Green Gold Label (GGL) is owned by the Green Gold Label Foundation (“Stichting Green Gold Label” registered under the Dutch Chamber of Commerce with number 17158362).
The Foundation is led and governed by the GGL Board, chaired by its chairman and two members. The Board receives advice from an independent Advisory Council, which currently includes three members. The Advisory Council members are independent professionals who represent industry, academia, and society at large.
2 GGL Strategic Advisors facilitate the introduction and use of GGL in specific markets.
The Board has delegated the day-to-day management of the GGL interests to an Associated Managing Director seconded by a secretariat. The Associated MD can call in advice on specific topics from the Certification Body that was one of the founders of GGL.
For the avoidance of doubt, the GGL Foundation safeguards its independence and neutrality by having the Associated MD complete her tasks under the full responsibility and accountability of the GGL Board.
No Green Gold Label Foundation staff is involved with or responsible for any part of the tasks and responsibilities that any GGL-accredited Certification Body has. This includes Green Gold Label Foundation staff not being involved or responsible for the following Certification Body activities:
- Carrying out GGL audits as a Lead Auditor or as part of an audit team
- Technical review of GGL audits and reports
- Taking certification decisions relevant to the issuance, re-issuance, suspension, or termination of any GGL certificate
- Management of the GGL audit scheme
This ensures a clear separation between the role of the scheme owner (Green Gold Label Foundation) and the Certification Body conducting audits for the scheme and avoids any potential conflict of interest.
Green Gold Label Board
(Chairman)
Kees Boon (67) received his forestry training in Arnhem on the HBCS in 1970-1974. In his working life he served in Surinam, Indonesia and Netherlands and travelled in several countries. In Surinam he started his career with the National Forest Service on a reforestation project in the interior tropical rainforest.
In the Netherlands he was involved in the design, planting and management of the forests in the newly developed polders in the Lake Ijsselmeer. On the Indonesian island Java he acted as forest specialist in a combined Indonesian-Dutch team for a rural development project aiming a reducing impact of the local population on the remaining mountainous forest to prevent further erosion.
After having served the marketing and round wood sales dept. of the Dutch national Forest Service he stepped over to the private sector in 1992 in the capacity of chairman of 2 branch organizations. One representing entrepreneurs in round wood trade and the other representing entrepreneurs in the wood preservation industry.
In 2008 he established the sustainable forest management certification scheme PEFC in the Netherlands. Kees has a good understanding of the policy making on national and EU level and has a good understanding of forestry practices in various countries.
Paul Jacob Bins (1971) has been serving as Chairman of the Green Gold Label Foundation since 2016 until 2021.
Mr. Bins is a seasoned leader of business in the fields of maritime and offshore services, logistics and supply chains. His 20+ year track record includes delivering performance turnarounds, innovating service offerings and launching new solutions. He has done so in different geographies in North-Africa and Western Europe, leading teams across different cultures and in different languages. He is a Dutch national, married with 2 daughters.
Over the last years and as an entrepreneur, Mr. Bins has successfully founded multiple businesses contributing to the transition from old hydrocarbon-based to renewable energy sources and lower, less-carbon consumption. Amongst others he has thus founded:
Peterson Vessel Performance Centre B.V., helping vessels to preserve marine biodiversity, better report and monitor GHG-emissions and reduce fuel consumption;
Decom Partners B.V., assisting with the safe and environmentally friendly dismantling of their offshore production facilities.
Prior, he has worked as a management-consultant for McKinsey & Company for 9 years, and as a leader of various ports-related and logistics business units of the AP Møller-Mærsk Group and Euroports for 10 years.
Rob de Kruijff (NL, 1969) is an experienced business, financial and project controller whose qualities are: strong conceptual thinking (no sub-optimization), proactive, analytical, hands-on, people-minded, process-oriented, out-of-the-box and coaching.
He is used to work in complex organizations and has learned to be a linking pin between the various disciplines where effectiveness and efficiency are key.
Communicating clearly and reliable together with a curious mind has made him a professional.
At this moment he is active as the sustainability controller at RWE Generations NL BV where he is responsible, among other things for proving the sustainability of the consumed biomass at the energy plants of RWE in NL.
Rob started his career as an auditor at Deloitte and then became a finance consultant (PWC among others). He also worked for maintenance companies (ABB among others), in this period he worked for 4 years mostly abroad (worldwide) implemented 2 ERP systems. Recently he was involved in the renewing of the standards of SBP and he is also active as a member of the technical workgroup of SBP.
