The Rainforest Alliance is strengthening its pioneering cocoa certification program, which is the world’s largest scale initiative to drive more sustainable cocoa farming. Key priorities of the cocoa strategy are assurance, shared responsibility, supply chain transparency, and profitability and resilience.
With the support of the cocoa industry, the Rainforest Alliance is taking this unprecedented action to facilitate greater accountability and oversight in the cocoa sector. The organization’s goal is to improve the economic, social, and environmental conditions of the cocoa industry – beginning with the millions of smallholder farmers in the first mile of cocoa production.
Phase 3 of our Cocoa Assurance Plan invites new groups from West Africa to become certified, provides an updated policy for farm and supply chain certification, and further addresses farm encroachment in protected areas and deforestation.
This Q&A has been developed to provide guidance to certificate holders and certification bodies with regards to the Measures to Strengthen the Cocoa Sector.
This policy sets out specific implementation requirements for certificate holders at both producer and supply chain actor levels (Certification Criteria) and for reinforcing the assurance process (Assurance Process Rules).
Information about a new approach we will implement in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana beginning in June 2020 to strengthen assurance of our certification system.
This policy sets out specific implementation requirements for certificate holders at both producer and supply chain actor levels (Certification requirements) and for reinforcing the assurance process
View: Policy for Farm and Supply Chain Certification in Cocoa
With the launch of the new Standard, we will shift to Full Mutual Recognition for all Rainforest Alliance mass balance products throughout the entire supply chain. This page describes how Full Mutual Recognition will be implemented in cocoa. [Read more...]
Topics: CertificationCocoa
This document is part of the procedure for Partial remote audits for high and very high risk groups in Côte d’Ivoire. The checklist contains the requirements and instructions for document review for
View: Simplified desk audit checklist for high and very high risk groups in Côte d’Ivoire
This document sets out the certification procedure for (currently RA 2017 or UTZ certified) high and very high risk groups in Côte d’Ivoire applying for a transition audit for the October 2021 harvest
View: Partial remote audits for high and very high risk groups in Côte d’Ivoire
An explanation of the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ mutual recognition program for companies sourcing coffee, vanilla, herbs, cocoa, tea, and hazelnut crops.[Read more...]
Emerging research has found that several plant-based staples aren’t as eco-friendly as some people have previously thought due to the ways in which they’re farmed and sourced.
