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Rainforest Alliance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editors & Producers: Side interviews can be arranged upon request
May 10, 2010
Contact: Abby Ray, 646-452-1939, aray@ra.org
Leaders in Sustainability Honored at Rainforest Alliance Gala
New York - The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization focused onsustainable farming, forestry and tourism, names the 2010 honorees for its annual gala on
May 12 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Companies
continue to make bold commitments to sustainability, despite an uncertain economic
landscape, and these commitments improve livelihoods and conserve biodiversity on theground. The annual gala recognizes companies and individuals for their work with theRainforest Alliance on making sustainable supply chain decisions, or for their longtime
support of conservation work.
“Twenty years ago, the Rainforest Alliance had only a handful of companies working
with us on their supply chains, and now we have thousands,” said Tensie Whelan,president of the Rainforest Alliance. “The companies and individuals honored during
our annual gala are those that show leadership in their efforts to make farms, forests andtourism operations more sustainable so that future generations may also enjoy them.”
The 2010 honorees are:Sustainable Standard-Setters (recognizing businesses and individuals with strong
commitments to sustainability that champion conservation, improve the environmentand support local communities):
Pierrick Chouard of Vintage Plantations Chocolates
Columbia Forest Products
Côte d’Or Chocolate
Glenn Jampol and Teresa Osman of Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Inn
JD Wetherspoon
Kenya Tea Development Agency
Willamette Valley Vineyards

2010 Gala Co-chairs:
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.
Suzano Pulp and Paper
The honorees and co-chairs will come together on May 12 with other business leaders
and representatives from the Rainforest Alliance for a day-long workshop on marketingsustainability and certification at a location in downtown Manhattan. Following theworkshop, they will join other Rainforest Alliance supporters for an awards dinner,
dancing and a silent auction at the American Museum of Natural History. Gala proceeds
benefit the Rainforest Alliance’s work in sustainable agriculture, forestry and tourism.
Achievements of the 2010 gala honorees:
Pierrick Chouard of Vintage Plantations Chocolates
In the late 1990s, Pierrick Chouard – at the time, manager of a French chocolatecompany – paid a visit to the Dominican Republic to research local cocoa farms. It wasan eye-opening experience for Chouard, who was unaware of the depth and complexityof the social, environmental and economic challenges facing cocoa farmers in Latin
America and the Caribbean. Following the trip, Chouard developed a class tointroduce cocoa farmers to better farming practices and began contemplating launching
his own line of sustainably grown specialty chocolate. Chouard approached theRainforest Alliance with a generous donation to jump-start a development project in theDominican Republic and a desire to identify a sustainable source for his new line ofchocolate products. Together, we agreed to connect with potential suppliers in Ecuador,
where the Rainforest Alliance was already engaged with a number of farmers. By 2004,
Vintage Plantations Arriba chocolate had hit the shelves and become the first-evercocoa product to bear the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ green frog seal. Today, 100
percent of the cocoa used in Vintage’s delicious chocolates comes from farms that
protect the environment and the rights and welfare of local communities.
Columbia Forest Products
In the late 1990’s Columbia Forest Products -- North America’s leading producer ofhardwood plywood and hardwood veneer -- identified certification as an opportunity todifferentiate its products in the marketplace. Soon after, it became the firstmanufacturer of its kind to secure a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest
Alliance Chain-of-Custody certificate, and more than a decade later it provides theindustry’s most comprehensive line of FSC-certified decorative hardwood panel
products. Columbia has incorporated other game-changing practices into its operations,too -- for example, eliminating the use of urea formaldehyde from its manufacturing
process. According to Columbia, working with the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood
program “positioned us to make substantial changes in the makeup of our product lines
and helped our merchandise to resonate with increasingly sophisticated andenvironmentally-conscious consumers.”
Côte d’Or Chocolate
Thanks to a momentous commitment and pioneering efforts from Kraft Foods,
consumers across Europe and North America are experiencing the delicious taste ofsustainably grown cocoa. With Côte d’Or premium line of chocolate products now
containing at least 30 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa content, Kraft
Foods is demonstrating its meaningful investment in sustainability and responsible
agriculture. It’s a commitment that will continue to deepen: by 2012, all of the cocoa
in Kraft Foods Côte d’Or and Marabou chocolate products will be sourced fromcertified farms. For thousands of West African farmers and their families, this means
access to health care, safety equipment and education services.
Glenn Jampol and Teresa Osman of Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Inn
For conservation-conscious tourists and eco-curious coffee lovers, Finca Rosa Blanca isan essential destination. A coffee plantation and inn, it has been awarded a prestigious
five green leaves and a perfect 100 percent score from Costa Rica's Certification forSustainable Tourism program and Rainforest Alliance certification (plus widerecognition) for sustainable farm management. Finca Rosa Blanca has also
demonstrated a real commitment to the betterment of its local community. For the past
20 years, the inn's owners have donated five percent of their annual bar and restaurant
revenue to community projects, enabling the construction of a new library, dining roomand computer center at their local school, developing a community-wide recycling
center and providing continuous support to the Children’s Food Bank and Kitchen.

