How to Get Supply Chain Certification: A Guide for Companies

The SCRA evaluates the potential risks of an organization’s operations at the individual site level to determine the type and frequency of verification that it will need to comply with the Rainforest Alliance’s requirements. A company’s risk profile is based on the activities, location, and crop information in combination with other internal and third-party data (volumes, compliance, social risks, and others) specific to each individual site. Based on this information, an organization is assigned a verification level which determines whether an audit is needed, and if this is the case, the type and frequency of the audit.

Retail and foodservice companies that only conduct retail activities receive the lowest risk profile, verification level A. For retail specific guidance on the SCRA, please visit our retail webpage.

The SCRA is only applicable to organizations going through the supply chain certification process. Organizations going through the farm audit process do not have to complete the SCRA.

After the system has established that an SCRA is needed and the organization has filled out the questionnaire for each site that they wish to include in their certification profile, they can confirm their scope and view their requirements. Once this is complete, the organization can submit the SCRA by selecting the “calculate my verification level(s)” button and confirming that the profile is ready to be reviewed.

The complete profile is then reviewed by the Rainforest Alliance. Once the verification level is confirmed for each site within the organization’s profile, it will be displayed in the organization’s account. The organization also receives an email that includes next steps for supply chain certification.  Please note that an organization can update the scope of their profile any time before selecting the “calculate my verification level(s)” button. Once this process is set in motion, the organization needs to reach out to the Rainforest Alliance to make any changes to sites that are under review. However, new sites can be added at any time.

Currently, the review time is estimated at 3 weeks.

The verification level refers to how often and what review processes are needed to assess risk at a specific site. Verification can range from a Rainforest Alliance desk review to an onsite audit carried out by a certification body.

The Rainforest Alliance review
This remote review evaluates compliance with the Sustainable Agriculture Standard by evaluating evidence submitted by the Certificate Holder. The Rainforest Alliance may contact the company to ask for additional information.

On-site audit
Here, staff from a certification body travel to a site to obtain audit evidence and evaluate compliance with the relevant Standard requirements.

Desk audit
In this type of audit, the certification body works remotely and reviews documentation to evaluate compliance with the relevant Standard requirements.

Levels A through E indicate how often an organization needs to present data related to compliance to the Rainforest Alliance, and with what type of verification.

A site that falls under verification level A is considered low risk. Therefore, the Rainforest Alliance considers it sufficient to review information itself, rather than ask the organization to undergo an audit from a CB. The Rainforest Alliance conducts a review of an organization’s level of compliance with their applicable requirements and any non-conformance history. A site under verification level A will receive an endorsement, which has the same weight as a Certification Body-issued certificate and allows for the organization to carry out transactions in the Rainforest Alliance platforms.

For all other levels (B-E), third-party (Certification Body) verification is required at least in year one of the three-year certification cycle. The verification becomes more in-depth as the risk increases, from a desk audit to an on-site audit through a Certification Body. If the Certification Body that carries out the audit makes a positive decision, it can issue a Rainforest Alliance certificate. The organization is then allowed to carry out transactions in the Rainforest Alliance platforms.

The following data is collected from organizations when creating their profile in the RACP. This data forms part of the SCRA and allows to assess the risk and determine the verification level.

Retail specific guidance for this question can be found on our retail webpage.

Data points requested:

• Site location, specifically country
• Site activity (i.e., trading, processing, warehousing, packing, retailer, brand owner)
• Crops handled or purchased at a site
• Whether the physical handling of product occurs at a site
• Whether only Rainforest Alliance products are handled at a site
• Site volumes per crop
• Site role (i.e., administrator)
• Whether a site is a first buyer
• The type of claim a site is making
• Whether a site has a specific combination of valid certificates to other Chain of Custody/Supply Chain schemes (i.e., organic, fair trade, GFS, ISO, Etc.)

If a company has other certifications recognized by the Rainforest Alliance or show continuous compliance with the Rainforest Alliance Standard requirements, they can potentially lower their risk and therefore their verification level. The verification of both processes will be conducted within the Rainforest Alliance Platform.