POLICY for FARM and CHAIN of CUSTODY CERTIFICATION in COCOA February 2021 Version 1.4

POLICY for FARM and CHAIN of CUSTODY CERTIFICATION in COCOA February 2021 Version 1.4

<p><strong>POLICY FOR FARM AND CHAIN OF CUSTODY CERTIFICATION IN COCOA </strong></p><p>February 2021 Version 1.4 </p><p><strong>More information? </strong></p><p>For more information about the Rainforest Alliance, visit&nbsp;<a href="/goto?url=http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/" target="_blank">www.rainforest-alliance.org </a>or, for specific interpretation issues about this document contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected]</a><a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">. </a></p><p><strong>Translation Disclaimer </strong></p><p>Rainforest Alliance makes every effort to ensure translation accuracy of all Rainforest Alliance sustainable agriculture certification program documents into languages other than English. Any question arising from interpretation of the document content in different languages should refer to the English official version as the reference document. Any discrepancies or differences created in the translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes. </p><p>2</p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1"><strong>Issue Date: </strong></li><li style="flex:1"><strong>Binding date: </strong></li><li style="flex:1"><strong>Expiration date: </strong></li></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">14 April 2020 </li><li style="flex:1">1 June 2020 </li></ul><p>Revised 7 July 2020, 16 September 2020, 1 October 2020, 15 February 2021 <br>*see table below each section for binding date of each specific criterion <br>1 July 2021 </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1"><strong>Developed by: </strong></li><li style="flex:1"><strong>Approved by: </strong></li></ul><p></p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Rainforest Alliance </li><li style="flex:1">Director, Standards and Assurance </li></ul><p></p><p><strong>Linked to (code and name of documents, if applicable): </strong></p><p>UTZ related documents <br>Rainforest Alliance related documents </p><p>UTZ Assurance Certification protocol, version 4.3 December 2018 <br>Rainforest Alliance Certification Rules, July 2017 version 1.2 <br>Letter from April 18th, 2019 <em>Important Notice: </em></p><p><em>new requirements for UTZ and Rainforest </em></p><p><em>Certificate holders in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana </em></p><p>UTZ Core Code of Conduct for group and multi-group certification, version 1.1 + cocoa module <br>Rainforest Alliance Chain of Custody Policy 2015 Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard, July 2017 version 1.2 <br>Chain of Custody Standard + Cocoa Annex </p><p>Replaces The following measures from 2019 to strengthen the Cocoa Sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are not applicable any longer and the applicable rules from the UTZ Protocol v4.3 are applied: </p><p>Extended timeframe for UTZ Code of Conduct audits Increased percentage of surprise audits for UTZ Code of Conduct from 10 to 15%. </p><p><strong>Applicable to: </strong></p><p>Certification Bodies authorized to perform audits for Rainforest Alliance and/or UTZ Cocoa Farm and Chain of Custody certified entities (for both UTZ and Rainforest Alliance programs), including those implementing mass balance against the: <br>2017 RA SAS Chain of Custody UTZ Chain of Custody 2020 RA SAS Supply Chain Standard </p><p><strong>Regions: </strong></p><p>Sections 1,2 and 3 for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, Section 1A and 3B for Nigeria and Cameroon, Sections 2.3 and 2.4 to all regions globally </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1"><strong>Crops: </strong></li><li style="flex:1"><strong>Type of organizations: </strong></li></ul><p></p><p>Farm and Chain of Custody entities <br>Cocoa <br>Certification Bodies </p><p>3</p><p><strong>MAIN CHANGES FROM VERSION OF 1 OCTOBER 2020 </strong></p><p>The table below summarizes the main changes in this version of the policy from the previous version published on 1 October 2020 </p><p><strong>Summary Table </strong></p><p>Pg Clause </p><p><strong>PRODUCER CERTIFICATION CRITERIA: APPLICABLE TO GHANA AND CÔTE D’IVOIRE </strong></p><p>Change </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1.a. </li><li style="flex:1">Clarification that groups may not hold both Rainforest Alliance and UTZ </li></ul><p>6</p><p>6certification but may split into different groups holding different certifications with no overlapping membership </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1.b </li><li style="flex:1">Clarification that the pause on new groups applies for the UTZ and 2017 </li></ul><p>Rainforest Alliance programs. New groups may join the new 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program from July 