1986

Though the public is unaware of the extent of the crisis, 50 acres (20 hectares) of rainforest disappear every minute, and two dozen species go extinct every day. Environmentalists gather at a small workshop on rainforests held in New York City. From this workshop grows a major conference on the rainforest crisis, which helps break the story of the crisis and results in the first feature on rainforest devastation in The New York Times. Conference organizers incorporate into the non-profit Rainforest Alliance.

Board Chair and founder Daniel Katz notes that when the Rainforest Alliance was founded, its "parents" included "a masseuse, a toxicologist, a theater worker, a returned Peace Corps volunteer and a young China expert. Collectively we had no money, no contacts, no experience, and no skills at building a business, and not even a typewriter -- let alone a computer. We became an organization whose sole ingredients included passion and commitment -- details like bookkeeping, fundraising and management came later."

1987 - 1988

The first major rainforest conference open to the American public draws 700 people, and tropical rainforest destruction becomes a hot media topic. Membership grows quickly to 5,000. Elysabeth Kleinhans donates midtown office space and endows a fellowship for scientists studying alternative uses of forest products.

1989

The Rainforest Alliance founded its forestry certification program, SmartWood, to improve forest management by providing economic incentives to businesses that practice responsible forestry.

The Costa Rica office opens, with three employees.

Rainforest Alliance board members establish the Conservation Media Center in San José, Costa Rica, to cover breaking news, train journalists in eco-reporting and develop effective communications strategies.

"The Periwinkle Program" is launched, highlighting medicinal value of threatened tropical flora and collaborating with pharmaceutical companies, scientists, conservation groups and local people to advocate cultivation of medicinal plants as an alternative to deforestation.

1990

Despite recession, we grow rapidly, employing a staff of eighteen and attracting 15,000 supporters and members.

SmartWood certifies its first forest in Indonesia.

We use criteria similar to the SmartWood forest management standard to create new standards for sustainable banana farming in Costa Rica, which has had severe impacts on workers and the environment. The new agriculture certification program, initially called ECO-O.K., attracts Chiquita among others.

A radio fundraiser reaches five million listeners and attracts dozens of performers, including The Grateful Dead, Ringo Starr, Jackson Browne, Aerosmith, Grace Slick and David Byrne. It raises $365,000 for an innovative "debt-for-nature swap" in Costa Rica.

1991

We certify forests in Honduras, Mexico and Belize. High profile companies such as Hermés, Tom's of Maine and Ziff Communications make us the beneficiary of various promotions and grants. We're accepted into Earth Share, a fund-raising coalition of more than 40 environmental groups, which by 2007 raises over $1.7 million for us.

1992 - 1993

The Periwinkle Program expands to promote wider cooperation among governments, companies and local communities to incentivize conservation of biodiversity in general.

SmartWood certification expands to Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Indonesia, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.

We launch "Allies in the Rainforest," later called "Adopt-A-Rainforest," which channels donations from individuals and groups to grassroots conservation projects in Latin America.

Our first agriculture certification goes to two independent banana farms in Costa Rica and Hawaii.

Our first project to monitor sustainable development of a tourism lodge on the edge of a Costa Rican national park eventually propels the creation of an international sustainable certified tourism program.

We launch the Catalyst Grants program (later renamed Community Conservation Enterprises) to distribute emergency donations for grassroots programs -- from supporting a one-room school in the Peruvian Amazon or a women's medicinal plant cooperative in El Salvador, to buying a bicycle for a field agent of Defensores de la Naturaleza in Guatemala so he could reach two remote indigenous communities.

We help establish the Forest Stewardship Council, an international sustainable forestry management accreditation body that will later become the global standard-setter for responsible forest management.

1994

SmartWood expands to include work with temperate and boreal forests in the US and Canada.

The first two Chiquita-owned banana farms become certified.

1995

First coffee farms are certified in Guatemala.

