Network and knowledge exchange

Sharing knowledge and developing solutions

The sustainability challenges in the cocoa sector are manifold and require joint efforts and innovative solutions. To achieve measurable impacts, the members of the Cocoa Platform participate in internal member events and national as well as European working groups. The aim is to exchange knowledge and to develop joint solutions in a pre-competitive environment.

The ISCO working groups

At the European level, the network comprises five thematic working groups. In addition to the topic of monitoring and evaluation, these working groups reflect the four main challenges that the European Initiatives on Sustainable Cocoa (ISCOs) have identified together: (1) achieving a living income for cocoa farmers and their families, (2) ending cocoa-related deforestation and promoting sustainable reforestation and biodiversity, (3) ending abusive child labour and forced labour in the cocoa value chain, and (4) improving traceability and transparency in the cocoa value chain. Participation in the working groups is open to members from all ISCOs.

ISCO Working Group on Living Income
This working group aims to support members in translating their respective objectives to achieve a living income for cocoa farmers and their families into concrete actions. The working group seeks to create a space for open discussion at a pre-competitive level, thus helping to create a common understanding of the challenges and to share strategies and experiences.

ISCO Working Group on Forests and Agroforestry
This working group discusses topics related to sustainable cocoa farming practices (such as agroforestry), forest conservation and restoration, emissions reduction, and measures for biodiversity conservation and enhancement. In order to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience across countries, concrete case studies and best practices are highlighted in the discussions. In addition, the meetings of the working group serve to bring experts from the countries of origin of cocoa to the table so that they can contribute their technical and local expertise.

ISCO Working Group on Child Labour
The complexity of the challenge of eliminating child labour requires a multitude of interwoven interventions in the areas of education, social welfare, improving incomes and overall enabling environments, as well as increased coordination among all relevant stakeholders. This working group promotes cross-country and cross-sectoral learning on challenges and strategies to eliminate all forms of child labour in line with SDG target 8.7. In addition, the working group supports members in meeting their commitments and targets related to the elimination of child labour and the empowerment of children and youth.

ISCO Working Group on Traceability
The working group aims to support members of the various ISCOs to achieve traceability and transparency of origin and sustainability indicators for all cocoa sourced. Achieving full traceability is a basic requirement for cocoa-producing households to be able to earn a living income. In addition, measures to avoid deforestation and the loss of biodiversity, as well as the reduction of child labour, can only have their full effect through pinpoint traceability. Members of the working group are encouraged to share their experiences in the application of traceability systems as well as to discuss the compatibility of different systems.

ISCO Working Group on Monitoring and Evaluation
Each ISCO measures the success of its members' activities individually with appropriate measurement frameworks for monitoring and impact evaluation. The working group serves as an exchange between the members to continuously optimise the monitoring of their activities and to discuss the experiences and findings made in practice. Regular meetings are held to discuss and agree on indicators and metrics as well as basic definitions and concepts. Furthermore, ongoing harmonisation processes between the measurement frameworks of the ISCOs and with other international initiatives are discussed and appropriate tools for data collection and reporting are developed.

Additional working groups and events in Switzerland

In addition to these five working groups at European level, there are complementary working groups and events for the exchange of knowledge and experience exclusively for the members of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa. These are coordinated by the coordination office and, depending on the format, take place once or at regular intervals, virtually, hybrid or in person.

One of the working groups, launched in 2022, focuses intensively on the goals set out in the Cocoa Platform's Roadmap 2030 in the area of agroforestry and climate-friendly farming practices. The aim of this working group is to collect and systematise knowledge within the Cocoa Platform on the necessary investments for the transition to resilient cocoa farming systems. Such farming systems can be achieved based on agroforestry and through climate-smart farming practices at the cocoa farm level (on-farm). In addition, efforts are also needed to promote the sustainability of entire cocoa-growing regions (off-farm). This requires investments outside the individual supply chains aimed at protecting nature reserves or establishing regional training centres, which is done in cooperation with other development partners and commodity sectors (learn more). Furthermore, the working group is developing concrete, action-oriented recommendations to meet the identified investment needs using the various complementary financing options of the private and public sectors, including domestic resource mobilisation and innovative climate finance models.