1 2021 </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.2.a </li><li style="flex:1">Clarification that newly split groups may not collectively exceed 10% growth of </li></ul><p>the size of the original group <br>77</p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.4.b. </li><li style="flex:1">Additional requirements for producers in Protected Areas in Ghana who must </li></ul><p>have a polygon of the farm and a permit allowing production in that area. </p><p><strong>PRODUCER CERTIFICATION CRITERIA: APPLICABLE TO NIGERIA AND&nbsp;CAMEROON </strong></p><p>1.A.1.a Clarification&nbsp;that the pause on new groups applies for the UTZ and 2017 <br>Rainforest Alliance programs. New groups may join the new 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification Program and be audited against the new standard from July 1 2021 <br>12 </p><p><strong>AUDIT PROCESS RULES </strong></p><p>17 18 <br>3.B. (entire section)&nbsp;Now applies also to Cameroon and Nigeria </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">3.3.b. </li><li style="flex:1"><strong>New requirement </strong>that CBs in Côte d'Ivoire use the Rainforest Alliance </li></ul><p>traceability tool to assess traceability of the Certificate Holder during audits </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">3.4.b </li><li style="flex:1">Clarification that producers must show the national ID indicated in the GMR </li></ul><p>during audit.&nbsp;If no national ID is indicated in the GMR, the producer may show another form of identification <br>19 20 <br>3.5 </p><p><strong>New requirements on Certification Body obligations to comply with audit and certification cost transparency </strong></p><p><strong>FOLLOWING CLAUSES FROM VERSION 1.3 WERE REMOVED </strong></p><p>1.1.c. 1.8.b </p><p>Clause on « No change of UTZ certification cycle » no longer applicable </p><p>Clause on child labor training, risk assessment and mitigation measures no longer applicable </p><p>2.2.b. </p><p>2.6 <br>Clause on Supply Chain Certificate Holders' obligation to provide polygons of producers no longer applicable </p><p>Cocoa origin Matching Mass Balance Supply Chain Criteria requirements have been removed from Cocoa Policy, but will be applicable through <a href="/goto?url=https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annex-S6-Traceability.pdf" target="_blank">Annex S6 </a><a href="/goto?url=https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annex-S6-Traceability.pdf" target="_blank">Traceability </a>of the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard from 1 July 2021 </p><p>4</p><p><strong>DEFINITIONS </strong></p><p><strong>2017 RA SAS 2020 RA SAS Annual Recipe </strong></p><p>2017 Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard 2020 Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard The recipe associated with a specific product. This recipe may be reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis but may also be adjusted more frequently. </p><p><strong>Calendar Quarter </strong></p><p>Any period of three consecutive months, starting on day 1 of the first month. Flexibility in choosing the starting month allows alignment with company fiscal year (see Year). The sum of all Certified Cocoa sales of the defined product over a given time period for the Supply Chain Certificate Holder Cocoa beans and cocoa products that are produced and/or sold under the 2017 RA SAS, 2020 RA SAS and the UTZ Certification Program. </p><p><strong>Certificate Holder Level Certified Cocoa Conventional Cocoa </strong></p><p>Cocoa beans and cocoa products produced and/or sold that are not part of a Rainforest Alliance Certification Program </p><p><strong>Rainforest Alliance Certification Program </strong></p><p>The certification programs that are part of the Rainforest Alliance: 2017 RA SAS, 2020 RA SAS and UTZ Certification Program </p><p><strong>Rainforest Alliance Traceability System </strong></p><p>The Rainforest Alliance traceability system that is currently used for the respective certification programs (Good Inside Portal, Marketplace or otherwise) </p><p><strong>Supply Chain Certificate Holder UTZ Certification Program </strong></p><p>Entity or group of entities covered under one Supply Chain Standard certificate. 