On 16 October 2024, Aldo Cristiano, CEO of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, took part in a panel discussion at the launch event of the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative, SASI (formerly INA). The discussion centred on the recommendations of the new OECD Due Diligence Handbook on Enabling Living Income and Wages, which sets standards for fair pay in global supply chains.

Leading experts, including GISCO members and other key stakeholders, took part in the discussion. They discussed how the OECD Due Diligence Framework can be used to enable Living Income and wages in global supply chains. The guidance builds on existing OECD standards and addresses, among others, the agricultural sector – particularly cocoa farming – as well as the garment and footwear industries, where insufficient income has been identified as a common risk.

Aldo Cristiano explained the role of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa as a driving force for dialogue and change within the cocoa sector. The GISCO aims to work with its members to help cocoa farmers achieve a Living Income within the supply chains. This includes the development of joint strategies to realise this goal.

The panellists also included:

  • Dr Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
  • Allan Lerberg Jørgensen, Head of the Centre for Responsible Business at the OECD
  • Angelique Karekezi, Managing Director of Rwashoscco
  • Katharina Wortmann, Group Director at ALDI SOUTH
  • Melanie Rutten-Sülz, Country Director at Solidaridad Germany
  • Patrick Belser, Senior Economist at the International Labour Organization
  • Julia Thimm, Senior Manager for Sustainability and Human Rights at Tchibo