits
Gender
Infrastructure

9. Evaluation and transparency
Impact of the programme has to be evaluated by an accredited, independent auditing institution
Evaluation should follow internationally agreed/acknowledge principles such as:
the principles defined in the Bellagio Principles or
ISEAL (“Assessing the Impacts of Social and Environmental Standards Systems v1.0 - ISEAL Code of Good Practice“)
or comparable guidelines.

10. Thanks for your attention! huetz-adams@suedwind-institut.de