New Royalty Schedule, FAQ and resources

The royalty rate for cocoa, coffee, tea, orange juice, and fresh bananas have increased due to inflationary pressures. The Rainforest Alliance has not raised our royalty rates since we first introduced them more than 13 years ago.    

In that time, global inflation has risen 44%, and over 20% since 2020.  The royalty rate increase taking effect on July 1, 2024 represents an approximately 17.5% price increase, less than half the amount global inflation has risen since we first introduced royalty fees.  To maintain the quality and integrity of our certification program, we can no longer absorb the entirety of these costs.  

New royalty rate increases for cocoa, coffee, tea, orange juice, and fresh bananas will take effect on July 1, 2024. All transactions confirmed or redeemed (or reported date for tea royalty events) from July 1, 2024 in MultiTrace, our traceability system, will be charged the increased royalty rate.  

If the activity date on a transaction is input in MultiTrace as prior to July 1, but the transaction is confirmed on or after July 1, 2024, the new rates will be charged to a company.  

In August 2024, companies will begin to receive invoices which reflect our updated royalty rates.   

All transactions confirmed or redeemed from July 1, 2024 in MultiTrace, our traceability system, will be charged the increased royalty rate. If the activity date on a transaction is input in MultiTrace as prior to July 1, but the transaction is confirmed on or after July 1, 2024, the new rates will be charged to a company.  

The Rainforest Alliance introduced royalty rates for nuts, coconut oil, herbs and spices, vegetables, fresh (other than bananas) and processed fruits (other than orange juice) in recent years. Because these royalty rates were recently introduced or updated, they do not require an inflation adjustment at this stage.

The Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit organization with a mission to transform agricultural practices, supporting biodiversity conservation and promoting sustainable livelihoods. We use standards and certification as a key mechanism to achieve this.  

As such, we incur costs that arise from developing standards and policies, managing the certification scheme, maintaining databases, validating certification claims, measuring the impact of certification, raising public awareness and promoting the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal in the marketplace.

No, these changes in royalty rates do not apply to SD/SI. The Rainforest Alliance does not gain any revenue or fees associated with companies paying the Sustainability Differential and Sustainability Investment (SD/SI). 

Royalty revenue will not go directly to farmers.  However, there are many benefits to being part of our certification program for farmers.  As part of our services, we provide technical assistance and training to help farmers be more profitable and efficient.    

By charging royalty fees, we can effectively manage our certification program and finance improvement and innovations in our program.  We incur other costs that arise from developing standards and policies, such as managing the certification scheme, maintaining databases, validating certification claims, measuring the impact of certification, in addition to raising public awareness of and promoting the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal in the marketplace.   

The Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit organization with a mission to transform agricultural practices, supporting biodiversity conservation and promoting sustainable livelihoods. We use revenue from our certification program to advance our mission, finance maintenance of and improvements in the certification program, and provide tailored marketing support to companies.  

We do not anticipate raising fees in the next 12 months.    

As per our terms and conditions, we periodically review rates and may raise them where appropriate, but in those cases where we do raise rates, we will provide at least 3 months' notice to all affected companies.   

We are giving more than 6 months’ notice in this occasion and the increase is below the average level of inflation since 2020. Since we first introduced royalty rates more than 13 years ago, global inflation has risen 44% and over 20% since 2020.  

There is never a good time to increase prices. The new rates only apply for transactions confirmed or redeemed (or reported date for tea royalty events) from July 1, 2024 in MultiTrace, our traceability system, giving supply chain actors more than 6 months’ notice to prepare for this change.  

The Rainforest Alliance periodically reviews its royalty rates and changes them when appropriate.  In cases where we do raise royalty rates, we will provide at least 3 months’ advance notice as required by our License Agreement.   

The Rainforest Alliance works to maximize impact for every dollar it spends.  We have over 35 years of experience finding solutions to complex sustainability issues.  We maintain a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator because of our commitment to transparency and to keeping our overhead costs low. 

No – for each affected sector (coffee, cocoa, tea, orange juice, and fresh bananas) the rate increase is slightly different.  You can find the updated royalty rates for each sector in the appendix (link to appendix).   

Yes – the increase is the same regardless of where a crop comes from.  For each crop, royalty rates are different, but all rates are applied the same regardless of geography.  

In the over 13 years since we first introduced royalty fees, we have been able to maintain the same prices through finding efficiencies and innovations to make our systems more efficient.  After the recent years of high inflation, we could no longer absorb the entirety of inflation-related pressures.    

Since we first introduced royalties, global inflation has increased 44% and since 2020, global inflation has increased 20%, which is higher than the 17.5% we are instituting.

Non-payment will disrupt future ability to buy, sell or label any products Rainforest Alliance Certified. If your supplier continues to fail to pay invoices, the company will lose the right to sell Rainforest Alliance Certified products and you will no longer be able to use the seal on your packaging or accompanying materials.

If you intend to use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal on your packaging, or make claims on products coming from Rainforest Alliance certified farms, you and your suppliers must have up-to-date declarations of volumes of products sold and purchased from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.  

Companies can find our current and new royalty rates  on our Cost of Certification webpage and in the Terms and Condition of our License Agreement.  

 The royalty schedule can also be found at the end of the Terms and Condition of our License Agreement.  The royalty schedule at the end of this document provides other helpful information such as when the royalty rate is charged in the supply chain. 

The terms of our license agreement with companies allows the Rainforest Alliance to change prices with three months notice.  We are notifying companies more than six months in advance of the change, which is more than double the amount of time we are required to give them.  

The price increase is non-negotiable.    

The Rainforest Alliance maintains a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and is committed to transparency.  The Rainforest Alliance does also provide regular updates about improvements in the standards and systems, advances that we would hope will be readily visible to participating companies. 

We also provide a financial summary in our Annual Report, which is available to the public.   

During our initial research and discussions with companies, we concluded that one rate per commodity was the fairest and most transparent formula – and the most practical to implement.

The rates were initially set to represent a small percentage of the traded price of the certified product and are charged very early on in the supply chain with equal rates for both large and small actors, not to disadvantage small players.  

Royalty fees are a license to participate in our certification program. No additional services are included as part of the royalty fee.

Royalty fees are not “a service charge” or a “fee for service.” It is a royalty fee for the use and licensing of the Rainforest Alliance name and trademarks.

We have also recently communicated to our coffee and cocoa company partners that our certified EUDR offering will come at no additional cost. Do not make any promises or imply that the price increase for royalty fees is in any way related to EUDR compliance or any other additional service.

There will be no exemptions for any pre-agreed contracts related to the price increase we are proposing.

We are providing more than 6 months' notice of the price increase, which is more than double the 3 months' notice we are required to give companies per the terms of our license agreement.