• About
  • Knowledge Hub
    • English
      • Español
      • Indonesia
      • Français
      • Deutsch
      • 日本語
      • Português
      • 简体中文
      • Tiếng Việt
      • Türkçe
For Individuals
For Business
  • The Latest
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • What our seal means
  • What We Are Doing
    • Our Impacts
    • Our Approach
    • Issues
      • Forests & Biodiversity
      • Livelihoods
      • Climate
      • Human rights
    • Regions
      • Asia
      • Central America & Mexico
      • East Africa
      • South America
      • West & Central Africa
  • What You Can Do
    • Support Our Work
    • Everyday Actions
    • Find the Frog
    • School Curricula
    • Kids Games & Activities
    • Shop to Support
  • For Business
    • Certification
    • Marketing Sustainability
    • Tailored Supply Chain Services
    • For Partners
  • About
  • Help Center
  • The Latest
  • Events
  • English
    • Español
    • Indonesia
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • 日本語
    • Português
    • 简体中文
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
  • Certification
      • Rainforest Alliance seal
      • 2020 Certification Program

        Designed to deliver most value to the farmers and companies that use Rainforest Alliance Certification
        LEARN MORE

      • UTZ CERTIFICATION

      • WHY CERTIFICATION

        Considering getting certified? Learn how Rainforest Alliance certification can help people, nature, and your business.
        LEARN MORE

      • OUR COMMODITIES

  • Tailored Services
  • Marketing Sustainability
  • For Partners
  • Work with Us

2020 Certification Program

Defining our long-term vision for the future, and the path required to get us there.

What’s New
Sustainable Agriculture Standard
Assurance
More info

Providing a Path to More Resilient and Inclusive Agricultural Practices

The Sustainable Agriculture Standard, along with its assurance and technology systems, are designed to deliver more value to the more than four million farmers and workers and thousands of businesses that use Rainforest Alliance certification to drive more sustainable agricultural production and responsible supply chains. 

   See what’s new

If you have any questions, please contact us at customersuccess@ra.org. Certification Bodies can contact us at CBcert@ra.org.

Visit our contact page to find an office in your country.

What’s new in the program?

Introduction to the standard

Deforestation

Human rights

Living wage

Living income

Gender equality

Climate-smart agriculture

Conserving biodiversity

Shared responsibility

Continuous improvement

Risk-based assurance

Grievance systems

Sustainable Agriculture Standard

Our agriculture standard is used in more than 70 countries around the globe. Our program focuses on coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas, and many other important commodity sectors facing urgent environmental and social challenges.

Certification Standard

2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Farm Requirements

The Farm Requirements of our new Sustainable Agriculture Standard are designed to help farmers protect the landscapes where they live and work, while offering an enhanced framework to improve their livelihoods and advance the human rights of rural people.

Download
Certification Standard

2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Supply Chain Requirements

The Sustainable Agriculture Standard’s Supply Chain Requirements aim to foster transparency and responsible business practices among companies from farm to shelf.

Download

Key Supporting Documents

Select the corresponding Sustainable Agriculture Standard chapter to find supporting documents for that section of the standard.

Select a chapter:
Relevant for:

Forms and TemplatesBinding

  • Deforestation Inconsistency Registry
  • Template for recording pesticide usage

Terms & ConditionsBinding

  • Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (“RACP”) Terms and Conditions
  • Rainforest Alliance License Agreement General Terms and Conditions
  • Rainforest Alliance Terms And Conditions

AnnexBinding

  • Annex Chapter 1: Management (Previous Annex S17)
  • Annex Chapter 2: Traceability (Previous Annex S06)
  • Annex Chapter 3: Income and Shared Responsibility (Previous Annex S14)
  • Annex Chapter 4: Farming (previous Annex S07)
  • Annex Chapter 5: Social (Previous Annexes S04, S09, S10 and S11)
  • Annex Chapter 6: Environment (Previous Annexes S12 and S15)
  • Annex S01: Glossary
  • Annex S02: Management Capacity Assessment Tool
  • Annex S03: Risk Assessment Tool
  • Annex S08: Salary Matrix Tool
  • Annex S10: Living Wage Benchmarks per Country – List
  • Annex S13: Group Member Registry
  • Annex S16: Sustainability Investment Plan Template
  • Rainforest Alliance Certified Crops

