Ethical organisations the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ are to merge, with the two bodies to operate a single certification standard.
In a joint statement, the organisations said the new standard would “utilise the respective strengths of the current Sustainable Agriculture Network and UTZ standards while creating a single auditing process for certificate holders.”
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The Rainforest Alliance helped convene the Sustainable Agriculture Network in the late 1990s. The Mexico-based Sustainable Agriculture Network, of which the Rainforest Alliance, is a member, is an association of NGOs set up in 1997 that works towards “the conservation of biodiversity and rural development”.
Last year, the Rainforest Alliance and the Sustainable Agriculture Network revised their certification standard to take in “recent innovations in sustainable agriculture”. The organisations, for example, built in “climate-smart agricultural practices” and stated a “key goal” of reducing forest conversion for agriculture.
Announcing their merger yesterday, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ said their “future sustainability standard” would be “an easier path for companies to achieve proven sustainability certification, allowing them to drive innovation throughout their supply chains”.
They added: “Streamlining the certification process will also help the 182,000 cocoa, coffee and tea farmers currently certified under both standards and new farmers alike to invest more efficiently in sustainability, avoiding a double administrative load of working with two standards and certification systems.”
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By GlobalDataThe enlarged company will retain the Rainforest Alliance name. The organisations said using the Rainforest Alliance “helps retain well-established engagement with consumers”.
Han de Groot, the executive director of UTZ, will become the CEO of the Rainforest Alliance. De Groot said a combination would give the organisation “more influence”. He added: “The challenges we work on are more urgent than ever: climate change, deforestation, systemic poverty and inequality are increasingly intertwined with the way we manage land and produce food and forest products. The future Rainforest Alliance will have a bigger reach and stronger voice, allowing it to better protect the natural environment and allow farmers, businesses and consumers to be make even more responsible choices, more easily.”
Nigel Sizer, the president of the Rainforest Alliance, will take on a role of chief programme officer, advocacy, landscapes and livelihoods. Sizer said: “Our missions are very similar, to work with farmers and communities in an effort to protect the natural environment and help mitigate the effects of climate change on a global scale. By uniting with UTZ, and partnered with SAN, we will combine our strengths to expand our impact on improving the lives of farmers and forest communities, protecting biodiversity and championing companies that are on the path to sustainability.”