The Rainforest Alliance makes front-page news in The Wall Street Journal when our agriculture certification program becomes the first conservation program to receive the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. "The Rainforest Alliance has found a way to save the rainforest while increasing both the crop and the income of the banana farmers, once the greatest enemy of the rainforest," says Drucker.

1996

We launch "SmartWood – Rediscovered" for reuse of old wood -- the first certifications go to International Hardwood Flooring, Inc. of New Jersey and Into the Woods of Petaluma, California.

SmartWood certifies forestlands owned by indigenous peoples, including UZACHI (Union of Zapoteca and Chinanteca Forestry Communities in Mexico) and Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin.

Our work with Gibson USA results in the world's first Earth-friendly SmartWood certified guitars, unveiling them at the sold-out fundraising concert Smart Sounds: Music for the Planet: featuring Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Lisa Loeb, Carly Simon and others.

Our Conservation Media Center in Costa Rica joins with the World Conservation Union and local conservation groups to form the Lapa Verde Coalition to save the severely endangered green macaw.

Our new Web site (www.rainforest-alliance.org) is included in the Village Voice's "Best of the Web."

First shipment of coffee certified by the Rainforest Alliance is shipped to the US from a farm south of Guatemala City. The first Sustainable Coffee Congress is held in Washington, DC.

Our Amazon Rivers Program initiates the first-ever river conservation treaty among Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

1997

All Chiquita-owned farms in Costa Rica become Rainforest Alliance Certified. Chiquita commits to certifying all its farms throughout Latin America.

We launch our cocoa program, in partnership with the group Conservación y Desarrollo in Ecuador, and begin working with cocoa farmers south of Guayaquil.

First Rainforest Alliance certification of citrus groves goes to Del Oro in Northwestern Costa Rica.

Second Smart Sounds concert with Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Carly Simon and others.

Our Natural Resources and Rights program produces a groundbreaking international conference on community-based resource management, funded by the Ford Foundation.

To redress ecological impact of commercial building practices, Banana Republic contracts with EcoTimber International to purchase SmartWood certified wood for the company's California stores.

1998

The Conservation Agriculture Network, later renamed the Sustainable Agriculture Network, is formed to develop guidelines for environmentally and socially sound agricultural production, evaluate farms and promote certification in Latin America.

Our first shade-grown cocoa certification goes to the El Progreso cooperative in Ecuador.

Hurricane Mitch devastates Central America. We establish the Catalyst Grants Hurricane Relief Fund, with support from the Earth Love Fund.

The first Canadian SmartWood certification goes to Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Ontario.

First run of SmartWood certified paper is produced by Lyon Falls Pulp and Paper.

Martin Guitars begins selling SmartWood certified guitars.

Rainforest Alliance Certified citrus grower Grupo Del Oro signs an unprecedented contract with a neighboring wildlife area in effect compensating the area for the ecological value it provides to Del Oro's orange farms.

First "Run for the Rainforest" in New York's Central Park; a collaboration between the Rainforest Foundation and the Rainforest Alliance.

1999

SmartWood certifies its first non-timber forest products operation (a chicle enterprise in the Yucatán), its first underwater log recovery operation (Wet Wood Underwater Fiber Recovery Ltd. of British Columbia) and its first medium density fiber board (MDF) production plant.

The Coffee and Biodiversity Project is launched, supported by Global Environment Facility and World Bank grants, to address environmental degradation in El Salvador by using shade-grown coffee farms as buffer zones for ecologically sensitive land.

We fund workshops on medicinal plants and the value of forest fruits to rural communities in eastern Amazonia.

The Conservation Media Center, renamed the Neotropics Communications Center, begins publishing the Eco-Exchange bulletin on innovative conservation initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Smart Sounds III concert headlined by James Taylor and Shawn Colvin, with Robert Cray, Levon Helm, Angelique Kidjo, Kim Wilson, Ricky Skaggs, Loudon Wainwright III, and Phoebe Snow.

Second Annual "Run for the Rainforest" in New York's Central Park.

We receive the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Gold Circle Award for excellence in nonprofit communications.