2015 UTZ Certification Program, including the Code of Conduct, Chain of Custody and all related binding assurance documents. </p><p><strong>Year </strong></p><p>A period of 12 consecutive months. This period can start on the first day of any month. </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION </strong></p><p>The Rainforest Alliance is a growing network of people who are inspired and committed to working together to achieve our mission of creating a better future for people and nature by making responsible business the new normal. Since January 2018, the UTZ Certification program is also part of Rainforest Alliance. </p><p>As part of the 2020 cocoa assurance interventions for West Africa, a specific policy has been developed to further strengthen the implementation, verification and credibility of our certification programs. The policy is applicable to all certificate holders for both UTZ Code of Conduct and Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standards and for UTZ and Rainforest Alliance Chain of Custody standards in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. It is applicable for all audits </p><p>conducted after 1 June 2020. <strong>Sections 1,2 and 3 of this policy apply in Full to Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. </strong></p><p>In addition, in 2020 an additional set of measures from the 2019 cocoa assurance interventions for West Africa have been extended to Nigeria and Cameroon<strong>. Section 1A of this policy sets </strong></p><p><strong>out the requirements that apply specifically to certificate holders in Nigeria and Cameroon. Section 3B, listing the requirements for Certification Bodies and Certificate Holders to comply </strong></p><p>5</p><p><strong>with audit process rules, was extended to apply also to Nigeria and Cameroon in February 2021 </strong></p><p>Please note that <strong>Sections 2.4 and 2.5 of the current policy are applicable globally to Chain of Custody Certificate holders in cocoa supply chains regardless of country of operation</strong>. </p><p>The policy sets out specific implementation requirements for certificate holders at both producer and supply chain actor levels (Certification Criteria) and for reinforcing the assurance process (Assurance Process Rules). </p><p><strong>1. PRODUCER&nbsp;CERTIFICATION CRITERIA: APPLICABLE TO GHANA AND </strong></p><p><strong>CÔTE D’IVOIRE </strong></p><p><strong>RAINFOREST ALLIANCE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE STANDARD / UTZ CODE OF CONDUCT STANDARD </strong></p><p><strong>1.1. Certification – Eligibility rules </strong></p><p>a. Certified&nbsp;groups shall only be certified against either the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable <br>Agriculture Standard or the UTZ Code of Conduct Standard, not both certification programs. Audits and volume sales from 1 June 2020 can only be registered in the traceability platform for the selected standard (GIP for UTZ or Marketplace for Rainforest Alliance). Certified groups may split into different groups holding either UTZ certification or Rainforest Alliance certification. However, the membership of each group must be separate. No group members may belong to more than one group. Groups may be certified against other certification programs outside of the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ programs alongside as well if they choose to; </p><p>b. No new groups shall join either the UTZ or Rainforest Alliance 2017 certification programs; The pause on new groups implemented in 2019 is continued. Groups previously certified whose last certificate expired earlier than 1 January 2019 cannot join either of the certification programs; New groups may apply to join the 2020 Rainforest Alliance Certification program to be audited against the new 2020 Standard from 1 July 2021 onwards. Registration for new groups to enter the 2020 certification program will be possible from March 2021. </p><p>c. Certified&nbsp;groups shall provide proof that the group complies with relevant laws related to registration with governmental bodies; </p><p>d. Group members may not be members of more than one certified group (UTZ or RA); e. Following&nbsp;a non-certification decision or a decertification decision, a producer group shall wait at least one full harvest period (main/big or mid/small) after the noncertification or decertification decision is made before a new certificate may become active; </p><p>f. Any group that is non-certified or whose certificate is suspended or has expired or does not plan on renewing the certificate must remove all UTZ and/or Rainforest Alliance logos, seals or labels from their documentation or buildings within one month after the non-certification or decertification decision is made, or after the expiry date of their latest certificate. </p><p>6</p><p><strong>1.2. Growth&nbsp;in Group Membership </strong></p><p>a. The total number of certified producers in a group can only grow by 10% over the whole certification year in comparison to the total number of certified producers in the previous certification year (certification audit and/or extension audit). This applies also for the groups newly split due to UTZ/RA dual certification, the total number of certified producers from both groups shall not exceed 10% in comparison to the total number of the initial group. </p><p>b. New&nbsp;group members must comply with the same compliance year or performance level as other existing group members. This means that if a group is in year 3 in the UTZ Code of Conduct new members of the group