RAINFOREST ALLIANCE
GUIDANCE
GUIDANCE TO DEFINE IF AN ORGANIZATIONIS IN SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION
Version 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.

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Document Name:Document Code: Version:

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

SA-G-GA-43-V1

V.1.0

Valid From:

Expires by:

January 31, 2022

January 31, 2022

Until further notice

N/A

Developed by:Approved by:Rainforest Alliance Department Standards Director of Standards and Assuranceand 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
Alliance certification system; please see
Certification Rules.

Farm and Supply Chain certification

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 ......................................................................................................................4
1.

When is an organization in Scope of Certification?.....................................................................42.

Types of Certification: Farm and Supply Chain ............................................................................73.

Certification Scope ............................................................................................................................84.

Which entities can be included in the certification scope? ......................................................84.1.

Sites ................................................................................................................................................94.2.

Subcontractors ............................................................................................................................94.3.

Farms .......................................................................................................................................... 11

4.4.

Intermediary ............................................................................................................................. 11

4.5.

Service Provider (Including labor providers) ...................................................................... 12

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OBJECTIVE OF THIS DOCUMENTThe objective of this document is to support organizations in determining whether they needto register and get certified under the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program prior tothe organization registering in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP).
Several factors influence whether an organization is in scope of certification. The following
guidance therefore helps organizations understand in which case registration and/orcertification is applicable.

1. WHEN IS AN ORGANIZATION IN SCOPE OF
CERTIFICATION?
The factors that influence whether an organization needs to go through registration and get
certified (i.e., is in scope of certification) depend on the types of activities an organization isinvolved in.
In general, an organization is in scope of certification if any of the following apply:• They are involved in farming activities• They are involved in physical handling of certified products (e.g., packing, processing)• They take legal ownership of certified products (e.g., trading)In general, an organization is out of scope of certification if any of the following apply:• They store or transport certified products without making any modification to theproduct or the packaging (transport, most warehousing). For more information onwhich warehouses are in/out of scope of certification please refer to the table furtherbelow.
• They handle/distribute a final consumer product between the final productmanufacturer and retailer and do not make any modifications to the final consumer
product. Retailers may still be in scope of certification depending on their activities.
Please see further below when this might be the case.
Organizations that are out of scope of certification do not need to register in the RACP or get
certified. They also do not need to keep traceability of certified products.
Some brand owners are also in scope of certification if the following apply:• They are involved in the manufacturing, processing, packing or otherwise handling of
the finished consumer products sold under their own brand.
Brand owners in scope of certification must register in the RACP and obtain a certificate. For
further details please Please refer to this decision tree.
Some retailers are in scope of certification if both of the following apply:• They are involved in selling Rainforest Alliance Certified products as private label or as
non-branded products (in this case the retailer is considered a brand owner)• They actively manage purchasing contracts for certified volumes
Retailers in scope of certification must register in the RACP and obtain a certificate. For furtherdetails please refer to this decision tree.
The table below provides examples of these activities and indicates when organizations that
perform them are required to register and get certified. Please note, if these activities areoutsourced to other organizations such as subcontractors, intermediaries, or service providers,registration and certification may be done by the contracting organization on behalf of theSA-G-GA-43-V1

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contracted organization, or by the provider directly. More information on this can be found in
the section ‘Which entities can be included in my certification scope’ below.
If you don’t see the activities performed by your organization on the table below, pleasereach out to customersuccess@ra.org for further guidance.

Type ofOrganization

Activities

Registration
required

Certification
required

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

NoNo

Farming

FarmOrganization

All farming activities used for
agricultural production as well asprocessing activities of certified
volumes on farm level.
Example: Coffee beans being grownon a coffee plantation.

Packing
The action or process of putting
products into a package. Packing
takes place at different stages in the
supply chain and includes final
consumer product packing.
Example 1: A packer receives green
coffee in jute bags. The jute bags areopened, and green coffee is rebagged into bigger bags.
Example 2: A packer receives analready packed chocolate and puts itin an outer box (or bigger pack) on
which he applies the seal.

Trading (e.g., importing,exporting)

Supply ChainActor

The process of purchasing and sellingcertified product without modifying or
physically touching the certifiedproduct.
Example 1: A cocoa exporter buying
and selling cocoa powder.
Example 2: A coffee exporter buying
and selling green coffee.

