Rainforest Alliance

Great reporting from Mark Hillsdon . The UK Forest Risk Commodities Regulation represents a critical step in helping the cocoa sector move beyond fragmented action and toward shared accountability. Many companies are already working to protect forests and strengthen farmer livelihoods. But illegal deforestation, human rights risks, and long-term supply chain resilience are not challenges any one company can solve alone. That is why aligned legislation and coalition-based action matter. Voluntary standards and certification still have an important role to play, but they can only go so far without a clear mandatory framework that creates consistent expectations across the market. At a time when accountability, transparency, and consumer trust are increasingly central to business resilience, this is an opportunity for the UK to provide the clarity needed to unlock investment and accelerate progress. Now is the moment for policymakers to respond to the call from companies, civil society, and producers to support their work to ensure implementation protects forests, supports livelihoods, and strengthens the long-term resilience of cocoa supply chains. Thanks to Mark and Reuters for shining a light on this important topic. Rainforest Alliance

This Earth Day I’m focused on one urgent fact: we must restore soils and tropical forests - the foundations of planetary health. Agriculture drives nearly 90% of deforestation and up to 40% of land is already degraded. Conventional practices like synthetic inputs, monocultures, and exposed soils are eroding the systems that produce our food and drinks. Regenerative agriculture flips that script: prioritizing soil health, water stewardship, biodiversity, climate resilience and viable livelihoods across plot, farm and landscape scales, reinforced by agroforestry and fairer farmer incomes. Markets will only change if companies treat regeneration as strategy, not PR. That’s why the Rainforest Alliance spent four years building a robust, third‑party verified Regenerative Agriculture Standard in 2025 as a credible pathway for measurable, on‑farm impact. Today I’m celebrating a tangible step forward: Lavazza Group ’s La Reserva de ¡Tierra! Selection, a professional coffee certified under our standard. Long‑term partnerships, rigorous standards, and farm‑level investment can deliver both exceptional coffee and healthier ecosystems. This Earth Day, we invite every coffee companies to embrace this transition so that every cup becomes part of the reparation of our planet, our shared home. Rainforest Alliance Lavazza Group #regenerativeagriculture #sustainability #regeneration

Today we had a very productive session with the team at Tostaduría Buen Café Guatemala, where we continued driving the adoption of the new Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform system and reinforcing the proper use of the certification seal. These sessions are key to ensuring that our partners not only understand the processes, but can also apply them effectively and in alignment with the new requirements. Last week, we also had the opportunity to work with Fedecocagua in a workshop focused on strengthening account management, reflecting our ongoing commitment to support each organization through this transition. We know there are important challenges ahead, but we remain focused on delivering practical solutions, close support, and building trust at every step of the process. Moving forward

🍌 This week we celebrated National Banana Day 🍌 Bananas are grown across tropical regions in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers and workers. But behind this everyday fruit are complex and often overlooked challenges. Banana production is highly dependent on monoculture systems, which can reduce biodiversity and make crops more vulnerable to pests and diseases. This often leads to intensive pesticide and fertilizer use, with impacts on soil health, water quality, and worker safety. At the same time, many producers face economic pressure from global markets—volatile prices, rising input costs, and unequal value distribution—making it harder to invest in more sustainable practices or ensure fair wages and working conditions. At the Rainforest Alliance, we work alongside farmers, companies, and communities to help address these challenges in a practical way. Through our Corporate Advisory Services, we support companies in taking concrete steps within their banana supply chains—mapping suppliers, assessing risks, exploring new sourcing origins, and implementing field projects that deliver measurable impact for farmers, communities, and ecosystems. 💚 National Banana Day is a reminder that supply chains are not abstract—they directly shape the well-being of people and the health of the ecosystems behind the food we eat. #BananaDay #RainforestAlliance #Sustainability #ResponsibleSourcing Nici Friedman , Annalisa Iovieno . Madiha Nawaz