will must also be in compliance with control points for year 3. For Rainforest Alliance if the group is implementing continuous improvement criteria in a specific area at performance level B new group members must also be compliant against performance level B requirements. </p><p><strong>1.3. Group&nbsp;Member Registry </strong></p><p>a. The&nbsp;government issued ID of each certified producer in the group is indicated in column C of the new Group Member Registry template. </p><p>b. UTZ&nbsp;and Rainforest Alliance certified groups must use the new Group Member Registry template shared by Rainforest Alliance. </p><p><strong>1.4. Geolocation&nbsp;data </strong></p><p>a. The&nbsp;location points (GPS coordinates) of 100% of producers in the group are collected and indicated in the new Group Member Registry template. Location points (GPS coordinates) of new producers within the group are collected according to the Rainforest Alliance guidelines; </p><p>b. Groups&nbsp;with producers in Protected Areas will not be certified unless allowed by applicable law. In Côte d’Ivoire, applicable law refers to enclaves approved by MINEF and in Ghana, to admitted farms with polygons provided by the Forestry Commission of Ghana. Producers in protected Areas in Ghana will only be allowed under following requirements: </p><p>o</p><p>The polygon of the producer’s farm is provided. </p><p>o</p><p>The Certification Body can verify that the producer has indeed a permit that allows production in and corresponds with the admitted area. <br>When paper-based evidence is provided, the farm area should not exceed the size documented on the evidence. When the admitted area designated by the Forestry Commission is provided as a polygon, the farm borders should not exceed the borders of the admitted area polygon </p><p><strong>1.5.Yield estimation </strong></p><p>a. For&nbsp;UTZ groups in year 3 and above, the only credible method to determine the certified area is through the use of a GPS tool (G.A.2). </p><p><strong>1.6.Traceability </strong></p><p>a. Equipment&nbsp;used to define the weight or volume of the certified product is calibrated at least annually; </p><p>7</p><p>b. Group&nbsp;management documents a product flow map from group members to the group, including all intermediaries (collection points, transport, processing units, warehouses, etc.) and activities carried out on the product; </p><p>c. Group&nbsp;management ensures that intermediaries maintain documentary evidence that clearly differentiates between certified and non-certified products purchased from each group members and sold to the group management; </p><p>d. Group&nbsp;members receive and keep a proof of payment (receipt or passbook) for each delivery from the group member to the group or an intermediary, specifying name of group member, group member ID and Government Issued ID, date, product type and volume; </p><p>e. Transactions&nbsp;are submitted in the traceability system within one week of the physical delivery from the group to their first buyer. All relevant commercial / legal documents pertaining to the transaction must be uploaded to the traceability system at the same time. </p><p>f. Groups&nbsp;must remove from the traceability platform any volumes from certified group members which are sold under other labels or as conventional within one week of the physical delivery. </p><p><strong>1.7. Premium </strong></p><p>a. All&nbsp;groups (UTZ and Rainforest Alliance) must document and communicate to group members at least annually the premium per kg received from the sale of RA/UTZ certified produce; </p><p>b. The&nbsp;Group Member premium is paid in a timely and convenient manner, at least once per year. Prices, premiums, and timing of premium payment are clearly communicated and transparent to group members. </p><p>c. Group&nbsp;management must document and report to group members at least annually on the use of UTZ/Rainforest Alliance premium received, differentiating between </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">i. </li><li style="flex:1">Investments made by group management for the implementation of the </li></ul><p>certification (external audit, internal inspections, staff trainings) Investments made by group management for products and services to be used by group members ii. </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">iii. </li><li style="flex:1">Cash payments to group members </li></ul><p>d. Group&nbsp;management documents all additional investments made by first buyers, over and above premium and provides evidence of the execution of these investments (infrastructure, services, etc.) </p><p>e. In&nbsp;case a Rainforest Alliance group is not compliant with one of the premium measures, a non-conformity will be raised against the criterion 1.18 of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. This criterion must be considered as a critical