The Rainforest Alliance is transitioning all tea traceability to our new digital platform, called MultiTrace in order for companies to continue to use the Rainforest Alliance seal.
Vision
Our vision for end-to-end traceability
Our vision is to link volumes from individual farms to the final claim being made.
Why is traceability needed? How does it fit into the Rainforest Alliance’s vision and mission?
Traceability will bring a number of benefits to producers and companies:
- Producers and companies will have a single transactional system to record all purchases and sales of Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified tea, which also facilitates high level reporting for internal management, and for external disclosure, for example against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- These users will also have more efficient and effective mechanisms to meet their chain of custody requirements.
- They can identify areas where there are risks or opportunities in the production of their raw materials, and work with the Rainforest Alliance to develop and implement programs at origin to deliver improvements and further narratives to be used in their marketing.
How does end-to-end traceability and MultiTrace support our new certification program and related innovations?
The Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard aims to increase the accuracy and credibility of certification by tracing certified product from farm to shelf for all supply chain actors.
The new standard introduces innovative requirements that aim to make supply chains more equitable. These ‘Shared Responsibility’ requirements are made up of two components: Sustainability Differential, and Sustainability Investments.
End-to-end traceability helps enable these innovations. Find out more about Shared Responsibility within the new program here.
Requirements for Tea Producers and Companies
What does end-to-end traceability mean for you?
Companies need to comply with our new traceability requirements in order to continue to use the Rainforest Alliance seal.
Companies need to ensure compliance with their relevant current standard (pre-merger Rainforest Alliance and/or UTZ) and – once it becomes applicable – the new 2020 Certification Program, including traceability requirements (see section 2.1 and 2.2 of the Supply Chain Requirements). The rules for transitioning to implementing the new Standard can be found here.
Note that with the launch of MultiTrace for tea, current and historical derogations or exemptions on tea traceability and its relation to the Chain of Custody certification will be coming to an end in 2021.
What products are we aiming to trace?
Green leaf, made tea, tea blends, tea sub-products (extracts, powders, ready to drink, etc.) from the camellia sinensis (tea) plant.
This does not include rooibos and herbal teas. These crops will be introduced in MultiTrace later in 2021.
What actions are needed by tea companies and producers to demonstrate traceability in MultiTrace?
- Companies will be responsible to ensure their suppliers are reporting information in the platform.
- Certificate holders—producers and companies—will need to log in and announce the sales, purchases, conversions, blends/bulks, manufacturing activities in the traceability application at least every quarter.
- Companies must implement a robust system of quarterly spot checks verifying a sample of incoming volumes matches with corresponding traceability documentation for products labeled with our seal or claimed (off-pack, etc.) as Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Technical innovation
How are we enabling end-to-end traceability for our tea partners?
What is MultiTrace?
MultiTrace is a continuously improving platform to provide value to the sustainability community to achieve its goals. MultiTrace consists of a traceability application and a certification application. In order to develop the tea traceability solution in MultiTrace, we used data and learnings from previous consultations on tea traceability with the sector, systems development, and our internal tea traceability expertise (both Rainforest Alliance and UTZ programs). The tea traceability application was launched in December so that volumes can be reported along the supply chain. For the new Rainforest Alliance 2020 Certification Program, we are developing a new version of the certification part of MultiTrace.
What crops does MultiTrace support?
At the moment, MultiTrace supports the certification process for UTZ coffee and hazelnut, and Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified tea. Traceability is currently supported for pre-merger UTZ coffee & hazelnut, and soon Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified tea. Other crops and the 2020 Certification Program will follow.
What does MultiTrace not provide?
- A link to company systems for individual lot level purchase/sale transactions
- Trademark approvals or licensing/certification in MultiTrace for tea
What is a transaction?
A transaction is the movement of volumes between two actors in the supply chain. That can be from producer to a buyer, or from a trader to a manufacturer or blender or packer. Each transaction needs to be announced and confirmed. There are many settings in the system, such as mandating & trusting which make that easier for the parties involved. (E.g. there is no confirmation needed if the two parties of a trade “trust” each other in the system.)
What is a stock position?
A stock position is a volume type, that a supply chain actor owns, and which is reflected in MultiTrace. Companies will be able to aggregate stock positions in the system, so volumes with certain parameters will be combined.
How do I report data in MultiTrace?
Users will log in to MultiTrace and use different data points to perform an activity in the system. Some of those data points that will be needed are the following:
- Volumes (e.g. either sold volume or amount used as an input of a conversion)
- Type of tea (e.g. black, green, etc.)
- Buyer names
- Reference numbers (e.g. chop/garden invoice number)
- Selling marks
- Activity dates (e.g. a sales date or date of conversion)
- Conversion rate
A company will be able to perform these activities in the system. Companies with high numbers of transactions will be able to provide an Excel spreadsheet in a designated format for uploading in the system. This Excel upload will be able to map the data being asked by the MultiTrace Excel template to a company’s method of inputting data in their system.
What resources are available to you?
On the website of the Rainforest Alliance Learning Network, you will find guidance on how to use MultiTrace for tea traceability and other resources such as instruction videos. These materials can be found here.
