A New Addition to the ConPolicy Team
Emily Zima Joins ConPolicy as Project Manager
In September, behavioural scientist Emily Zima has joined the ConPolicy team as a Project Manager. After completing her master’s degree in Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and working at FehrAdvice & Partners and Deloitte Digital, Emily Zima has found her way to ConPolicy. Drawing on her expertise in behavioural economics, sustainable consumption, and user-centred research, she will contribute to projects in the areas of consumer research and consumer policy.
We are delighted to welcome Emily Zima to the team!
ADP Multi-Stakeholder Meeting 2026 in Berlin
ConPolicy Moderates International Conference on Forest Protection
The Amsterdam Declarations Partnership (ADP) held its annual Multi-Stakeholder Meeting in Berlin under the title “Forests Feed the Future: Linking Climate, Biodiversity, Food and People.” ConPolicy Managing Director Prof. Dr. Christian Thorun moderated the event, which brought together around 200 representatives from governments, businesses, civil society and academia.
The meeting focused on the importance of forests for agricultural production, food security and resilient supply chains. Discussions addressed, among other topics, how to create economic incentives for forest conservation and how mandatory and voluntary measures, as well as public and private sector approaches, can be effectively combined to halt deforestation.
Across two panel discussions and five thematic workstreams, participants explored the drivers of deforestation, the potential of digitalisation and traceability, the livelihoods and rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, opportunities for collaborative action, and the long-term resilience of commodity supply chains.
A key takeaway from the discussions was that successful forest protection requires not only appropriate political and economic frameworks but also fair economic opportunities for people on the ground. In particular, farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities must benefit from the transition to deforestation-free supply chains and be appropriately recognised and rewarded for their contributions to forest conservation.
The meeting took place under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom, the current chair of the Amsterdam Declarations Partnership, and was hosted by Germany.
Discussion on evidence-based Consumer Policy
Exchange with an Uzbek delegation at ConPolicy
How can consumer research contribute to effective consumer policy? ConPolicy’s Managing Director, Prof. Dr Christian Thorun, discussed this question with a delegation from the Committee for the Promotion of Competition and the Protection of Consumer Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The discussion centred on a conviction that also shapes our work at ConPolicy: Good consumer policy requires research throughout the policy cycle: where and to what extent do consumer problems exist? What are their causes? Which instruments are suitable for addressing them? And finally: has a measure that has been adopted actually achieved its objective? Consumer research can make an important contribution throughout the entire cycle – from identifying a problem, through developing and testing suitable instruments, to evaluating their impact.
In addition, the participants discussed how consumer policy is shaped in Germany and Uzbekistan. It became clear that, whilst institutional structures cannot be directly transferred from one country to another, the commitment to evidence-based policy-making and the assessment of its impact is relevant across national borders.
The visit to ConPolicy took place as part of a week-long specialist programme on consumer protection and competition policy. Whilst in Berlin, the delegation held talks with, amongst others, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Federal Network Agency, Stiftung Warentest, the German Bundestag and the German Retail Association (HDE). The visit was funded by the German Sparkassenstiftung.
ConPolicy moderates Consumer Policy Conference at the German Bundestag
Strong Consumers, Strong Democracy
On 28 September 2026, the Green parliamentary group held the conference “Strong Consumers, Strong Democracy” at the Paul Löbe Building of the German Bundestag. ConPolicy Managing Director Prof. Dr Christian Thorun moderated the event.
The conference focused on the contribution consumer policy can make to a strong democracy. Consumers experience public rules, market regulation and the enforceability of their rights directly in their everyday lives. Where rules are upheld, rights are effectively enforced and people are able to assert themselves vis-à-vis powerful market actors, consumer policy can help strengthen trust in public institutions and the rule of law.
Another key focus was on imbalances of power and information between consumers and providers. Particularly in digital markets, artificial intelligence, manipulative design practices, personalised offers and the effective enforcement of consumer rights are creating new challenges for policymakers.
Seven thematic forums also addressed current challenges in areas including retirement provision, mobility, food, energy, consumer advice, European consumer policy and sustainable consumption.
For ConPolicy Managing Director Prof. Dr Christian Thorun, this points to a central task for modern consumer policy: “Consumer policy is everyday policy. Precisely for this reason, it can make an important contribution to strengthening trust in political institutions and in the state’s capacity to act. At the same time, good consumer policy can make people’s everyday lives easier and help ensure that the two major transformations of our time – digitalisation and sustainability – are shaped successfully and with consumers’ interests in mind.”
The conference thus underlined that consumer policy extends far beyond individual rights and market rules: it can contribute to fairness, a sense of agency and trust in a democratic society capable of effective action.
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