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Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serves as the chair of the board of directors. The NGO states that its mission is "to create a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities." Its work includes the provision of an environmental certification for sustainability in agriculture. In parallel to its certification program, the Rainforest Alliance develops and implements long-term conservation and community development programs in a number of critically important tropical landscapes where commodity production threatens ecosystem health and the well-being of rural communities.
In June 2017, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ announced their intention to merge, and in January 2018, the merger was legally completed.
The Rainforest Alliance's work continues in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
The Rainforest Alliance released a new certification standard in 2020, building upon the previous Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard and the UTZ Certification Standard. The two previous certification programs operated in parallel with farms as either Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certified until they transitioned to the new 2020 standard.
As of October 1, 2018, the Rainforest Alliance transitioned its sustainable forestry certification business, including all related services, personnel and clients, to Preferred by Nature (formerly NEPCon), a global non-profit organization in Copenhagen, Denmark. Preferred by Nature has been a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since 1996.
The Rainforest Alliance's sustainable agriculture program includes training programs for farmers and the certification of small, medium and large farms that produce more than 100 different crops, including coffee, tea, cocoa, and bananas. The Rainforest Alliance is phasing out cattle certification because it is not in the scope of the 2020 Certification Program. In recent years, the Rainforest Alliance has greatly expanded its work with smallholders, which includes more than 7.5 million farmers and workers certified by the organization. To obtain certification, farms must meet the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, which is designed to conserve ecosystems, protect biodiversity and waterways, conserve forests, reduce agrochemical use, improve livelihoods, and safeguard the rights and well-being of workers and local communities. The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to support sustainable agriculture by sourcing or choosing products grown on certified farms. More than 5.7 million hectares of farmland are being managed sustainably under Rainforest Alliance certification, as of 2023.
The Rainforest Alliance 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Standard was based on a gradual improvement system where more requirements had to be met each year. For a farm to get certified initially, it was required to achieve 100 percent of the critical criteria and 50 percent of the continuous improvement criteria within each group of criteria. The Farm Requirements of the new 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard include core requirements and improvement requirements. Core requirements outline key sustainable agriculture practices that must be met to achieve certification and are measured according to a pass/fail model. They include an ecosystem conservation program; protection of wild animals and waterways; the use of protective gear for workers; guidelines about agrochemical use; the prohibition of transgenic crops and implementation of an "assess-and-address" system to monitor and mitigate risks of child labor, forced labor, discrimination and workplace violence and harassment. Improvement requirements are designed to further promote and measure progress toward sustainable practices. They are categorized as either mandatory or self-selected. Some improvement requirements are pass/fail, while others are measured with Smart Meters.
Smart Meters give farmers a way to set goals for their farms based on what is most beneficial and feasible within their specific context. Rather than having predefined targets set by the Rainforest Alliance, farmers will set their own targets for improvements and define the necessary actions needed to achieve them. For example, while all farms must appoint a person or committee to address gender equality and carry out a basic risk assessment, they can each set their own annual targets to tackle more specific gender gaps related to their context.
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Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serves as the chair of the board of directors. The NGO states that its mission is "to create a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities." Its work includes the provision of an environmental certification for sustainability in agriculture. In parallel to its certification program, the Rainforest Alliance develops and implements long-term conservation and community development programs in a number of critically important tropical landscapes where commodity production threatens ecosystem health and the well-being of rural communities.
In June 2017, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ announced their intention to merge, and in January 2018, the merger was legally completed.
The Rainforest Alliance's work continues in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
The Rainforest Alliance released a new certification standard in 2020, building upon the previous Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard and the UTZ Certification Standard. The two previous certification programs operated in parallel with farms as either Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certified until they transitioned to the new 2020 standard.
As of October 1, 2018, the Rainforest Alliance transitioned its sustainable forestry certification business, including all related services, personnel and clients, to Preferred by Nature (formerly NEPCon), a global non-profit organization in Copenhagen, Denmark. Preferred by Nature has been a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since 1996.
The Rainforest Alliance's sustainable agriculture program includes training programs for farmers and the certification of small, medium and large farms that produce more than 100 different crops, including coffee, tea, cocoa, and bananas. The Rainforest Alliance is phasing out cattle certification because it is not in the scope of the 2020 Certification Program. In recent years, the Rainforest Alliance has greatly expanded its work with smallholders, which includes more than 7.5 million farmers and workers certified by the organization. To obtain certification, farms must meet the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, which is designed to conserve ecosystems, protect biodiversity and waterways, conserve forests, reduce agrochemical use, improve livelihoods, and safeguard the rights and well-being of workers and local communities. The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to support sustainable agriculture by sourcing or choosing products grown on certified farms. More than 5.7 million hectares of farmland are being managed sustainably under Rainforest Alliance certification, as of 2023.
The Rainforest Alliance 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Standard was based on a gradual improvement system where more requirements had to be met each year. For a farm to get certified initially, it was required to achieve 100 percent of the critical criteria and 50 percent of the continuous improvement criteria within each group of criteria. The Farm Requirements of the new 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard include core requirements and improvement requirements. Core requirements outline key sustainable agriculture practices that must be met to achieve certification and are measured according to a pass/fail model. They include an ecosystem conservation program; protection of wild animals and waterways; the use of protective gear for workers; guidelines about agrochemical use; the prohibition of transgenic crops and implementation of an "assess-and-address" system to monitor and mitigate risks of child labor, forced labor, discrimination and workplace violence and harassment. Improvement requirements are designed to further promote and measure progress toward sustainable practices. They are categorized as either mandatory or self-selected. Some improvement requirements are pass/fail, while others are measured with Smart Meters.
Smart Meters give farmers a way to set goals for their farms based on what is most beneficial and feasible within their specific context. Rather than having predefined targets set by the Rainforest Alliance, farmers will set their own targets for improvements and define the necessary actions needed to achieve them. For example, while all farms must appoint a person or committee to address gender equality and carry out a basic risk assessment, they can each set their own annual targets to tackle more specific gender gaps related to their context.