Explainers

How to Transition to the 2020 Certification Program: Guidance for Coffee Sector Supply Chain Actors

Filed Under: Certification  |  Tagged: ,

Photo credit: Charlie Watson

This page has the information and resources you need to transition to the Rainforest Alliance Certification program if you are a Coffee Supply Chain Actor.  

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Certification and transition basics

Our new Certification Program, based on the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard is  in full swing, and coffee producers and companies around the world are preparing for audits and processing volumes certifie

While each company has its own transition timeline, depending on its current certification status and license expiry date, there is a general timeline that needs to be met to keep access toWhile each company has its own transition timeline, depending on its current certification status and license expiry date, there is a general timeline that needs to be met to keep access to trading Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee.  

General Timeline

Resources on the new certification program and transition process 

Registration and licensing

Since the UTZ and Rainforest Alliance 2017 Certification programs are being phased out, all organizations that wish to join the Rainforest Alliance Certification program based on the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard need to register to receive an account ID. This is the case even if you already have an account or accounts with us. 

To complete this step: Visit the registration portal

Registration is the first step towards getting your Rainforest Alliance Certificate and License to Trade, a requirement for all Certificate Holders who want to continue working with us.  

Registration is a multi-step process. Both existing Certificate Holders and companies joining our program for the first time are required to create an account in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP). Once you have created your new account, you will complete a brief questionnaire for each site seeking Certification in order to define your certification scope. You will also need to upload or sign a valid License Agreement (2020 version) in the RACP which confirms that you agree to abide by the Rainforest Alliance’s for certification. 

After you have registered and completed all steps to submit your certification scope, the Rainforest Alliance will review the information you provided about your business. We use this information to perform a Supply Chain Risk Assessment and determine what type of audits your company will need during each year of the certification cycle. At Rainforest Alliance, we refer to this as your verification level. You can read more about verification levels on our explainer on How to Get Supply Chain Certification: A Guide for Companies.

For Supply Chain Actors, the last date to undergo a Transition Audit is June 30, 2022. Transition Certificate licenses are valid for one year. If your organization needs more time, they may request an extension to have their Transition Audit conducted by or before September 30, 2022. From July 1, 2022, full-scale audits will be conducted, and those licenses will be valid for 3 years.

The final deadline for obtaining a Certificate or Endorsement and a License to Trade is December 31, 2022. If you do not meet this deadline, you will have to register your organization to the program as a new supply chain actor.  

Helpful Links

Traceability systems and account management

All coffee traceability is in MultiTrace, the Rainforest Alliance platform that supports farmers and companies in the implementation of our certification program.  MultiTrace is now the single system for recording all purchases, sales, and conversions of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee. Any MultiTrace account can transact coffee volumes for any of our programs: The 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification, as well as UTZ and the 2017 Rainforest Alliance programs. Royalty fees have already been aligned across programs.  

Please watch our video on Account Consolidation. Further guidance on the impact of the migration of Marketplace 2.0 coffee volumes can be found in the next section. 

If your company had a previous UTZ and/or 2017 Rainforest Alliance traceability account, you will temporarily manage volumes in different MultiTrace accounts until your organization takes action to consolidate those stock positions.  

If your organization has received a license for the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: instruct your suppliers to make sales announcements to the account associated with your 2020 license (e.g. RA_000000000).  

If your organization has not received a license for the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: instruct your suppliers to make announcements to your UTZ MultiTrace account or one of your organizations’ migrated Rainforest Alliance 2017 accounts from Marketplace 2.0 (e.g. ME01_00000). 

Marketplace 2.0 migration

To support you in transitioning to MultiTrace from Marketplace 2.0, please reference this short guide that includes information about what data has been migrated and key differences between Marketplace 2.0 and MultiTrace.  

Follow these steps to login for the first time: 

  • Log in to your Rainforest Alliance 2017 traceability account
  • Ensure you are logged out of any MultiTrace account you were signed into previously. Our technical support team recommends clearing your cookies. 
  • Enter your old Marketplace 2.0 username. Do not enter any password. For each old Marketplace 2.0 account your organization managed, you will have a new MultiTrace account.  
  • Click “Forgot Password” 
  • Follow the instructions to create a new password 
  • Log in with your old Marketplace 2.0 username and new password credentials; you should now see your unsold Marketplace 2.0 volumes as individual stock positions with the Marketplace TC # in the “Reference” column under the “Stock Management” tab. 

Helpful Links

Trademark approvals

All public facing materials that use the Rainforest Alliance trademarks and/or name need to be submitted into the Marketplace platform and receive official approval prior to being printed, published, or launched in the market.    

After registering in the RACP, each account holder will be given access to a Marketplace account linked to the new Rainforest Alliance Certification Program. If you are a Rainforest Alliance 2017 user, this will be a different account/login than the one you currently use. 

Companies are encouraged to use the new Rainforest Alliance seal at their earliest convenience. If required, materials with the legacy Rainforest Alliance Certified seal and UTZ logo can receive approval until December 31, 2022. 

Helpful Links

For further questions please contact our Customer Success team at customersuccess@ra.org.

Measures to support the implementation of the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard

The Rainforest Alliance has implemented several new measures to support Certificate Holders in their transition to the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard in response to feedback from stakeholders around the world that the rigor of the Standard coupled with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have made the transition year uniquely challenging.  

A number of these measures are linked to policies designed to support Certificate Holders’ entry to the new program and market access: 

For Supply Chain Actors 

For Suppliers 

Learn more about the measures that the Rainforest Alliance is taking to support Certificate Holders.

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