Policies and rulesBinding

  • Adjusted Timelines for the Transition and Full Certification Cycles of the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program
  • Alignment with the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR)
  • EUDR Data Sharing Policy
  • Exception Policy on Living Wage in Ecuador
  • Exceptional Use Policy: Granted Exceptions and their Conditions for Using Rainforest Alliance Prohibited Pesticides
  • Grievance Procedure
  • Instructions for Cocoa Groups in Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Nigeria on National Identification Requirements
  • License Renewal During Rainforest Alliance Review Years
  • No Double Selling Declaration
  • Policy for Certificate Holder Transfers
  • Policy for Farm and Supply Chain Certification in Cocoa
  • Policy for Geodata Collection and Analysis in China
  • Policy for Rooibos Certification in South Africa
  • Policy for Safe Use of Machines
  • Policy for Tea Farm Certification in Kenya
  • Policy on Measures to Address Shortages of Rainforest Alliance Certified Volumes During the Certification Cycle
  • Policy Water Permit Requirements Costa Rica
  • Policy: Audits for Certificate Holders based in Brazil
  • Policy: New Certificate Holders During the Transition Period For the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program
  • Temporary Coffee Supply Shortage Policy
  • The Investment Plan Template for the Tea Sector

GuidanceNot Binding

  • Application of Triazoles for Control of Coffee Leaf Rust (Hemileia Vastatrix)
  • Assess and Address Pledge
  • Certification Application Form (CAF) Guidance Templates
  • Checklist for Cocoa groups in West and Central Africa
  • Explanation on the Geodata Validation and Risk Assessment Process
  • General Guide for the Implementation of the Sustainable Agricultural Standard
  • GeoPDF Guidance
  • Google Earth Guidance
  • Google My Maps Guidance
  • Guidance A: How to Use the Management Capacity Assessment Tool
  • Guidance B: Template of Management Plan
  • Guidance C: Creating a Farm Map
  • Guidance D: Geolocation Data Requirements and Risk Maps
  • Guidance E: Grievance Mechanism
  • Guidance F: Gender Equality
  • Guidance for Areas at High Risk of Deforestation and Encroachment Into Protected Areas in Cameroon
  • Guidance for Geodata Collection Tool in China
  • Guidance for Installing QGIS in OSGEO4W and Python
  • Guidance G: Yield Estimation
  • Guidance H: Integrated Pest Management
  • Guidance I: Pruning
  • Guidance J: Soil Fertility and Conservation
  • Guidance K: Housing and Living Conditions
  • Guidance L: Assess-and-Address
  • Guidance M: Natural Ecosystems and Vegetation
  • Guidance N: Energy Efficiency
  • Guidance O: GHG Emission Reductions
  • Guidance on the QGIS RA Risk Assessment Tools
  • Guidance R: Assess-and-Address Monitoring Guidance Tool
  • Guidance S: Remediation Protocol
  • Guidance T: Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Processes
  • Guidance to Define if an Organization is in Scope of Certification
  • Guidance U: Guidance Service Providers Applicability
  • Guidance: Empty pesticide container disposal in Vietnam
  • Guidance: Farm Certificate Holders transitioning to the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program
  • Indicators and Smart Meters
  • KoBoCollect Guidance
  • QGIS GUIDANCE – Guidance on Converting and Managing Geospatial Files
  • Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard: Introduction
  • Rainforest Alliance Volume Calculator
  • Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investment, Coffee Sector Guidance document
  • Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investments: Banana and other Fresh Fruit sector
  • Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investments: Cocoa Sector Guidance
  • Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investments: Hazelnut Sector Guidance
  • Tea Selling Marks
  • Tea Supply Chain Support Letter
  • Traceability Guidance

Searching for a specific document? Find it on our main Certification page >

For steps on how to implement the requirements of the standard, view our training course >

Assurance

Farms, forest communities, and businesses that participate in our certification program are audited against sustainability standards based on the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social well-being. This is guided by a drive to verify credible, useful data and compliance evidence. These documents provide the rules and guidelines for assurance.

