29 May 2020 - The Rainforest Alliance acknowledges a story in the Guardian (UK) on allegations of non-conformities against our standard on certified pineapple plantations in Costa Rica. The Rainforest Alliance takes these matters very seriously. When alerted to violations of our standard on any certified farm or plantation, our organizational protocol, is to immediately launch an investigation. However, as the Guardian has not provided information on a specific certified pineapple farm or plantation, we are unable to investigate. We invite the Guardian and labor unions to provide us with the complaint and other sufficient details so that we can investigate.
The Rainforest Alliance always welcomes feedback from NGOs, the media, and other key stakeholders as these inputs help inform our continued efforts to improve working conditions on certified farms in the 70 countries where we work.
Whenever the Rainforest Alliance confirms violations of social or environmental criteria in our standard, we act swiftly to address them. We have canceled numerous certificates of fruit farms throughout the region on this basis. Last year, four different pineapple farms in Costa Rica were decertified because of nonconformance’s against critical criteria in our certification program.
We have long been aware of the ongoing challenges, both environmental and social, on certified fruit farms in Latin America. The existence of these challenges is a key reason that we choose to work in these countries, to support producers who consistently comply with our standard as they move towards more sustainable production.
The Rainforest Alliance works consistently to innovate and improve upon its certification program. Our recently updated Grievance Mechanism, is a process open to anyone who has a grievance against a supply chain actor, certification body or the Rainforest Alliance itself. We have also recently updated our policy for auditing Freedom of Association which is a critical criterion of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
The Rainforest Alliance recognizes and supports the important efforts made by various actors in the global supply chain, who advocate for better working conditions and the protection of human rights on fruit farms in Latin America. Further, the Rainforest Alliance respects the views of regional labor unions and appreciates the collaboration and ongoing information sharing, which helps our certification program address social issues on certified farms. We will continue to seek meaningful ways of collaboration with workers organizations across all sectors and geographies.