The Rainforest Alliance Certification Program is a sustainability assurance system that helps drive positive change in agriculture and supply chains. It aims to improve livelihoods, advance human rights, and protect biodiversity.
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.
The UTZ hazelnut certification program was launched in 2014. This evaluation compares the situation of certified hazelnut producers in 2018 against a baseline taken at the start of the program in 2014. Between 2014 and 2018 the Hazelnuts certification program grew considerably. In 2018 it had over 4,300 farmers enrolled, members of 14 group-certificate holders, […]
This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the Rainforest Alliance certification program as evidenced by independent research, audit findings for certified farms and groups, and interviews with farmers and leading sustainability researchers. The theme of this Impacts Report – “Partnership, Learning, and Change” – highlights the Rainforest Alliance’s collaborative approach to tackling the most critical […]
This independent evaluation study assesses the strategies and needs of coffee certificate holders (CHs), businesses that implement the UTZ standard, in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The study aimed to understand the businesses’ experiences with UTZ implementation, the benefits they derived from UTZ, the challenges they faced to deepen engagement and how UTZ fits into the […]
The SAN/Rainforest Alliance cocoa program has grown rapidly over the past five years, with just under 1 million hectares of cocoa farmland in 15 countries achieving SAN/Rainforest Alliance certification by the end of 2016. SAN/Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa now composes 13.4 percent of the world’s cocoa supply, with increasing numbers of commitments by large cocoa […]
Christian Mensah of Rainforest Alliance says the cocoa industry should focus on helping the most vulnerable farmers replant, not the top performers to expand production.
The UTZ tea program in Sri Lanka first began in 2011, implemented by the Institute of Social Development with the support of Solidaridad, UTZ, Douwe Egberts Foundation and various institutions within the Sri Lankan tea sector. The purpose of this evaluation is to inform UTZ and other stakeholders about the outcomes of the UTZ tea […]