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.

Learn more

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

Filter by:
Annex

Annex S01: Glossary

SA-GL-SD-1

The glossary of the terms used in the documents of the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program.

View our online version of the glossary by visiting... View more


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

Annex

Annex Chapter 2: Traceability (Previous Annex S06)

SA-S-SD-20

This annex includes additional binding content related to the implementation of the Requirements in Chapter 2 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Traceability. The Annex has been... View more


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

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

Certification Standard

2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Supply Chain Requirements

The Sustainable Agriculture Standard’s Supply Chain Requirements aim to foster transparency and responsible business practices among companies from farm to shelf. View more


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

Annex

Annex Chapter 5: Social (Previous Annexes S04, S09, S10 and S11)

SA-S-SD-23

This annex includes additional binding content related to the implementation of the Requirements in Chapter 5 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Social. The Annex has been made... View more


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

Annex

Annex Chapter 3: Income and Shared Responsibility (Previous Annex S14)

SA-S-SD-21

This annex includes additional binding content related to the implementation of the Requirements in Chapter 3 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Shared Responsibility The Annex has... View more


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