RAINFOREST ALLIANCE
GUIDANCE
GUIDANCE TO DEFINE IF AN ORGANIZATIONIS IN SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION
Version 1.1© 2021 Rainforest Alliance. All rights reserved.

Translation Disclaimer
For any question related to the precise meaning of the information contained in thetranslation, please refer to the English official version for clarification. Any discrepancies ordifferences in meaning due to translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing orcertification purposes.

More information?
For more information about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org orcontact info@ra.org
Document Name:

Document Code: Version: Language:

Guidance to define if an
Organization is in Scope ofCertification
Date of first
Date of revision:
publication:

SA-G-GA-43

V.1.1

Valid From:

Expires by:

January 31, 2022

Immediately

Until further notice

June 6th, 2023

EN

Developed by:Approved by:Rainforest Alliance Department
Standards and Assurance

Director of Standards and Assurance

Linked to:2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification and Auditing Rules

Replaces:
N/A

Applicable to:(prospective) Certificate Holders

Country/Region:
GlobalCrop:

Type of Certification:

All crops in the scope of the Rainforest
Farm and Supply Chain certification
Alliance certification system; please seeCertification Rules.

This guidance document is non-binding. This means that this document provides important
information to help readers understand, interpret and implement the requirements set out in thedocuments listed in the section “linked to” above. However, following the guidance in thisdocument is not mandatory.

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Objective of this document
Several factors influence whether an organization is in scope of certification for the Rainforest
Alliance Certification program, based on the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard. This
guidance supports organizations to understand whether they need to register in theRainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP) and get certified under our program.

When is an organization in Scope of Certification?
Whether an organization needs to go through registration and get certified depends on thetypes of activities it is involved in.
In general, an organization is in scope of certification if any of the following apply:• It is involved in farming activities• It is involved in the physical handling of certified products, such as packing orprocessing• It purchases and sells certified products (e.g. trading)In general, an organization is out of scope of certification if any of the following apply:• It only stores or transports certified products without making any modification to theproduct or the packaging (transport, most warehousing).
• It distributes a final consumer-facing product and does not make any modifications tothe product. In the case of retailers and brand owners, please see the table below forfurther clarification.
Organizations that are out of scope of certification do not need to register in RACP or getcertified.

EXAMPLES PER ACTIVITY
The table below provides examples of different activities a company may be involved in andindicates the cases in which companies are required to register and get certified.
If you don’t see the activities performed by your organization in the table below, pleasereach out to customersuccess@ra.org for further guidance.

Activities

Registration &Certification
requiredFarm Certificate Holders
Farming
All farming activities used for agricultural production as well as processing
activities of certified volumes on farm level.

SA-G-GA-43-V1.13Example: Coffee beans being grown on a coffee plantation.

Yes

Supply Chain Certificate Holders
Packing
The process of putting products into a package, or repacking products in adifferent package. Packing takes place at different stages in the supply chain
and includes final consumer-facing product packing.
Example 1: A packer receives green coffee in jute bags. The jute bags areopened, and green coffee is re-bagged into bigger bags. Note: Coffee that is firstsorted then packed is still considered a packing activity.
Example 2: A packer receives an already packed chocolate and puts it in anouter box (or bigger pack) on which it applies the seal.
Example 3: A packer receives avocado in boxes, removes them from the boxes
and repackages them for sale to another entity.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Trading
The process of purchasing and selling certified product without modifying or
physically handling the certified product.
Example 1: A cocoa exporter buying and selling cocoa powder.
Example 2: An importer trading branded fresh fruit.

Yes
Yes

Central Management Location
The central management site of a company responsible for purchasing andselling the certified product.
Example 1: A company has a central administration site which is the legal ownerof the certified product, and is responsible for all purchasing and selling contracts,
even though that site never physically receives the certified product.
Example 2: A coffee exporter buying and selling green coffee.

Yes
Yes

Intracompany finance entities
An entity within the same legal structure as the actual certificate holder, andwhich is solely responsible for payment of the Rainforest Alliance Certifiedproduct. The payment entity does not make purchasing contracts and decisionswith regards to the Rainforest Alliance Certified product.
Example: Organization X has multiple sites in one region. Site A handles allpurchase and sale contracts and dictates volumes of Rainforest Alliance Certified
product purchased. Site B facilitates the payment on behalf of site A to suppliers.
In this case site B does not require certification.

NoBanks/Financiers
An entity providing funds to another entity for the purchase of certified volumes.

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Example 1: A financier/bank is providing funds to organization X for them to beable to trade. Apart from providing the funds, the financier/bank does not legallyown the certified volumes or perform any other activities with those volumes.

No

Example 2: Similar to Example 1, but the financier/bank becomes legal owner ofthe certified volumes (even if just temporarily).

Yes

Processing
The process of physically altering certified product resulting in a different output(eg. manufacturing, roasting, blending)
Example: A cake manufacturer mixing cocoa powder with other ingredients toproduce cakes (B2B or B2C).

Yes

Warehousing
The process of storing certified product without making any modifications to it. An
entity buying and selling is not classified as a warehouse and should refer to theTrading activities above. This can happen at various stages in the supply chain
and thus involve non-final or final consumer-facing products.
Example 1: A warehouse that only stores green coffee until it is purchased byanother organization (whether the buyer is already known or not). No otheractivity is performed at that location.

No

Example 2: A warehouse that stores finished labeled coffee products ready forconsumption.

No

Example 3: A warehouse/ripening facility that is only used to store bananas while
they ripen. No other activity is performed.

No

Example 4: A warehouse that also performs blending, roasting or other processing
activities. This would be considered a processor but may be referred to as awarehouse in some regions.

Yes

Transportation only
Any organization that only engages in transporting (e.g. by trucking, plane, boat,etc.) the certified product, without making any modifications to it.
Example: Logistics organization that drives green coffee bags from the farm to thetrader’s warehouse.

NoFinal product distributor
Any organization that purchases and sells already packaged and labeled final
consumer-facing products ready for consumption.
Example: Organization receives already -packaged and labeled products (e.g.
chocolate bars) from the final manufacturer and transports them to a retailer.

No

Subcontractor
An organization contracted by another organization to perform activities such as
packing or processing on their behalf. A subcontractor is never the legal owner ofthe certified product.

Yes1

1 Subcontractors can either register and get certified individually or be added as part of thecontracting organization’s certification scope, in which case the contracting organization is responsible
for the subcontractor’s compliance with the applicable requirements of Rainforest Alliance’s 2020
Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

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Brand owner
Rainforest Alliance Certified final consumer-facing products are sold under theirown brand. The manufacturing of these products can be in the scope of thebrand owner or contracted out to a manufacturer.

Retailer
Any organization that purchases and sells already packaged and labelled, final
products to consumers, as private label or non-branded products, or under theirown brand.

YesYes(Please refer todecision tree forfurther detail)Design Agency
An organization contracted by another organization for the design of packagesof final consumer-facing products using Rainforest Alliance’s certification seal.

No2

2 If a design agency wishes to submit trademark requests certification claims on behalf of anotherorganization, you will have to register in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP). You do
not need to sign a License Agreement 2020 or be added as a sublicensee on another organization’sLicense Agreement 2020. Please note that the organization(s) you will be linked to much first register inthe Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform for our Rainforest Alliance Certification Program.

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