2000

Daniel Katz steps down as executive director and becomes board chair. Tensie Whelan -- who has been involved with the Rainforest Alliance for over ten years, as a volunteer, consultant and board member -- becomes executive director of the organization.

SmartWood certifies all 700,000 acres of New York State's multiple-use public forestlands, plus suppliers to Home Depot. Anderson Windows and Gardener's Supply commit to purchasing certified wood. Connecticut's Mystic Seaport Museum uses certified wood from community groups in Honduras to build their reproduction of La Amistad slave ship. In Guatemala's 5.1-million-acre (2 million hectare) Maya Biosphere Reserve, five community forestry operations comprising nearly 250,000 acres (100,000 hectares) are awarded certification.

About 15 percent of all bananas in the international market are grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms; total production of bananas exceeds 60 million boxes. More than 25 percent of the banana farms in Costa Rica, and 41 percent of those in Panama, are now certified, as are all Chiquita-owned banana farms in Latin America. Ecuador's Reybancorp certifies all 33 of its farms.

We launch SmartVoyager tourism certification in partnership with Conservación y Desarrollo.

Launch of Eco-Index, (www.eco-index.org) a searchable Web reference site, with detailed information about conservation projects in Central America, to give conservation community members an easy way to share information and learn from one another. It has since grown to cover some 1000 NGO projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

We advise on reforming wood procurement policies of major US wood products companies including The Home Depot.

2001

SmartWood certifications grow in size, scope and diversity to include municipal forests, state parks, maple syrup, pencils and snowboards.

Chiquita announces 100 percent of all its company-owned farms are Rainforest Alliance Certified, and issues a landmark corporate responsibility report.

First banana farms in Colombia certified.

Our fern and flower certification program is launched in Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, Guatemalan Supreme Coffee and Copa De Oro, arrives on US store shelves

We hold a contest for the best example of wetlands reporting by local journalists in Central America to encourage coverage of biodiversity issues, won by Costa Rica's La Nación.

We launch Training Research Extension Education Systems (TREES), a program that gives small, community and indigenous forestry operations affordable access to certification services and certified product markets.

We launch Landscape Initiative for Nature Conservation Forest Partnership in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, to demonstrate the benefits of integrating forest reserve land with sustainable management to the Northern Forest and Southern Appalachian regions of the US.

Smart Sounds IV concert with Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Levon Helm, Dr. John, Keb' Mo', Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, BR5-49, Odetta, Kim Wilson, and others, hosted by Mary Stuart Masterson.

2002

The Rainforest Alliance celebrates 15 years. By now more than 1,200 companies and cooperatives have adopted Rainforest Alliance sustainable practices.

SmartWood certifications expand to include US Department of Defense-controlled forests, university forests, producers of furniture and kitchen utensils, and large scale pulp and paper operations. European expansion leads to new certifications in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on state and private lands.

SmartWood certifies first community forest in China and Brazil (the Amazon forest where rubber tapper Chico Mendes lived and died).

Guatemalan coffee farmers roast and package their own Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee and sell it in 1,200 supermarkets in southern California.

We certify the first two banana farms in Southeast Asia, which sell to Chiquita.

The first nine fern farms are certified in Costa Rica.

We launch our formal education program, which evolves into free online curricula for teachers.

We hold journalism workshops in Panama and Costa Rica. Nearly 100 journalists attended.

2003

Total area of certified forestland reaches 25 million acres (10 million hectares). New SmartWood "firsts" and landmarks include the first US company to certify the entire manufacturing process for certified paper, from forest to finished product (Finch, Pruyn & Company, Inc.); the first certified US printer (Harris LithoGraphics, Inc.); the first boreal forest to be certified in North America (Tembec's five million-acre Gordon Cosens Forest); the first SmartWood certification in Russia (Priluzje Leskhoz in the Komi Republic); and the largest certified forest in Japan (Yamanashi Prefecture).

The Pueblo Nuevo community of Durango, Mexico starts selling SmartWood certified furniture parts to SitWell, which manufactures sofas for IKEA.

