(3 Minutes Read)
Rainforest Alliance Certified agricultural produce can now opt-in to specific criteria that align with European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements in the Rainforest Alliance certification platform.
This will allow companies to source from participating farms, trace those ingredients through their supply chains, and leverage farm data by the regulation’s deadline to prove that they have a system in place to assess and mitigate deforestation risks in their supply chains, at no additional cost – supporting them to make a big leap towards full compliance.
The regulation will require companies and traders placing products that contain any of the seven deforestation-risk commodities – including coffee and cocoa – on the EU market, or exporting them from the EU, to prove by 30 December 2024 that these products do not originate from land deforested after 31 December 2020.
Leveraging its globally recognised certification program, the Rainforest Alliance helps farmers collect and process crucial geo-coordinates for their farms. This information is vital for the accurate mapping of deforestation risks, with the analysis conducted at the farm level using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The process integrates Rainforest Alliance’s proprietary AI remote sensing forest data alongside other publicly available and government data sources to map deforestation risks, which improves accuracy compared to relying solely on open-source data methods.
Farmer groups then use these risk maps for their internal deforestation checks, particularly in high-risk areas. As an additional layer of assurance, independent, third-party auditors use these maps to conduct risk-based verification of no-deforestation, as mandated by the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. The combination of traceability, proprietary AI forest mapping, and auditing offers a unique solution to coffee and cocoa companies.
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The Rainforest Alliance has been working to tackle tropical deforestation in global supply chains for more than 35 years. Traceability has always been the backbone of that approach and it will continue to develop its offerings for farmers and companies whose supply chains must meet the obligations of EUDR. Mid-2024, it will also roll out the data reporting for companies using the Rainforest Alliance EUDR offering for certified cocoa and coffee supply chains. Additionally, efforts will be made to create solutions for companies purchasing non-certified cocoa and coffee.
