Our best hope for a better future is to embrace sustainability on a massive scale. If you’re feeling lost about where to start, or questioning if you can really make an impact, you’re not alone. Everyone has their role to play and when we connect with a broader community of like-minded people taking action together, beautiful things can happen!
Throughout the week of September 27 – October 3, we invite you to “Follow the Frog” and join our community—a growing alliance of farmers, sustainability experts, companies, and millions of passionate individuals all across the world.
Tune in to the Rainforest Alliance’s social media channels for an inspiring global brainstorm dedicated to How our choices can contribute to a more just and resilient future. We’ll be spotlighting some of our long-time partners, along with new friends, as we discuss the urgency of remaking our relationship with the land, concrete actions to help farmers adapt to climate change, and how your everyday lifestyle choices can help reshape our global food systems.
We’ll also share useful tips to help you take action—starting with our little green frog seal, which guides millions of sustainability-conscious consumers to put their purchasing power behind products that are better for people and nature.
What can YOU do?
- Join us for #FollowTheFrog 2021, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
- Choose Rainforest Alliance Certified products when you shop—and encourage your favorite brands to source from certified farms.
- Sign up to our 30-Day Sustainability Challenge, where we offer daily tips on how to live a more sustainable life and make new habits stick.
Calendar: Follow the Frog 2021
September 27 – October 3: Check out the exciting topics we’ll be diving into!
Monday, September 27
People Power: LIVE Q&A with Rainforest Alliance CEO Santiago Gowland
5:30PM CEST | 12:30PM ET | 9:30AM PT
Kicking things off will be our froggy-in-chief, Santiago Gowland (aka the Rainforest Alliance’s chief executive officer), who will be answering your questions during a 20-30 min IG Live on our Instagram page. This is your opportunity to ask Santiago anything about sustainability, from certification to tangible ways that you can make an impact. Get your thinking hats on and keep an eye out for our post on Friday (09/24) crowdsourcing your questions.
Where: Instagram
Tuesday, September 28
The Perfect Brew: Coffee and the Impact of Certification
Forget the moka vs. French press debate. It’s simple: The best coffee is good coffee. And by good, we mean coffee that has been grown in ways that promote healthy forests and thriving rural communities. Leading British coffeehouse chain Costa Coffee agrees—and that’s why they’ve made a commitment to source 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified beans. Tune in to our social channels to learn more about our little green frog seal and Costa’s experience of working with us to drive impact for people and nature.
Wednesday, September 29
Social Gastronomy: IG Live cook-along with food educator and activist, Charles Michel
6PM CEST | 1PM ET | 10AM PT
Can food be a catalyst for inner, social, and environment change? For Franco-Colombian food educator and activist, Charles Michel, the answer is an emphatic “Yes.” Join us for a live cook-along with Michel as we put our minds—and our tastebuds—to work discussing critical issues from reconnecting with our agricultural roots, to the importance of mindful consumption, and ways to bring balance back to ourselves, with each other, and with nature.
Where: Instagram
Thursday, September 30
Banana Farmers: On the Front Lines of Climate Change
Across the tropics, banana farmers are feeling the effects of the climate crisis: extreme weather changes, unpredictable rainfall, and the spread of pests and diseases to new regions. Oscar Maroto, our fruits manager in Latin America, has seen what this means on the ground for the farmers we work with. Together with Xavier Roussel, sustainability head at Dole, Oscar will explain why it’s critically urgent to help banana farmers build their climate resilience—and how a “climate-smart” approach can help achieve this.
Friday, October 1
International Coffee Day: Supporting Farmers on the Sustainability Journey
Adopting more sustainable growing practices can require significant investment. To ensure this doesn’t fall on farmers’ shoulders alone, our Certification Program includes requirements for companies to invest in and reward more sustainable production. The Rainforest Alliance’s coffee lead Colleen Popkin will deep dive into this vital issue together with Nanda Bergstein, Corporate Responsibility Director at German coffee brand Tchibo. Keep an eye out for their video chat, which drops Friday.
Saturday, October 2
Who Made My Chocolate: Human Rights in the Cocoa Sector
Fact: Advancing the rights of rural people goes hand-in-hand with improving planetary health—and vice versa. The Rainforest Alliance’s Côte d’Ivoire director, Nanga Kone, has an in-depth knowledge of the complex social challenges facing the West African cocoa sector, which include child labor and gender inequality. We’ve asked him to tell us about the solutions—from better monitoring systems to tackling root causes like rural poverty. Joining him is Inge Jacobs, senior manager of human rights and income at global chocolate manufacturer MARS. Check out their video chat to learn how we’re working together and how consumers can also do their part.
Sunday, October 3
Farmer Connect: IG Live with coffee farmer María Esther Saut Niño and Rainforest Alliance CEO Santiago Gowland
6PM CEST | 1PM ET | 10AM PT
María Esther started her coffee journey on the administrative side of the sector, but the lure of the beans called her to the farming life! Please join us for an IG live interview with Mexico-based María Esther and the Rainforest Alliance’s CEO, Santiago Gowland. They’ll be talking about more sustainable growing practices, her work to promote the recovery of coffee cultivation in the region (following a serious outbreak of coffee rust plague), and her belief in the next generation of young coffee farmers.
Where: Instagram
For companies
If you are a business and would like to participate in this year’s campaign, check out our Follow the Frog page for companies and reach out to us at marketing@ra.org to learn more.
#FollowTheFrog
Be inspired by stories from around the world, and share your own sustainability experiences with friends and family using #FollowTheFrog.
