Christian Thorun is the founder and managing director of ConPolicy. He is a recognized expert in consumer policy and he advises the German Government, German State Ministries, the European Commission and the European Parliament on consumer issues.
In addition to his management activities, he is a member of the German CLUB OF ROME society, a member of the advisory board of the Association for Self-Regulation of the Information Economy (SRIW) and co-chair of the independent ÖKOWORLD investment committee. He is also a member of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection's (BMUV) network of consumer research.
Before founding the institute, he was active at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband eV) in Berlin. Furthermore, from 2013 to 2018 he worked as a Professor of Political Science, International Relations and Public Affairs at the Quadriga University of Applied Sciences Berlin.
Christian Thorun studied and received his doctorate at Oxford University in the Department of International Relations. He has received several awards for his achievements. In 2001, he received a Cecil Rhodes scholarship for his studies at Oxford. He was also awarded scholarships for several years from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Selected projects
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Consulting project on Corporate Digital Responsibility: Project for the Otto Group
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Provision of expertise on consumer policy: Framework contract with the European Parliamentary Research Service
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Supporting the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI): Project for the German International Cooperation Society (GIZ)
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Consumer Protection and Climate Adaptation : Strategic advice for the Verbraucherzentrale North Rhine-Westphalia
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ConPolicy provides short-term expertise in consumer protection: Framework contract with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
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Selected publications
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Henke, L. et al. (2024). Future hot spots of the CDR Initiative. In Brink, A. (ed.) Corporate Digital Responsibility. People-centered digitalization.
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Kettner, S.E. & Thorun, C. (2024). People at the center of digitalization – results of a representative online survey on people-centeredness. In Brink, A. (ed.) Corporate Digital Responsibility. People-centered digitalization.
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Kettner, S.E. & Thorun, C. (2024). Survey to assess the opportunities and risks of using AI in the population. CDR survey. #cdrk24
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Münsch, M., Kettner, S.E. & Thorun, C. (2024). Einstellungen und Engagement von Verbraucher*innen in der Nachhaltigkeitstransformation. Vertiefungsstudie zur Umweltbewusstseinsstudie 2022. In: Texte | 97/2024. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau-Roßlau.
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Schrader, C., Thorun, C., Diels, J., Münsch, M., Mohn, C. & Jenny, M.A. (2024). Efficient approaches in climate communication. In: Climate Change | 16/2024. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau-Roßlau.
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Selected lectures and presentations
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GDV Insurance Summit 2024: Panel discussion on the topic of financial education in Germany (Berlin, March 20, 2024)
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Organisation Werbetreibende im Markenverband: Presentation of the results of the European good practice initiative on consent management for cookies (Virtual, May 02, 2023)
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European Consumer Summit: Keynote – Plea for a more ambitious and pro-active consumer policy in light of significant challenges (Brussels, March 28, 2023)
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European Consumer Summit: Workshop – Consumer vulnerability and how to reach specific consumer groups (Brussels, March 28, 2023)
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Conference of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection: Keynote: Data power, digital asymmetry, digital vulnerability (Vienna, November 25, 2022)
Selected moderations
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Sustainable Palm Oil Forum: Sustainable Palm Oil Forum General Assembly (Berlin, April 29, 2025)
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Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative: Lunchbreak on gender-responsive approaches in agricultural supply chains (Virtual, 07 March 2025)
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Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection NRW: Consumer protection in (new) digital sales worlds (Düsseldorf, February 25, 2025)
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German Society for International Cooperation: 5 Years Grüner Knopf (Berlin, November 27, 2024)
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Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL): Transparency Sustainability in the agriculture and food sector - Implementation of a prototype (Hybrid, 19 November 2024)