Strategic Advisor Global
Peter Paul Schouwenberg
Peter-Paul is Head of Stakeholders management and Sustainability at RWE, and has been responsible for the company’s circular bio-based economy since 2010.
Prior to that Peter-Paul spent over ten years as Vice-President Biofuels & Development within Essent Trading International SA in Geneva, with responsibility for sourcing, trading and the development of biomass materials (solids and liquids) for electricity production on a global scale.
Peter-Paul was one of the Founders of the certification scheme’s Green Gold Label (GGL, 2002) and Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP, 2010).
Peter-Paul holds a number of positions on bodies leading on biomass and sustainability.
Peter-Paul has a legal and business administration background.
Strategic Advisor Asia
Akiko Holmes
Holmes Akiko is Director of Erex Singapore Pte. Ltd, where innovation meets sustainability, a prominent subsidiary of erex Co, Ltd, renowned for its leadership in biomass power plants, specializing in palm kernel shell and wood pellets. With a strong background in law and business administration, Akiko’s journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to GGL.
A graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University with a Bachelor of Law and armed with a Master of Business Administration, Akiko combines academic rigour with practical wisdom.
In her pivotal role, Akiko oversees upper steam procurement and skilfully manages joint venture companies in Indonesia and Malaysia, ensuring seamless operations at PT. Dharma Sumber Energi and Stratis Green Energy Sdn. Bhd. Her strategic oversight extends to managing the economic impact of GGL certification on the biomass fuel supply chain.
Akiko’s main role in GGL Certification is to report to GGL and stakeholders on issues arising within the upstream and supply chain through her experience in upstream procurement and joint venture management, utilising over 20 years’ experience to ensure seamless processes for import/export documentation, financial processes and general administrative operations. and represent the management team in developing and implementing strategies to establish and maintain GGL certification with stakeholders.
Akiko communicates with stakeholders proactively engage with upstream stakeholders to ensure compliance with GGL standards. She directly manages GGL-related documentation to meet stringent certification requirements and she conducts a comprehensive analysis to understand the economic impact of GGL certification on the biomass fuel supply chain. Akiko’s strategic insight and unwavering commitment to GGL certification underlines GGL’s commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices.
Advisory Council
André Faaij is appointed as Director of Science of ECN part of TNO, the largest energy research organisation of the Netherlands (Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands and the energy division of TNO the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research). He focuses on strategy, large research initiatives and collaboration with academia. He combines this position with a part time chair as Distinguished Professor Energy System Analysis at the University of Groningen (RUG).
Prior to this position he was Chief Scientist of the New Energy Coalition (including the Energy Academy Europe), Distinguished Professor at RUG and until 2014, he was appointed as Professor and scientific director of the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development of Utrecht University. He worked and works as an advisor for governments, the EC, IEA, the UN system, GEF, OECD, WEF, WEC, the energy sector & industry and NGO’s.
He contributed to various IPCC reports, the World and Global Energy Assessment and IEA’s World Energy Outlook. Furthermore, he was appointed Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, awarded the Linneborn Prize for outstanding contributions to the development of energy from biomass and as one of many scientists of the IPCC; he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
He published over 600 titles in scientific journals, reports, books and proceedings, qualifies as ‘highly cited researcher’ (top 1% of research field) by criteria of Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science and is frequently lecturing across the globe.
Eric van den Heuvel, partner at ‘studio Gear Up’, is a senior expert in the field of sustainable energy, with a focus on business strategy and innovation on biomass and waste/residues for energy and alternative transport fuels (for road, shipping and aviation). He has nearly thirty years of strategic consultancy and management experience. Trained to be evidence based he likes to analyse and tackle complex issues – as a ‘fact-ivist’ – in the broader context of social, environmental, technologica and economic perspectives.
In 2015 he founded studio Gear Up, an independent firm supporting national and international companies, institutions and government organisations in the transition to a low carbon economy, by providing strategic advice, process and project management services and guiding and facilitating stakeholder involvement processes. Furthermore, the studio develops own concepts in the field of biomass resources, biofuels, alternative fuels and the circular economy.
He graduated at Eindhoven University of Technology on Technology & Innovation Management and further holds a University of Oxford, Saïd Business School Post-Graduate Diploma on Strategy and Innovation.
Cris Mul, partner of Van Leer Energy B.V., is a business developer and supplier of responsible biomass originated from the global forestry industry and shipped to European power, heat and chemical industries.
He holds a master degree in Mechatronics at faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Delft University of Technology and a master degree in Business in Energy Systems of Delft Toptech, School of Executive Education of Delft University of Technology.