As actors transition to the new 2020 Certification Program, further specific MultiTrace training resources will be provided on that (i.e. multi-ingredient reporting, redeeming, removing, Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investments).
Tea Specific Guidance
What are producers required to do in MultiTrace?
- Producers need to ensure they have selling marks created in MultiTrace: Instructions Here
- Producers need to convert their green leaf to made tea: Instructions Here
- The default conversion rate is 22%. This can be edited by the user within reason
- Producers need to declare sales of: Instructions Here
- Green leaf – These sales should only be declared when the buyer is purchasing green leaf
-
- Made tea
Why doesn’t my certified volume in MultiTrace match the certified volume from my audit?
The certified volume in MultiTrace has been converted from made tea back to green leaf. The certified volume is also the remaining volume balance based on transactions that were conducted (sales transactions) in previous traceability systems, not the full annual certified volumes.
How can I prepare my account for traceability?
- If companies want to prepare their accounts before conducting traceability and reduce administrative burden in the future, they can enable certain features now:
- Aggregate Positions – This will enable stock positions of selling marks with similar parameters to accumulate.
- Trusted Trade Partner – This will allow transactions to automatically be confirmed in the system.
- Companies should update their contact information in their profile to ensure all their users can access the platform.
- Companies should check that they have an active license (certificate) in MultiTrace.
What are Identity Preserved (IP), Segregated, and Mixed Identity Preserved (Mixed IP) traceability levels?
What is Identity Preserved (IP)?
A traceability option in which it is possible to identify the Rainforest Alliance Certified ingredient or product back to a single farm certificate holder. A volume that is traded as IP in MultiTrace will display the farm certificate holder information along the supply chain.
What is Segregated?
This means that the full product content is certified, although it can come from different certified sources/farms, including other countries of origin. Companies that do not wish to display producer information should downgrade from IP to Segregated either in the Conversion, Mix (blend/bulk), or Sell Transaction screens.
What is Mixed Identity Preserved (Mixed IP)?
A certified product is from different certified sources/farms, but identity is preserved throughout the supply chain. A volume that is traded as Mixed IP in MultiTrace will display the farm certificate holder information along the supply chain.
Why are traceability levels important?
As mentioned in the above definitions, the selection of traceability levels makes certain information visible to buyers further downstream. If you are trying to mask the information to your buyer of the producer in the supply chain, segregation should be selected.
How to declare sales done through an auction?
Sales that are conducted through an auction should be declared to the buyer. If Company B purchases from Producer A via an auction, the traceability should be from Producer A to Company B in MultiTrace.
Does the auction broker need to declare sales done through an action?
No, the broker doesn’t need to do it. See the answer to the question above.
My supplier has declared too much volume in a transaction, what can I do?
- You can reject the transaction if it has not already been confirmed.
- You can reverse the transaction if it has already been confirmed.
- You can also remove the volume from your stock position and declare it as non-certified.
My supplier has declared too little volume in a transaction, what can I do?
- You can reject the transaction if it has not already been confirmed.
- You can reverse the transaction if it has already been confirmed.
My buyer is asking for transaction certificates for a sale of certified tea. What is the process?
In order to fast track the onboarding of companies to MultiTrace, transaction certificates will not be generated from Marketplace (and by Rainforest Alliance staff) for sales of tea. Transactions certificates should not be expected at the same time as sales documentation to buyers of certified tea.
When companies are able to issue supporting transaction certificates in MultiTrace, they should be provided to their clients.
Next Steps
Currently we’re in Phase I of the rollout, which is focused on transitioning farms and their first buyers to MultiTrace. The Rainforest Alliance is closely monitoring the reporting of activities and transactions by this group.
We’re using a phased approach to roll out MultiTrace, following the tea supply chain. When volumes become available to the next actors in the supply chain, they can then proceed to declare activities and transactions in the new system. We will work with companies to ensure they are ready for reporting in MultiTrace.
The different phases of our tea traceability rollout are the following:
- Phase I – farm certificate holders and their first buyers, processors of made tea in origin (currently ongoing). Transactions are mandatory for all producers of certified tea and it is mandatory for all first buyers to confirm the transactions received. However, first buyers can only do transactions while they have enough stock in their accounts.
- Phase II – traders, bulkers, blenders, processors of made tea outside the country of origin.
- Phase III – non-pure, e.g. processors using tea as an ingredient (bottlers etc.)
We will inform every actor when they can proceed to declare activities and transactions in MultiTrace.
For supply chain actors who fall outside of these criteria, we will work closely with you to provide continuous onboarding support. The Rainforest Alliance will closely monitor the progress of each phase and whether volumes are available in the accounts to proceed with activities and transactions. Supply chain actors who are not in the Phase I are encouraged to ask their supply chains to utilize MultiTrace.
We are excited about entering this next phase of our sustainable tea program and feel confident in our ability to deliver greater value to you and your customers. We very much look forward to continuing our sustainability journey with you and appreciate your support of the Rainforest Alliance.
If you have any questions or need technical support, please email customersuccess@ra.org.
