Kakaopflanze

Organizational Structure

About us

The German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa is a registered association (e.V.). Activities are coordinated and managed by the General Meeting and the Executive Board. The Executive Board is elected annually by the General Meeting and consists of two members from each of the four stakeholder groups. All further details are determined by the constitution.

The working groups advise the Executive Board on content issues. The working groups comprise GISCO representatives who work on a voluntary basis. The Executive Board and working groups meet regularly; the the General Meeting takes place once a year.

The GISCO Secretariat is responsible for the coordination of GISCO’s activities. It is hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa was registered in April 2014 and is based in Berlin.

Organizational Structure

Executive Board

Member group A – German Public Sector

represented by Dr. Artur Ickstadt

represented by Dr. Artur Ickstadt

represented by Ina von Frantzius

represented by Ina von Frantzius


Member group B – German Cocoa, Chocolate and Confectionery Industry

Aldo Cristiano

Aldo Cristiano

Chairman

Dr. Torben Erbrath

Dr. Torben Erbrath

Treasurer


Member group C – German Grocery Retail

Florian Schütze

Florian Schütze

Vice Chairman

Christian Mieles

Christian Mieles


Member group D – Civil Society

Evelyn Bahn

Evelyn Bahn

Vice Chairwoman


Board elected during the General Meeting 2025 on May 26th 2025.

Secretariat

Martina Gaebler

Martina Gaebler

Executive Secretary

Johanna Colley

Johanna Colley

Member Management, Topic Management

Ulrike Joras

Ulrike Joras

Strategy and Monitoring

Bettina Renner

Bettina Renner

Events, Communication and Public Relations

Ralf Buss

Ralf Buss

Pilot project on grievance mechanisms, retailers' working group on living income, child labour, gender, human rights

Christian Dohse

Christian Dohse

Collaboration with ISCOs (Learning Network), deforestation, traceability, agroforestry

Karidja Konate

Karidja Konate

Project PRO-PLANTEURS (Côte d'Ivoire)