Kraft Foods signs an agreement with us and announces an unprecedented commitment to purchase Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee -- five million pounds in the first two years.

Chiquita receives Social Accountability International's Corporate Conscience Award for Innovative Partnership in recognition of its work with the Rainforest Alliance.

We launch the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas to accredit tourism certification programs, with support from the InterAmerican Development Bank.

Launch of our Web-based education curriculum teaching science fundamentals by studying our work in the field. Two New Jersey schools adopt it in their classrooms.

We offer our first online, college-level courses at the New School University in New York City on rainforest ecosystems and how to slow their loss.

We fund micro-enterprises in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Our Community Vigilance Project makes its first grant to train guards to defend designated areas in Guatemala's Petén rainforest from illegal poaching and slash-and-burn agriculture.

We embark with other major certification systems on a two-year study to find consensus on standards and auditing protocols for social and labor issues on farms.

2004

Total area of forests we certify reaches 33 million acres (13 million hectares).

Total combined area of certified coffee farms roughly doubles over 2003 levels--from 46,000 acres (18,600 hectares) to 93,000 acres (37,600 hectares).

Certified coffee goes mainstream when Procter & Gamble introduces its Millstone Rainforest Reserve coffee in grocery chains throughout the United States. Kraft launches Kenco Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in the UK, and sells to universities, offices and other institutional settings. Gloria Jean's entire line of flavored coffees is certified. International retail chain Prêt A Manger opens ten gourmet sandwich shops in New York City serving Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee and bananas. Certified coffee hits Belgium and spreads across Japan and Canada. The United Nations' New York facilities and UK's Eden Project environmental education center serve certified coffee. The National Audubon Society introduces Audubon™ Coffee, 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified.

"Cupping for Quality" is the first-ever formal coffee competition where the emerging field of "certified-sustainable" coffee receives gourmet evaluation by a panel of leading coffee experts.

Total area of certified banana farms surpasses 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares) as Chiquita and Favorita banana companies, whose own farms are 100 percent certified, help their independent suppliers work toward certification. Chiquita sets aside the Nogal interpretive nature reserve on one of its banana farms in Costa Rica. The first Rainforest Alliance Certified chocolate, Plantations Arriba, becomes available at fine restaurants and shops across the US.

We fund community members of the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala to build sorting facilities for xate, an ornamental palm leaf and a renewable forest product which brings more than $1 million in sales annually and benefits 10,000 families living in the reserve.

The Rainforest Alliance and NGO and business partners embark on a three-year cooperative effort, called the Certified Sustainable Products Alliance, to bring to market increased quantities of sustainably produced bananas, coffee and timber grown in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama

By 2004 we have trained nearly 600 consulting foresters, group managers and other professionals worldwide and 500 tourism professionals and entrepreneurs in Latin America. We hold events for ornithologists on the avifauna-rich island of Tobago, and for journalists in a threatened wetlands managed by the Bahamas National Trust.

SmartWood guitars are featured at the Newport Folk Festival.

2005

By 2005, a total of 377,852 acres (153,000 hectares) of tropical farmlands are certified, sustainably producing bananas, coffee, cocoa, citrus and ferns. Together with certified forestlands, the aggregate number is 70 million acres (28.2 million hectares) of certified farms and forestlands, located in more than 40 countries.

Continued rapid expansion of certified forestry and paper, including the first community teak certification in southwest Indonesia, 1,360,000 acres (550,000 hectares); all of Lithuania's state-owned forests, totaling almost 2.5 million acres (100,000 hectares); the Federation of Community Forest User Groups, Nepal, whose members manage community forests and supply wild-crafted ingredients to the international natural products industry; Fruticor in Portugal's Alentejo region, the first certification for sustainable management of cork forests. Domtar, North America's third largest paper producer, launches the Domtar EarthChoice® line of certified paper. Unisource, the largest privately-held paper distributor in the US, certifies its largest fine paper division.

