Certification

hands with cocoa pods

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.

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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

All resources for Certification

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Certification Standard

2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Farm Requirements

The Farm Requirements of our new Sustainable Agriculture Standard are designed to help farmers protect the landscapes where they live and work, while offering an enhanced framework to improve their livelihoods and advance the human rights of rural people. View more


Available in: English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Vietnamese, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Turkish, Japanese, German

Organizational Updates

Addressing the Coffee Supply Chain Disruptions

The global coffee sector is currently facing a unique convergence of challenges including the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on supply chains, adverse weather events in major coffee producing countries, inflation, and increased transport costs.

Annex

Annex S10: Living Wage Benchmarks per Country – List

The list of living wage benchmarks per country as part of Annex S10: Living Wage Benchmarks per Country - Methodology.

The benchmarks are indicated in local currency, in gross wage per month, If no... View more


Available in: English

Explainers

Shared Responsibility: What It Means for the Tea Sector

We believe that creating truly sustainable global supply chains requires a shared responsibility approach. This means that the costs and benefits of certification are evenly distributed between farmers and buyers along the supply chain, so that both are rewarded for their efforts to embrace more sustainable practices.