What is Rainforest Alliance certification in coffee?

Rainforest Alliance certification is an independent, third-party sustainability certification verifying that coffee was produced using practices meeting standards for environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, social equity, and farmer and worker wellbeing.

The Rainforest Alliance merged with UTZ Certified in 2018, combining two programmes into a unified standard. Farms are assessed against a risk-based scorecard covering soil and water management, biodiversity, worker rights and welfare, farm management systems, and climate adaptation. The frog logo is one of the most recognised sustainability marks in the global food sector.

Importantly, Rainforest Alliance certification does not require organic practices - chemical use is permitted within defined limits. This distinguishes it from organic certification while still addressing environmental management. For buyers, it's a useful sustainability signal, but it's worth understanding what it does and doesn't require before treating it as equivalent to organic or Fairtrade.