
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.
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


FAQ: 2020 Supply Chain Requirements

Early Feedback on the New Certification Program: Kyagalanyi Coffee Shares Their Implementation Experience

Learnings from the Field: Finca Esmeralda and the Future of Certified Bananas
All resources for Certification
Shared Responsibility: What It Means for the Fruit & Banana Sectors
Our shared responsibility approach aims to distribute this along the supply chain, thus allowing farmers to share costs with buyers and be rewarded for their efforts towards more sustainable agricultural practices.
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.
Shared Responsibility: Balancing Sustainability Values and Costs for Farmers and Companies
Our shared responsibility approach aims to distribute sustainability benefits and costs more evenly between farmers and companies. This involves two mandatory financial requirements for companies: Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investments.
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
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
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