FAQ: 2020 Farm Requirements
A detailed FAQ about the Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard Farm Requirements.... Continue Reading
FAQs
Certification has had a huge impact in bringing sustainability to the forefront of business thinking, but it must continue to evolve to provide more value to farmers and companies and ensure that people and nature can thrive in harmony.
That's why the Rainforest Alliance launched its new Certification Program, which entered into force in July 2021. The Sustainable Agriculture Standard, along with its assurance and technology systems, are data-powered, and based on the principles of continuous improvement, risk-based assurance, contextualization, and shared responsibility. This is how we can deliver more value to the two million farmers and thousands of businesses that use Rainforest Alliance certification to drive more sustainable agricultural production and responsible supply chains.
At the heart of the Rainforest Alliance
The certification program is part of the Rainforest Alliance’s strategy to drive sustainability at scale in the sectors in which we operate through interconnected interventions supporting certification, tailored supply chain services, landscapes and communities, and advocacy.
What We're Working On
Strengthened Cocoa Certification Program
Key priorities of our cocoa strategy are assurance, shared responsibility, supply chain transparency, and profitability and resilience.
Risk Maps for Risk Management
How we have tailored the implementation and verification of standards requirements on child labor and forced labor to the risk exposure of each farm.
Shared Responsibility
Our shared responsibility approach aims to distribute benefits and costs of certification more evenly between farmers and companies.
Ready to Get Started?
Begin your journey of certification with the Rainforest Alliance.
Additional Resources
Early Feedback on the New Certification Program: Kyagalanyi Coffee Shares Their Implementation Experience
Find out what Ugandan coffee exporter, Kyagalanyi Coffee, had to say about the new program—from the improvements to the challenges.... Continue Reading
Learnings from the Field: Finca Esmeralda and the Future of Certified Bananas
After teaming up for an early implementation pilot of our strengthened certification program, both Finca Esmeralda and the Rainforest Alliance took away learnings that will contribute to a more sustainable banana sector.... Continue Reading
Find An Authorized Certification Body
Rainforest Alliance certification is carried out by our authorized certification bodies. Find an authorized certification body in your county.... Continue Reading
All resources for Certification
What is Mass Balance Sourcing?
There are multiple ways to source certified ingredients for consumer products. When companies keep the ingredients purchased from a certified farm physically separated from non-certified ingredients throughout the whole supply chain, we call it a "segregated model" of sourcing. When companies opt for "mass balance" sourcing, the certified and non-certified ingredients are mixed together somewhere in transit or production of the end product.
While both segregated and mass balance models have their...... Continue Reading
Indicators and Smart Meters
The one-pager on Indicators and Smart Meters explains the order of actions to implement by the certificate holder (CH) and by the certification body (CB). It indicates what is expected from certificate holders before each audit, as well as the corresponding checks that will be carried out by CBs. This one-pager can be used in […]
Are GMOs Allowed on Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms?
No. Our Sustainable Agriculture Standard prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.... Continue Reading
Coffee Certification Data Report 2022
We’re happy to share the 2022 certification data report for the Rainforest Alliance coffee sector.... Continue Reading
Cocoa Certification Data Report 2022
We’re happy to share the 2022 certification data reports for the Rainforest Alliance cocoa sector.... Continue Reading
Policy on Measures to Address Shortages of Rainforest Alliance Certified Volumes During the Certification Cycle
In cases where there are significant restrictions to available volumes of Rainforest Alliance Certified commodities, the Rainforest Alliance will consider requests to pre-authorize a percentage of new harvest volumes to be transacted while farm certificate holders are finalizing the process to obtain their certification cycle. This policy outlines the conditions under which these measures apply.