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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Policies and rules

Exceptional Use Policy (EUP)

The Exceptional Use Policy is built upon requests from certified producers to use pesticides that are included on the List of Prohibited Pesticides (Annex 7).