Held June 25, 2019
Major discussions included:
Planning upcoming events
The Steering Committee agreed on the organisation of two main events for the signatories of the partnership.
- A first general stakeholder consultation and information meeting will take place on September 4th, 2019. This technical meeting will be used to gain a common understanding of the overarching themes of the partnership, and will be used as a starting point for the technical working groups.
- On December 5th, 2019 the high-level general assembly will take place. On that day, the 2019 baseline report will be presented and the first call for proposals will be launched.
Intermediary targets
The steering committee agreed to look for intermediary targets toward 2025 and 2030. The group believes that a lack of intermediary targets might lead to a lowered sense of urgency among the signatories. Everyone must act now and already prepare for the upcoming deadlines of 2025 and 2030.
Role of IDH
The role of IDH was further clarified. IDH will coordinate the partnership and convene its members and other relevant stakeholders. They will also be responsible for the management of a co-financing fund that will be used to launch two rounds of calls for proposals. IDH will also set up a M&E framework and assess progress against a set of indicators. Lastly, they will develop an overall strategy to efficiently communicate with the group and the wider audience about the commitments made and the results of the partner’s efforts.
New Signatories
The steering committee took note of two new signatories that came on board in the past few months. Both Nestlé and Samilia Foundation signed the partnership.
Working Groups
To be able to deliver on the deadline of 5 December 2019 the Steering Committee agreed to create three working groups, one on living income, one on deforestation and a third one about youth and decent work.
European Alignment
To ensure alignment on the international and global level, the steering committee encourages IDH to sit down with the other European national platforms to look for closer collaboration. A second meeting is already taking place in the second part of August 2019.
Field Visit
The steering committee and the IDH secretariat agreed to examine the possibilities to conduct a field visit and use that opportunity to engage with local stakeholders, collect their input and insure the inclusiveness of the Beyond Chocolate partnership process.
The next steering committee will take place on August 30th, 2019.