Policies and rules

2020 Certification and Auditing Rules

The Assurance System of the 2020 Certification Program introduces numerous innovations to ensure that certification is more context-specific, data-driven, and risk-based.

Download
Policies and rules

2020 Rules for Certification Bodies

The Rainforest Alliance manages, and is responsible for, a global Assurance System for Certification Bodies.

Download
Policies and rules

Fee Catalogue for Certification Bodies

The Rainforest Fee Catalogue describes the fees applicable to Certification Bodies according to Section 1.6, Assurances Costs of the Rules for Certification Bodies.

Download

Key Supporting Documents

The documents in this section help farmers and supply chain actors apply the requirements in the standard. 

ReportsNot Binding

  • Assess and Address Position Paper

One sheetsNot Binding

  • What's in our 2020 Certification Program? Risk-Based Assurance

ExplainersNot Binding

  • What's New in Version 1.3 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard?

Forms and TemplatesBinding

  • Deforestation Inconsistency Registry
  • Template for recording pesticide usage
  • Certification Application Form (CAF)

GuidanceNot Binding

  • Stakeholder Consultation Letter
  • Certification Application Form (CAF) Guidance Templates
  • Traceability Guidance
  • Guidance to Define if an Organization is in Scope of Certification
  • Auditor Verification Protocol

Policies and rulesBinding

  • Audit Allocation System: Implementation in Ivory Coast and Ghana
  • Policy on Remote Audits
  • Remote Closure of Non-Conformities Policy
  • Policy: New Certificate Holders During the Transition Period For the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program
  • Policy on measures to address shortages of Rainforest Alliance certified volumes during the transition period for Colombia and Peru
  • Policy on measures to address shortages of Rainforest Alliance certified coffee volumes during the transition period for Brazil
  • Policy on Changes to Chapter 2: Rules for CB Personnel
  • Policy on changes to certification and auditing rules for audits in the transition year
  • Policy on Measures to Address Shortages of Rainforest Alliance Certified Volumes During the Certification Cycle
  • The Investment Plan Template for the Tea Sector
  • Policy for Farm and Supply Chain Certification in Cocoa
  • Grievance Procedure

Find a Rainforest Alliance authorized certification body >

Are you an auditing firm and interested in becoming authorized to provide certification services for the Rainforest Alliance program? Currently there are open authorization processes in Japan. Read more in our resources for Certification Bodies page. If you want to be notified of future authorization processes, please write to cbmanagement@ra.org.

More Information

More documents and tools

  • Assess-and-address documents
  • 2020 Program Online Glossary
  • Transition Tool
  • Farm Intelligence App

Herbs & Spices Program

View information on joining UEBT and Rainforest Alliance Certification

Learn more

Frequently Asked Questions

  • FAQ: Farm Requirements
  • FAQ: Supply Chain Requirements
  • FAQ: Assurance

Get Started

Are you ready to begin your company or farm’s sustainability journey?

Get Started

For Business

Transform your business practices

For Supporters

Help us rebalance the planet

For Researchers

See how we measure our impacts

For Educators

Use our conservation curricula in your classroom

The Rainforest Alliance is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-3377893.

rainforest alliance spending

In 2022, 75% of our income supported sustainability programs. Learn More »

charity-watch
earth-share

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Subscribe

Sign up for business updates or general updates
  • FAQ
  • Press
  • Financials
  • Certification Documents
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 1987 - 2023, Rainforest Alliance | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy

Rainforest Match Active

Double your impact against deforestation.

Act now!

Give today
Habitats Matter.

Your gift helps protect vital forest habitats for wildlife.

Give today
People & Forests

Support nature’s guardians. Act now.

Give Support

Version 1.3 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard is online Learn what’s new >