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 five members. The Advisory Council members are independent professionals who represent industry, academia, NGO’s and society at large.
The Board has delegated the day-to-day management of the GGL interests to a Program office led by the GGL Program manager.
No Green Gold Label Foundation staff is involved with or responsible for any part of the tasks and responsibilities of any accredited Certification Body. This ensures a clear separation between the role of the scheme owner (Green Gold Label Foundation) and any Certification Body conducting audits for the scheme and avoids any potential conflict of interest.
Green Gold Label Board
(Chairman)
Kees Boon (1952) 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) also known as “PJ”, has been instrumental in scaling Green Gold Label since 2016, guiding its growth from an early certification scheme into a globally recognized platform for verifying the sustainability of biomass. As former Chairman of the Foundation (2017–2021) and now Member of its unsalaried Board, he is committed to maintaining the integrity and independence of GGL’s governance.
Paul Jacob plays a leading role in negotiations with the Dutch and Japanese governments and engages directly with the European Commission to align GGL with evolving sustainability regulations. He brings deep expertise in biomass certification, with hands-on involvement in technical standard-setting for sustainability, market modularization across Europe and Asia, and the design of GGL’s full chain-of-custody and traceability models.
Beyond bioenergy, PJ’s broader focus lies in the decarbonization of global shipping—a complex, hard-to-abate sector increasingly linked to bio-based fuels. Over the past 20 years, he has successfully led and scaled multiple ventures in maritime and offshore services, including Control Union Vessel Performance Centre, VesselIQ, and DecomPartners. Earlier in his career, he was a McKinsey consultant specializing in energy production and CEO of Euroports and APM Terminals (AP Møller-Mærsk Group) businesses in Western Europe.
PJ is a Dutch national, married, and father of two daughters.
Profile to follow shortly.
Advisory Council
(Chairman of the Advisory council)
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.
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.
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.
Noura Hanna
Noura Hanna is a committed and pragmatic sustainability leader with over 20 years’ experience turning global standards into real-world impact for people and the planet.
Currently Head of Payment for Ecosystem Services at Solidaridad, she designs market-driven, farmer-focused solutions that enhance ecosystem services and livelihoods.
As Co-founder & COO of Carble, she developed a fintech model rewarding deforestation-free farming through traceability and incentives. With leadership roles at Rainforest Alliance, Sustainalytics, and global coalitions, Noura brings governance expertise, stakeholder trust-building, and a results-oriented approach aligned with GGL’s mission.
Ilmari Lastikka
Ilmari Lastikka is a seasoned Finnish executive with over two decades of leadership in public affairs, business development, sustainability, and renewable energy. He currently serves as Global Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at STX Group, where he leads global energy policy initiatives and regulatory strategies in the environmental commodities market, while driving business development across impacted energy sectors.
Prior to joining STX, Mr. Lastikka was Vice President at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (2018–2022), where he strengthened VTT’s European networks towards policy makers and advanced collaborative innovation in emerging technologies. From 2004 to 2018, he held key roles at Neste Corporation, including Head of EU Affairs, where he established and led Neste’s Brussels liaison office, engaging with EU institutions to support the growth of Neste’s renewable energy business. During this time, he played a pivotal role in developing sustainability certification schemes and cross-industry initiatives to ensure compliance with renewable energy legislation.
Mr. Lastikka has served on multiple boards and steering committees across the renewable energy, oil and gas, and transport sectors, contributing to strategic policy development and industry transformation.
He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, International Business, and Corporate Strategy from Helsinki University of Technology. He is married and a proud father of two.