[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re curious about certifications, this series is for you: Over the course of several blog posts, we\u2019re exploring some of the existing certifications that are available for specialty green coffee, including taking a look at their mission, standards, and whatever auditing or other requirements are important for you to know.\u00a0 Click here to read about organic certification<\/a>, or here to investigate Fair Trade\/Fairtrade<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In the third post of this series, we\u2019ll take a close look at Rainforest Alliance<\/span>\u00a0(also known as Rainforest Alliance<\/span>\/UTZ<\/span>\u00a0or RFA\/UTZ)<\/span>\u00a0certification,\u00a0<\/span>so you can<\/span>\u00a0begin to compare it to the others we\u2019ve discussed so far.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Rainforest_Alliance-1.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”at a glance” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Rainforest Alliance Certification<\/span><\/b>\u00a0at a Glance<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before we begin, here\u2019s a basic run-down of the tenets of R<\/span>ainforest Alliance<\/span>\u00a0certification.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Origins of RFA” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n The Origins of R<\/span><\/b>ainforest Alliance<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By this post in the series, you may start to realize that many of the certifications that are the most familiar for coffee started at around the same time, the late 1980s through the 1990s. Rainforest Alliance (RFA) certification follows suit: Deforestation gained more traction during that time as a grave environmental issue, thanks in large part to increased attention to the depletion of the Ozone Layer and other climate concerns. Between 1960 and 1990, there was total destruction of 20 percent of the world\u2019s tropical rainforests.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Origins of RFA” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n This crisis inspired environmentalist Daniel Katz to organize an emergency conference in 1986, out of which RFA was conceived as an NGO with a mission to focus on climate change as the root of myriad corresponding issues that result in widespread poverty in rural areas and those with agrarian economies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By 1989, RFA developed and released a sustainable forestry standard, which aimed to incentivize conservation of forests around the world; by 1992, the organization began offering certification for individual and collectively managed farms, starting with two banana farms. The first coffee farm was certified in 1995, and today there are more than 194,000 RFA-certified coffee farmers<\/span>\u00a0and 286,461 workers (coffee-specific)<\/span>\u00a0in 25 countries worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0By 2018, more than 10 percent of the world’s coffee production carried RFA certification. The organization currently has certification presence in more than 70 countries.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Rainforest_Alliance-1-3.jpg” align=”center” max_width=”70%” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Origins of RFA” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n In 2018, RFA merged with another certification program called UTZ, or Utz Kapeh, which means \u201cgood coffee\u201d in Mayan Quich\u00e9. UTZ certification was established in 2002 and was centered around a farm code of conduct that set standards for husbandry and farming practices as well as environmental standards<\/span>, human rights,<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>overall\u00a0<\/span>management, similar to RFA. With a new set of combined standards released for 2020, RFA and UTZ have fully aligned their mission and vision, and today we refer to RFA (or, alternately<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0RFA\/UTZ) as the primary certification.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”What you need to know” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n What You Need to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n Rainforest Alliance certification comes with a long and comprehensive set of farm requirements that are broken into tiers, and are designed with the idea of \u201ccontinuous improvement\u201d in mind:\u00a0After achieving compliance with a set of pass\/fail\u00a0core requirements, farms are then required to make improvements every year. Some of these improvements mandatory, evaluated on a\u00a0pass\/fail\u00a0basis, and audited\u00a0within\u00a03- or 6-year schemes, while others are used\u00a0more broadly\u00a0to set targets and have less urgency behind their structure. Self-selected improvements are designed by the certified producers, who also determine their own compliance.<\/p>\n The\u00a0criteria for\u00a0farm\u00a0certification<\/a>\u00a0cover several major areas that the NGO considers the cornerstones of sustainability:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Rainforest_Alliance-1-2.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Rainforest_Alliance-1-5.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”What you need to know” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n While many of the requirements above are considered a mandatory part of achieving RFA certification, the nature of the program is that the farmer\/s will continue to improve every year, and the regular audits will track both the core compliance as well as the cumulative renovations and investments being made by producers.