ISEAL Credibility Tools, including our Codes of Good Practice, provide guidance to standards systems to support the effective implementation of their systems. Given the high level of interest and uptake of these tools, it is important that the process by which they are developed and promoted is robust.

The ISEAL Stakeholder Council brings together leading individuals from business, government, civil society and standards systems who have in-depth knowledge and experience with voluntary standards, to provide a broader perspective on the development and adoption of these tools. Stakeholder Council members bring their individual knowledge of their respective sectors to discussions on existing and new credibility tools and act as ambassadors within their communities for awareness and uptake of the Codes and credible standards systems.

The Stakeholder Council is an advisory body to the ISEAL Board of Directors and, as such, makes recommendations on the Codes to the Board and provides strategic advice as requested by the Board.

Stakeholder Council Members

Daniela Mariuzzo, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Rabobank International Brazil

"I’m here to bring the financial institutions perspective into the voluntary standards world and how they can be used as a valuable tool to support the decision-making process of lending operations."

Daniela Mariuzzo is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Rabobank International Brazil, responsible for the development and implementation of CSR policies for the Food and Agriculture sectors. She coordinated the launch of the CSR Best Practices Manual for Brazilian farmers and supports the Sustainable Field Days in Brazil’s agricultural main regions.  As CSR manager at Rabobank Brazil she supported the Asian Rabobank offices to kick off the CSR process. Daniela takes part in the Roundtables on Responsible Commodities such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) or the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and has been one of the originators of the WGSB (Working Group on Sustainable Beef) along with IFC. She has much experience in farm inspections on international protocols, such as ISO 14000, SA8000 and GlobalGAP. She graduated as a Food Engineer and went on to do her masters and doctorate at Campinas University, Unicamp. In addition she studied environmental issues in Barcelona and Hamburg.

Mireille Perrin Decorzent, Standards and Certification Manager, WWF International

"I’m here to build a conducive environment for stronger and quicker uptake of standards across commodities and markets."

Mireille Perrin Decorzent works at WWF International for its global initiative on Market Transformation. She is responsible for the development and implementation of WWF’s worldwide strategy on standards and certification, which aims to promote the sustainable production and sourcing of key commodities such as palm oil, cotton, soy, timber and tuna.  Previously, she worked as an independent consultant in Geneva advising various international organisations, governments, NGOs and private sector entities on economic cooperation and international trade. She also resided two years in Islamabad, Pakistan working for the European Commission as economic policy adviser in charge of the EC’s economic cooperation portfolio in the region. She started her career at WWF International.

Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann, Head of Agricultural Trade and Standards, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

"I hope to actively contribute to supporting scaling up positive impacts of voluntary standards systems as a vehicle towards sustainable development of global supply chains."

Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann is heading the GIZ Section for Agricultural Trade and Standards which consists of different programmes and projects all related to trade, standards and international supply chain improvement processes. In that function he is also head of the Programme for Social and Environmental Standards. Carrying a degree in political science with a focus on development politics and development policy, he joined GIZ in 2001 and started working in the Division “Agriculture, Food and Fisheries” to develop and establish Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and strategic alliances in agricultural commodity sectors. Among others, Carsten was involved in the conceptual design, development and establishment of PPP alliances such as the Common Code for the Coffee Community (later known as the 4C Association), the Projet de Production Durable de Cacao Certifié (PPDC) project in Ivory Coast (“Market-oriented promotion of certified sustainable cocoa production” with Rainforest Alliance), the GRASP project (“Good risk based agricultural social practices” with GlobalGAP) or the global Adaptation for Smallholders to Climate Change (AdapCC) Project. As Director of GIZ’s Programme for Social and Environmental Standards he is coordinating the programme’s activities in the forest-related agricultural commodities, social standards, industrial processing agricultural supply chains and standards for climate friendly production systems.

Jan Kees Vis, Global Director Sustainable Sourcing Development, Unilever

"I want to build a deeper dialogue on how the voluntary standards movement and mainstream brand activities can work hand in hand."

Jan Kees Vis was trained as a chemist and received a PhD in Heterogeneous Catalysis in 1984.  He joined Unilever in 1985, at the Unilever Research Laboratory in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands.  He held several positions there, then moved to the foods business.  For more than ten years he worked on environmental life cycle analysis, environmental management systems, environmental auditing and standard setting, environmental training, environmental reporting and preparation of policy proposals on environmental issues.

Since 2001, he has been Global Supply Chain Director Sustainable Agriculture for Unilever.

Jan Kees has been involved in, and holds or has held board positions in, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform, Sustainable Food Laboratory and the Roundtable for Responsible Soy.

Tensie Whelan, President, Rainforest Alliance

"I want to help the movement to be highly effective at delivering real change and impact in sustainability around the world."

Tensie Whelan serves as president of the Rainforest Alliance.  She has been involved with the organisation since 1990, first as a board member and then later as a consultant, becoming the executive director in 2000.

Whelan has been working in the environmental field for more than 25 years, during which time she served as the vice president of conservation information at the National Audubon Society and executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters.  Whelan also worked as a journalist and environmental communications consultant in Costa Rica, and was the managing editor of Ambio - an international environmental journal based in Stockholm.  Prior to joining the Rainforest Alliance as its executive director, Whelan worked as a management consultant to nonprofit organisations such as the Environmental Defense Fund.

Whelan serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition and Social Accountability International, is a member of the advisory board for corporate social responsibility at Fortis, as well as the sustainable agriculture advisory board for Unilever, sits on the governing body of the UN Foundation’s World Heritage Alliance, and is the co-chair of the steering committee of the Sustainable Food Lab.  She holds an MA in International Communication from American University's School of International Service and a BA in Political Science from New York University. Whelan's published work includes one of the first books on ecofriendly tourism, Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment (1991, Island Press).