The Rainforest Alliance welcomes feedback, questions and complaints related to our interventions from all stakeholders as this information helps inform our continued efforts to promote positive change in agriculture. Please read below how you can best contact our teams in case of questions, and how you can file a complaint according to our grievance procedure.
Feedback and Questions
If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions about the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, its interpretation and application, and/or our certification requirements, please email customersuccess@ra.org if you are a farm or a company. If you are a Certification Body, get in touch with cbmanagement@ra.org.
If you have questions concerning how certification bodies are authorized and/or supervised, or have already contacted the appropriate certification body but have not gotten a response or are dissatisfied with the response you received, please reach out to the Rainforest Alliance directly at cbmanagement@ra.org.
If you have specific questions about a farm or group, a specific auditor, service or certification decision, please contact the Authorized certification bodies that operate in the country or region where your question takes place.
If you have general questions, we invite you to browse through our website, or find the best team to support you on the Contact Us page.
Complaints
If you have a grievance, appeal, issue, concern, problem, claim or misconduct (perceived or actual) related to our certification program, you can submit it to the Rainforest Alliance. We process complaints in accordance with our grievance procedure.
How do I send a complaint?
We ask that you fill out the form provided below.
Who can send a complaint?
Anyone who has a complaint against a certified producer or supply chain actor, a certification body (CB), or against the Rainforest Alliance itself regarding the standard setting procedures and the operations of the certification program.
Scope of the complaints
The grievance procedure is open to anyone who has a complaint against a Rainforest Alliance certified producer or supply chain actor, a certification body (CB), or the Rainforest Alliance itself, regarding the standards setting procedures or operations of the certification program.
The grievance procedure is also used to treat complaints of potential as well as actual instances of corruption and misrepresentation of the Rainforest Alliance certification programs and its trademarks. For example, the grievance procedure can be used to report suspected corruption, misuse of the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal or other trademarks and claims, non-compliance with the standards, or non-compliance with traceability or other policies.
To learn more about the Grievance System, please have a look at this one pager.
Certification Program Grievances in 2022
| Type of grievances | No. |
| Audit Procedure | 18 |
| Certificate Holder | 6 |
| Certification Body | 1 |
| Certification Status | 3 |
| Document Management | 1 |
| Fraud | 1 |
| Misuse of Trademarks | 1 |
| Rainforest Alliance | 1 |
| TOTAL | 32 |
| Grievances per region | No. |
| Africa | 14 |
| Latin America | 12 |
| Asia | 5 |
| Global | 1 |
| TOTAL | 32 |
The Rainforest Alliance will continue to engage and manage grievances, while also keeping a constant eye on this data for continuous improvements.
Definitions*
Producer: A person who owns and/or operates an agricultural enterprise, either commercially or to sustain him or herself or his/her family.
Workers: A person who performs labor in return for a monetary amount.
Certification Body: Entity authorized by the Rainforest Alliance to conduct audits and to conclude the certification process for the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program
CSO: Civil Society Organization
*For a complete list of Rainforest Alliance definitions, please see the Glossary.
Online grievance form
Please consult our grievance procedure before you fill out the online form below.
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