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

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Processing
The process of physically alteringcertified product resulting in a different
output from the input. (e.g.,manufacturing, roasting, blending)
Example: A cake manufacturer mixing
cocoa power with other ingredients tomake product cakes (B2B, B2C).

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo

Please refer todecision tree

Please refer todecision tree

Please refer todecision tree

Please refer todecision tree

NoNo

Warehousing
The process of storing certified productwithout making any modifications to it.
This can happen at various stages inthe supply chain and thus involve nonfinal or final consumer products.
Example 1: A warehouse that storesgreen coffee until it is purchased byanother organization (productdestination not known).
Example 2: A warehouse that storesgreen coffee but the buyer for thatcoffee is already known prior to its
arrival at the warehouse.
Example 3: A warehouse that storesfinal labeled coffee products ready forconsumption.

Transportation onlyAny organization that only engages intransporting, e.g., trucking, flying, boat,etc. the certified product, without
making any modifications to it.
Example: Logistics organization thatdrives green coffee bags from the farmto the trader’s warehouse.

Final product distributor
Any organization that purchases andsells already packaged and labeled
final products ready for consumption.
Example: Organization receives
already-packaged and labeledproducts (e.g., chocolate bars) fromthe final manufacturer and transports
them to a retailer.

Retail entity
Any organization that purchases andsells labelled, final products toconsumers.

Brand owner
Any organization that sells B2B or B2C
any final consumer products under its
own brand. This may include private
label brands/store brands owned byretail companies.

DesignAgency1

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Designing artwork for packageof certified product
Example: A graphic design agency
hired by an organization to submit
artwork on their behalf.

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1 If a design agency wishes to submit trademark requests on behalf of another organization, it will haveto be added and linked to the organization’s Marketplace 2.0 account. Please note that the organization
the design agency will submit for must first register in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform for ourRainforest Alliance 2020 Certification Program. Then, a new Rainforest Alliance account for theorganization will be automatically created on Marketplace and the design agency will be able to beadded.

2. TYPES OF CERTIFICATION: FARM AND SUPPLY CHAIN
Certified organizations can be organizations that perform farming activities and/or supply
chain activities. Any organization that is certified in the Rainforest Alliance Certification
Program and holds a valid certificate is called a certificate holder (CH).
••Any organization that performs farming activities is considered a farm certificate holder(CH), – whether they also perform other supply chain activities such as processing etc.
Any organization that does not perform any farming activities but takes legal and/or
physical possession of certified volumes throughout the supply chain is considered a
supply chain certificate holder (CH).

Farm Certification
Any organization that performs farming activities is considered a farm CH. If the organization
has several sites, some of which engage in farming, and some in processing or other activities,
the organization is always considered a farm CH because their activities include farming.
The table below provides the definitions of the different types of farm CHs:

Farm CHs
Farm scope, single farm

Farm scope, group of farms

Farm scope, multi-farm

A single farm that owns or manages one farm location withan independent organizational structure, whereby
management and all activities take place at a single
physical location.
A group of organized farms (group members) that
implements a common management system. The groupcan be organized as an association or cooperative or bemanaged by a farm or other supply chain actor such as anexporter or another entity.
Two or more farm locations owned or rented by one entity
whose operations and farming practices are managed
centrally, regardless of certification.

An organization that is processing product for a farm must be certified. There are two options
to get certified:a) The organization is included in the farm certification. This means that the farm CH adds
the processing organization as a site to its certification scope. In this case the farm CH
takes responsibility for the compliance of the processing site with all applicablerequirements (In this case the organization applies for farm certification).
b) The processing organization can get its own certification and would therefore have toregister separately. The responsibility for compliance with the applicable requirements
is then solely with that organization (In this case, the processing organization applies
for supply chain certification- see below).

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Supply Chain Certification
Any organization that does not perform any farming activities is considered a supply chain CH.
Supply chain certification will apply to any organization/actor taking legal and/or physicalpossession of certified volumes throughout the supply chain, starting with the first actor legallyowning (i.e. purchasing) the certified volume after a farm CH.

The table below provides the definitions of the different types of supply chain CHs:

Supply Chain CHs
Supply chain scope, single
site
Supply chain scope, multisite

An organization that does not have farming in the scope ofits Rainforest Alliance certification and has an identifiedcentral location that is the only site within the operation.
An organization that does not have farming in the scope of
its Rainforest Alliance certification and has an identified
central location under which one or more sites areoperating.