JP Morgan, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, Nike the HSBC Bank and others print their annual and corporate social responsibility reports on certified paper.

Demand for certified flooring, plywood and building materials, paper and paper products grows; we publish a series of "SmartGuides" which list resources for sourcing certified wood products for architects, home designers, builders and consumers.

Certified coffee production again doubles over 2004 levels. Kraft coffee brands in the United Kingdom (Kenco), France (Jacques Vabre), Sweden (Gevalia) and Germany (Jacobs) introduce 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified lines. Mayorga Coffee Roasters sells certified coffee including at Costco stores in the northeast US. We partner with Caribou Coffee Co., the second largest non-franchised US coffee house chain. Caribou pledges to source half of all its coffee from certified farms by the end of 2008. Leading UK independent roaster Matthew Algie buys certified coffee from Honduras for its Tiki Café brand. Japan's largest coffee roaster, UCC Ueshima Coffee Company, develops and distributes certified coffees and starts selling orange juice from Del Oro, a certified orchard in Costa Rica.

Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee wins first place in the World Barista Championship. Two Internet coffee auctions controlled by the Coffee Quality Institute also give all Rainforest Alliance Certified submissions a "specialty coffee" rating -- the top grade in the world, as do the judges at the second "Cupping for Quality" event.

Chiquita begins selling 50 million bananas bearing the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal each week in nine European countries.

We begin to offer online distance learning for professionals. We expand our online Learning Site with new lessons for seventh and eighth grade students.

2006

By the end of 2006, we are working in 56 countries with a staff of over 180. Membership has swelled to 37,000.

The area of forestland we have certified reaches 100 million acres of forestland (40.5 million hectares).

Sustainable certification continues its rapid growth. Certified coffee volumes double again for the third year in a row, representing about 1 percent of the global coffee supply. We receive a seven-year grant from the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme to expand certified production to 10 percent of the global coffee supply.

Kraft Foods begins blending Rainforest Alliance Certified sustainable coffee beans into its Yuban brand, sold in US supermarkets. Member's Mark by Marques de Paiva Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee becomes available on the shelves of all Sam's Clubs in the US. Juan Valdez begins selling certified coffee worldwide. Lavazza introduces ¡Tierra!, a certified coffee whose sales benefit disadvantaged farming communities in Latin America. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines begins serving certified coffee on all its flights.

First African coffee farms are certified -- a group of 678 family farms in Ethiopia in the Djimmah region.

We certify 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares) of rainforest in Brazil's central Amazon owned and managed by Kayapó indigenous people in Brazil -- the largest area of FSC-certified tropical forest in the world to date.

We launch the SmartStep program, offering forest managers who would otherwise have difficulty instituting best practices a step-by-step plan to gradually meet FSC standards.

We begin working with cocoa farmers Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa-producing country.

A USAID grant helps us expand our work in Nicaragua over the next three years. We join the World Heritage Alliance, partnering with Expedia and the United Nations Foundation, to support sustainable tourism for communities in and around the 830 UN World Heritage sites.

Launch of the Eco-Index of Sustainable Tourism website (eco-indextourism.org), a searchable database of sustainable tourism businesses.

Launch of our Migratory Species Pathway, offering detailed information about initiatives to conserve migratory species in the Americas and the Caribbean.

We establish pineapple certification criteria.

Sales of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee, chocolate and bananas surpass US $1 billion in 2006.

2007

The Rainforest Alliance celebrates its 20th Anniversary.

Goldman Sachs begins to green its operations with the help of the Rainforest Alliance. More than 50 percent of the wood in their new global headquarters comes from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified forests, much of the paper used in-house is FSC certified and 50 percent of the coffee consumed in its offices globally is Rainforest Alliance Certified.

We certify 250 farms in Côte d'Ivoire -- our first cocoa certification in Africa.

Scholastic commits to making 65 percent of the 16, 700 tons of paper used in the U.S. printing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows FSC-certified.