<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike Fair Trade\/Fairtrade, RFA certification does not come with a minimum base price or a predetermined guaranteed price for goods. Instead, there is a mandatory \u201cs<\/span>ustainability\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>ifferential<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0that RFA\u00a0<\/span>buyers must pay to farmers in cash. This additional cash payment is<\/span>\u00a0not fixed, but rather is determined by\u00a0<\/span>market prices, quality, yield\u2014and can hard to pin down if you are looking for specifics on RFA’s website or in their printed materials. (There is a sustainability differential minimum price for cocoa, but no<\/span>t for<\/span>\u00a0other products that car<\/span>r<\/span>y the RFA seal.)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, like with Fair Trade\/Fairtrade, there are no specific directives for quality built in to the RFA certifications: While quality is an abstract part of the marketplace appeal for RFA-certified coffees and farmers are expected to aim for high-quality product through their practices and policies, there is no cup-score markers or targets included in the requirements.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Becoming Certified” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Becoming Certified<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RFA certification requires two types of farm audits: Certification audits happen every two years, with Surveillance audits in between. Certification audits are designed to assess risk levels on the farm, taking a look at climate change impact, gender inequity, potential labor-related red flags such as child or bonded labor, and harassment or violence in the workplace.\u00a0<\/span>They assess the mandatory core standards that must be achieved by a farm before the cert is given.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Surveillance audits are used to track progress and to address risk and\/or problems that might arise in order to find positive and sustainable solutions.\u00a0<\/span>They include both longer-term mandatory improvements (on a 3- or 6-year timeline) as well as voluntary and self-selected improvement projects that have a less-defined timeline and are at the farmers\u2019 discretion.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Farmers are responsible for submitting RFA applications as well as for hiring and paying a certifying body: RFA does not regulate the costs of the auditing process, and the fees will vary based on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of the operation, and the geographic location of the farm. Farmers are also required to cover the cost of any compliance-related improvements that are necessary for achieving and maintaining certification.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For handlers and vendors who want to buy and re-sell RFA-certified products, there are also a variety of fees and dues. The \u201csustainability differential,\u201d mentioned before, is the amount paid by buyers to farmers above market price for their product. This premium is required. There is also an annual charge of $100 per site for \u201cchain of custody risk assessment\u201d (CRA), as well as additional charges related to auditing. Finally, participating companies are required to pay volume-based royalties to RFA for any product that is advertised as \u201cRainforest Alliance\u2013certified\u201d and\/or contains the RFA seal on packaging and in descriptions. For coffee, this \u201croyalty\u201d is $0.015 per pound green.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Rainforest_Alliance-1-4.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Is RFA Better” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Is RFA<\/span><\/b>-Certified Coffee<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Better?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As with any certification scheme, there are benefits and drawbacks that one needs to consider before definitively stating that coffee with the seal is objectively \u201cbetter\u201d than coffee without it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of the certifications that are most commonly found in coffee, RFA does seem to have the most comprehensive list of standards regarding human rights, including living and working conditions, provisions for health- and childcare, sick time and maternity leave, contracts for temporary and permanent workers, and protections on workers\u2019 rights to assemble and to air grievances safely. The environmental component is also more holistic, generally speaking, than organic certification, as it not only takes the farmland itself into consideration, but also the surrounding forest, natural resources, and local communities.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On the other hand, there are some vague aspects to the certification, such as the costs for producers to achieve and maintain certification, and the lack of either a fixed-price premium or a minimum floor price that offers risk protection in the case of a market collapse. There is also no specific cup-quality requirement, which can lead to confusion in the marketplace.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”outro” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Can I Sell RFA-Certified Coffee?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In order to sell coffee products with the Rainforest Alliance seal on them, roasters must arrange for their own auditing and certification process: You can find the guidelines and requirements\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. As a Rainforest Alliance\u2013certified business, your roastery would be responsible for traceability and record-keeping, as well as paying the volume-based royalty<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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