criterion. </p><p><strong>1.8. Child&nbsp;Labor Prevention, Monitoring and Remediation </strong></p><p>a. All&nbsp;groups (both UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certified) must implement a documented system to prevent, monitor, and remediate child labor. </p><p>8</p><p><strong>A. PRODUCER CERTIFICATION CRITERIA: CÔTE D’IVOIRE AND GHANA </strong><br><strong>OVERVIEW OF CHANGES </strong></p><p><strong>RAINFOREST ALLIANCE </strong><br><strong>UTZ CODE OF CONDUCT </strong><br><strong>STANDARD </strong><br><strong>SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE STANDARD </strong></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1"><strong>Policy measure </strong></li><li style="flex:1"><strong>APPLICABILITY </strong></li></ul><p><strong>a. Certification&nbsp;– Eligibility rules </strong></p><p>Clarification on groups splitting into several groups with different <br>Clarification on groups splitting into several groups with different </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1 a </li><li style="flex:1">1 June 2020 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>No dual certification Rainforest Alliance / UTZ certifications (UTZ or RA)&nbsp;certifications (UTZ or RA) </p><p>Clarification that New groups may join the new 2020 Certification Program from July 1 2021 <br>Clarification that New groups may join the new 2020 Certification Program from July 1 2021 <br>18 April 2019 Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>1.1 b Pause on new groups </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1 c </li><li style="flex:1">18 April 2019 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>No change – Letter April 2019 <br>No change – Letter April 2019 <br>Government registration of certified groups </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1 d </li><li style="flex:1">No change – Protocol </li></ul><p>2.4.1 Certification options <br>1 June 2020 Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>1 June 2020 Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>No membership in multiple groups 1.1 e Waiting period for recertification <br>NEW NEW NEW <br>Adaptation to Protocol NEW </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.1 f </li><li style="flex:1">1 June 2020 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>Use of Rainforest Alliance / UTZ logo for groups not certified </p><p><strong>b. Growth&nbsp;in Group Membership </strong></p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.2 a </li><li style="flex:1">1 June 2020 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>Limit in group membership growth </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">NEW </li><li style="flex:1">NEW </li></ul><p>E.g. if the group is implementing continuous improvement criteria in a specific area at performance level B, new group members must also be compliant against performance level B requirements. <br>E.g. if a group is in year 3 in the UTZ Code of Conduct new members of the group will must also be in compliance with control points for year 3. <br>1 June 2020 <br>1.2 b </p><p>Minimum compliance standard for new members <br>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p><strong>c. Group&nbsp;Member Registry </strong></p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.3 a </li><li style="flex:1">1 June 2020 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>1 June 2020 Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>Inclusion of government issued&nbsp;NEW ID <br>NEW NEW <br>1.3 b use of new Group <br>NEW <br>Member registry template </p><p>9</p><p><strong>d. Geolocation&nbsp;Data </strong></p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.4 a </li><li style="flex:1">18 April 2019 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p><p>Côte d’Ivoire </p><p>No change – Letter April 2019 <br>100% GPS coverage for group members <br>No change </p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">G.D.111 </li><li style="flex:1">1.6 </li></ul><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1.4 b </li><li style="flex:1">18 April 2019 </li></ul><p>Ghana and </p>

View Full Text

Details

  • File Type
    pdf
  • Upload Time
    -
  • Content Languages
    English
  • Upload User
    Anonymous/Not logged-in
  • File Pages
    20 Page
  • File Size
    -

Download

Channel Download Status
Express Download Enable

Copyright

We respect the copyrights and intellectual property rights of all users. All uploaded documents are either original works of the uploader or authorized works of the rightful owners.

  • Not to be reproduced or distributed without explicit permission.
  • Not used for commercial purposes outside of approved use cases.
  • Not used to infringe on the rights of the original creators.
  • If you believe any content infringes your copyright, please contact us immediately.

Support

For help with questions, suggestions, or problems, please contact us