All 1,200 McDonald's restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland begin selling exclusively Rainforest Alliance Certified Kenco coffee. Holiday Inn offers Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee at all of its nearly 1,000 hotels in the United States. Whole Foods Market begins stocking coffee, bananas and chocolate from our certified farms.

Unilever, which buys approximately 12 percent of the world's black tea, commits to buying all of its tea from sustainable sources certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

Willamette Valley Vineyards becomes the first winery to use stoppers harvested from FSC-certified cork oak forestlands.

We launch the Evaluation and Research program to help better quantify, understand and communicate the impacts of our work to partners, businesses, consumers and donors.

The Rainforest Alliance joins the Clinton Global Initiative and pledges to work with three global forest products leaders -- Domtar, Gibson and Time Inc. -- on increasing their use of wood from FSC-certified forests. For our part, we aim to certify 170 million additional acres of forestland.

The first Bible is printed on FSC-certified paper.

Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance, ranks 47 in Ethisphere Magazine's 2007 list of the 100 most influential people in business ethics.

Xerox Corporation earns the widest reaching Forest Stewardship Council Chain-of-Custody certification from the Rainforest Alliance to date -- a commitment that spans operations in 18 countries.

2008

We launch the first "Picture Sustainability" photo contest in the United States.

The Rainforest Alliance, with the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Chinese State Forest Administration, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Nature Conservancy, organizes the first major conference on certified forestry and forest product markets in China.

The Rainforest Alliance participates in an innovated carbon offset project that encourages conservation in the Ulu Masen Forest in Indonesia.

A new study by the Rainforest Alliance shows that forest concessions managed in compliance with FSC-certification standards have seen fewer wildfires and less deforestation compared with protected and other areas within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, an area of tropical forest in Guatemala's northern Petén region.

In collaboration with the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) the Rainforest Alliance began contributing to several initiatives that are working to develop standards for the responsible production of biofuels.

Tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms hits shelves across Europe -- and Unilever supports the partnership with a multi-million pound marketing campaign in newspapers, magazines and the cinema.

More than one million acres of farmland in 18 countries are Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Costa, the UK's largest and fastest growing coffee shop becomes the first to source its entire coffee supply from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

The Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program announces its certification of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Managed Forest Law group, the largest-ever forest management group to meet the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council.

Chris Wille, chief of sustainable agriculture for the Rainforest Alliance, is one of 10 people named an Ethical Leader of 2008 by Ethical Corporation magazine. Other individuals recognized include Barack Obama, Bill Gates and John Ruggie.

The Environmental Advocates of New York, a local government watchdog that holds lawmakers and agencies accountable for enacting and enforcing natural resource and public health laws, recognizes Rainforest Alliance president Tensie Whelan as a "conservation hero."

The Rainforest Alliance begins the process of developing new Sustainable Agriculture Network standards for cattle, including criteria on responsible waste disposal, the protection of natural waterways and wildlife habitat, and proper treatment of animals.

The Rainforest Alliance, in partnership with Pronatura Sur, the International Finance Corporation and ECOM Agroindustrial Corp., begins work on a project to develop credible carbon criteria that can be added to the Sustainable Agriculture Network standard.

The Wall Street Journal names the Rainforest Alliance a Top Small Workplace of 2008.

The Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations World Tourism Organization develop the first-ever globally relevant sustainable tourism criteria, the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.

We begin working with farmers and foresters in Ghana to encourage the adoption of sustainable farming and forestry practices.

 

2009

Newman's Own Organics launches a new Signature Chocolate line, made with cocoa grown and harvested on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

The Rainforest Alliance begins working with the Ojon Corporation -- a Canadian beauty care company within the Estée Lauder Companies -- to ensure the sustainable harvest of Ojon oil in The Mosquitia region of northeastern Honduras.

The Rainforest Alliance is distinguished as the first Forest Stewardship Council-certifier to be fully accredited under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies).

One of the world's largest chocolate makers, Mars Incorporated, commits to getting its entire cocoa supply certified as sustainably produced by 2020. The company will start in early 2010, getting enough certified cocoa so that its popular Galaxy chocolate bar can bear the little green frog seal.

The Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program certifies the first biomass pellet mill in the US to the Forest Stewardship Council standards, a significant step in its entry into renewable energy sources.

Nestlé Nespresso commits to sourcing 80 percent of its espresso beans from its AAA Sustainable Quality program, including Rainforest Alliance certification, by 2013.

The largest cocoa processor in North America, Blommer Chocolate Company, announces that it will offer a line of Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa and cocoa-ingredient chocolate products beginning in 2010.

Setting an example for the entire industry, Staples -- the world's largest office supply company --signs a commitment with the Rainforest Alliance to analyze and improve the social and environmental footprint of its paper supply.

The Rainforest Alliance receives a 2009 Travel + Leisure Global Vision Award for upping the ante for sustainability standards in the tourism industry.

Kraft Foods commits to using Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa across its entire Côte d'Or and Marabou lines by the close of 2012.

Approximately 12, 500 smallholder tea farmers in Kenya became the first-ever group to earn Rainforest Alliance certification.

The Rainforest Alliance takes a stand at the United Nation's Fifteenth Conference of Parties and fights for the greater inclusion of forests (and reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) in a milestone climate agreement.

 

2010

To combat illegal logging and help companies ensure that the wood they source is legally harvested, the Rainforest Alliance updates its timber legality verification standards.

Tetley, the world’s second largest tea company, commits to sourcing all of the tea for its Tetley brand from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

The Rainforest Alliance validates our first carbon project in Africa.

With the launch of the bilingual Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative Forum, the Rainforest Alliance provides a platform for government agencies, conservation organizations and researchers to collaborate across geographic and language barriers.

Mayakoba, one of the largest resort complexes in Mexico, signs on to participate in the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable tourism program.

The Rainforest Alliance releases a new verification mark to recognize businesses and projects that have achieved significant and measurable sustainability milestones.

We launch SustainableTrip.org, a database of hotels, tour operators and other businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean that have been certified by a third-party sustainable tourism certification program, verified by the Rainforest Alliance or recommended as being sustainable by a reputable organization.

The Rainforest Alliance launches the Standard for Sustainable Cattle Production Systems -- a tool to help cattle farmers implement good environmental, social and animal-welfare practices.

All of the coffee served on American Airlines flights is now from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The Rainforest Alliance sends a delegation of 18 representatives to the UN’s Conference of Parties 16 climate treaty conference in Cancun, Mexico to advocate for decisions on key fronts in the fight against climate change.

Relatively limited investments in forestry businesses can increase profitability, diversify markets and create jobs, as demonstrated by 2010 studies in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

With the launch of SealYourCup.org, we provide coffee aficionados with a window into the lives of farmers, their families and communities, and educate consumers about the benefits of buying Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee.

2011

With the launch of SealYourCup.org -- a Rainforest Alliance website featuring videos, slide shows and written accounts from the field -- we educate consumers about the on-the-ground benefits of certified coffee.

Our new virtual hotel room teaches tourists and hotel owners about sustainability.

We launch “Rainforest Survival Challenge,” our first mobile application for kids.

Magnum Ghana and Magnum Ecuador ice creams -- coated with chocolate made with Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa -- feature the greenfrog seal.

A group of South African farms growing rooibos (also known as red bush tea) earn the first Rainforest Alliance certification for the crop. 

We host the first Rainforest Alliance Week, a social media campaign that encourages consumers and businesses to “follow the frog” when they shop and travel.

Tour Operators Promoting Sustainability (TOPS), a global platform for tour operators dedicated to promoting and supporting responsible tourism, is launched.

El Platanillo coffee farm in San Marcos, Guatemala, becomes the world’s first Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farm to earn verification for compliance with climate-friendly criteria.

We send a delegation of climate and forestry experts to COP17, demonstrating our support for climate mitigation strategies that include plans to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

In Ghana, the Rainforest Alliance and Olam International Ltd. team up to produce climate-friendly cocoa.