Rainforest Alliance

On July 3, 2012, Rainforest Alliance, Max Havelaar and UTZ Certified advised the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment on the additional social conditions of the sustainable procurement policy of the Dutch government.

The three organizations advised the State Secretary to include an additional income norm which states: ‘The income that farmers and workers in developing countries earn by selling their products is sufficient to meet the basic living needs, such as adequate food, clean water, shelter, clothes, education, healthcare, transport and energy of an average-sized family in a particular economy.’

This additional income norm needs to be further operationalized, for which the public procurement officer has three options:

1. either through using the living wage/living income principle;
2. or through using the Fair Trade principle, made explicit through minimum price and pre-financing;
3. let the supplier choose between the principles of living wage/living income or minimum price and pre-financing.

The organizations also would like to cooperate with the government in communicating with public procurers, for example through a joint brochure, to have them better understand what the effect is of the choices they make. The ultimate goal is 100 percent sustainable coffee, tea and cocoa purchased by the Dutch government.