3. CERTIFICATION SCOPE
The Certification Scope of an organization refers to the crops, activities, sites, and entities a CH
wishes to certify. If the organization is in scope of certification, it needs to register in the RACP
and provide information on all crops, activities, sites, and entities that are to be certified todefine the organization’s certification scope. The certification scope determines which farmand/or supply chain requirements of the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Standard are applicable.

4. WHICH ENTITIES CAN BE INCLUDED IN THE CERTIFICATIONSCOPE?
An organization can include different entities in their certification scope. The types of entities
that can be included in a CH's certification scope are:Sites
Subcontractors
Farms
Intermediaries
Service providers
The CH is responsible for ensuring the compliance with all applicable requirements with the2020 Rainforest Alliance Standard and 2020 Certification and Auditing Rules for all entitiesincluded in their certification scope (2020 Certification and Auditing Rules, Rule 1.1.8). Thismeans that the CH's central administrator will be required to take full responsibility forregistering all relevant sites, subcontractors, farms, intermediaries and service providers in theirRACP account and ensuring their compliance with the applicable requirements. In this casethese entities are not required to register or get certified separately.

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4.1. SITES
If an organization has an identified central location with one or more sites operating
underneath (also referred to as multi-site), all the sites can be registered in one account in theRACP. This means that the different sites will not have to register individually or go through aseparate registration process. In this case the multi-site administrator must add each individualsite as an entity within the organizational profile of the registered organization in the RACP.
It is important to note, that for a multi-site certification (at supply chain level) only sites fallingin the same geographical region can be included in the same certification scope. For
example, a site in the United States cannot be included in the certification scope of a multisite with only sites located in Europe. The verification level is calculated for each individual siteusing a Supply Chain Risk Assessment (SCRA). Based on the results of the SCRA, each site will
either receive an endorsement or will be required to undergo an audit to finish the certification
procedure.

4.2. SUBCONTRACTORS
Subcontractors (see definition) can eithera) be included in the certification scope of one or several CHs orb) obtain their own certificate.
Example: A packer receiving green coffee in jute bags, re-opening them to put the green
coffee into bigger bags. In this case, the packer could decide to either a) be included in thecertification scope of each of the CHs it is contracted by, or b) obtain its own certificate.
Option a: The subcontractor is included in the certification scope of one or several CHs.
The subcontractor does not need to register and become certified individually. They only need
to be included in the certification account in the RACP of the CH(s) who contract them. In thiscase the subcontractor will be certified as part of the CH(s)’ certificate but will not receive its
own certificate.

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Subcontractor included in the certification scope of several CHs:

Option b: The subcontractor obtains individual certification
A subcontractor may choose to get certified individually by registering in the RACP anddefining its certification scope based on the activities it performs. This means the subcontractor
will also have to go through the registration independently, receive its own certificationaccount, and obtain its own certificate. Certain transaction responsibilities may also apply.
Since the subcontractor is independently certified under the Rainforest Alliance Certification
Program, it does not need to be included in the certification scope of any CH it offers services
to. This option is recommended for subcontractors that perform activities for several CHs, since
it can reduce the number of audits they are required to undergo.

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4.3. FARMS
For a definition of what entails a farm organization, please see here.
Entities that can be included by a farm CH are all entities mentioned under section A, B, Dand E.

4.4. INTERMEDIARY
iIntermediaries (see definition) can only be part of farm certification and can be included in
the certification scope of one or several farm CHs. Example: Small traders such as "pisteurs" inCote d'Ivoire or "manavs" in Turkey, who source from different producers to supply farm CHs. In
this case, the intermediary (e.g., a pisteur in Cote d’Ivoire) only needs to be covered by thecertification of the farm CH/CHs and does not need to register and become certified
individually.

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4.5. SERVICE PROVIDER (INCLUDING LABOR PROVIDERS)
Service providers (see definition) cannot be certified independently and must therefore be
included in the certification scope of the farm CHs to whom they provide services. This means,the service provider then only needs to be added in the RACP under the certification accountof the farm CH/CHs but does not need to register and become certified individually.
Service providers included in the certification scope of one farm CH:

Service providers included in the certification scope of several farm CHs:

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