JD Wetherspoon
With ongoing sustainability initiatives at its 757 pubs and 16 hotels located throughout
the UK, JD Wetherspoon has been quietly demonstrating its commitment to ethicalbusiness for some time. In 2004, Wetherspoon launched a company-wide recycling
initiative and began bringing all of its recycled waste to a national distribution center. In2009 alone, nearly 5,500 tons of cardboard, used cooking oil, plastic packaging, paperand steel were recycled through the initiative. The company is also working to reduce
its energy consumption by 15 percent by the end of 2010 and collaborating with
suppliers to minimize packaging. In addition, Wetherspoon has begun adopting
responsible sourcing practices and now purchases 100 percent Rainforest Alliance
Certified™ coffee for all of its pub locations -- a real boon for coffee growing
communities, wildlife and the environment.
Kenya Tea Development Agency
Producing some 60 percent of Kenya’s tea, the Kenya Tea Development Agency (alsoknown as KTDA) has been working with its farmers to make the case for socially andenvironmentally responsible agriculture for some time. In 2006, KTDA and one of its
main buyers, Unilever -- supported by the UK’s Department for InternationalDevelopment -- launched a pilot program to demonstrate the value of sustainableagriculture among its small-scale farmers. The project was a resounding success. By theclose of 2009, KTDA had achieved Rainforest Alliance certification on more than
38,000 of its smallholder tea farms- a development that has truly benefited the agency,
farmers and factory employees. Today, KTDA’s Rainforest Alliance Certified tea iscommanding a higher price, workers and farmers have critical safety equipment andemployees and farmers now understand the very real value of soil, water and wildlife
conservation.

Willamette Valley Vineyards
If Willamette Valley Vineyards wanted to save $250,000 a year, it could stop using
natural cork stoppers and transition to metal screw caps or plastic stoppers. Fortunately,the winemaker understands that that number does not reflect the true cost to theenvironment, which is why it pays a premium to seal its bottles with cork harvested

from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest Alliance Certified forestlands in theMediterranean. An overriding commitment to social, environmental and economic
sustainability is apparent throughout Willamette Valley Vineyards’ business operations.
All of the company’s properties have been certified by LIVE (Low Input Viticulture andEnology) as well as Salmon-Safe. The vineyard also offers ten cents for every winebottle returned to its tasting room (regardless of origin), uses recycled paper throughout
its facilities and recycles all plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard.
Achievements of the 2010 gala co-chairs:
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.
One of Italy's oldest and most popular coffee roasters and sellers, Lavazza strives for
quality and innovation while maintaining a respect for tradition. Since 2004, theRainforest Alliance and Lavazza have collaborated on ¡Tierra!, a project to help small
coffee growing communities in Honduras, Peru and Colombia improve their living andworking conditions and become more competitive and self-sufficient. Through theinitiative, farmers have learned to protect wildlife, waterways and forests by using
eco-friendly techniques – for example, controlling pests without the use of dangerous
agrochemicals and replacing inefficient coffee mills with modern machinery thatconserves water and controls pollution. The project has borne fruit: Since 2005,
Rainforest Alliance Certified ¡Tierra! Coffee, a 100 percent premium Arabica blend, hasbeen sold in specialty and retail stores in many countries, including the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. Soon, Lavazza plans tointroduce ¡Tierra! to coffee-growing communities in Tanzania, India and Brazil, as well.
Suzano Pulp and Paper
Endangered species like the Juçara palm and the Bahia rosewood thrive on Suzano Pulpand Paper’s responsibly managed forestlands in the states of São Paulo, Espírito Santo,Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhão and Piauí. The 86-year-old pulp and paper company –which sells its products in more than 80 countries around the globe – has madeenvironmental stewardship a central part of its business strategy. It’s a commitment thathas paid off. One of the ten largest pulp producers in the world, Suzano attributes muchof its business success to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest Alliancecertification on its well-managed forestlands. With approximately 40 percent of its
597,000 hectares set aside as reserves -- and the rest complying with the FSC’s strictstandards for social, environmental and economic sustainability -- it’s clear that
Suzano’s commitment has been profitable for the environment as well as the company’sbottom line.
Gala sponsors: Domtar, Gibson Foundation, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, National
Geographic Traveler and Nestlé Nespresso SA
BACKGROUND
Established more than 22 years ago, the Rainforest Alliance seeks to conserve
biodiversity through its programs in sustainable forestry, agriculture, tourism andclimate in over 76 countries worldwide. Through third-party certification of forestsand farm land and training on sustainable tourism practices, the organization helps
promote sustainable livelihoods. It also works with companies of all sizes on
improving the sustainability of their supply chains. During 2009, the organization saw
continued growth in the number of companies buying from Rainforest Alliance
Certified™ farms or forests -- an increase of 26 percent from the previous year. Inagriculture, the volume of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee sold in 2009 grew 41
percent from the previous year to 87,583 metric tons. In forestry, the Rainforest
Alliance's SmartWood program certified 22.2 million acres (9 million ha) of forestland,
increasing the program's overall forest management area 18 percent to 145 million acres(59 million ha) worldwide. For its work in tourism, the Rainforest Alliance received a2009 Travel + Leisure Global Vision Award for upping the ante for sustainability
standards in the tourism industry. The climate initiative has also seen an upsurge inactivity, to date validating or verifying 11 forest carbon projects representing 1,897,239
acres (768,113 ha).
The Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land,
helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. Fromlarge multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, businesses
and consumers worldwide are involved in the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to bring
responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand forsustainability is growing steadily. For more information, visit
www.rainforest-alliance.org.