Agricultural and Forestry Certifications

Agricultural and forestry certifications are numerous and sometimes complex… and it is not always easy for those involved in the agricultural world, whether farmers’ groups or agro-industrial companies, to assess their credibility and relevance, and once they have taken the plunge, to meet their requirements.

The issues

There is a plethora of certifications, whether in the agricultural sector (Fairtrade, Fair for Life, EU Organic, USDA Organic, GLOBALG.A.P., Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), Rainforest Alliance, etc.) or forestry sector (Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Panthera, etc.) … What they have in common is that they aim to improve practices and reduce environmental and social impacts, and in doing so offer privileged access to international markets and informed consumers. However, these certifications come at a cost and can be somewhat complex to implement. The challenge for those involved in the agricultural sector is to find the right balance between the credibility of the certification, its practicality of implementation and respect for, and added-value of the product.

Our services

For a player in the agricultural or forest sector wishing to undertake certification, we can analyse its practices and business model, and compare them with the requirements and competitive advantages offered by the various possible certifications, in order to make a reasoned decision. For a player in the agricultural or forest sector already committed to certification but facing implementation difficulties (e.g. imperfect traceability, contamination of products by indirect chemical treatments, etc.), we can make a field diagnosis and provide ad hoc support and advice to remedy the situation. Furthermore, in the event of doubt from an end buyer, we can also carry out critical counter-appraisals of certain certified sectors. Finally, we can support a certifying body in reviewing some of its principles and criteria (e.g. in the case of our support for the Better Cotton Initiative) or facilitate/harmonise the collection of field data (e.g. in the case of our support for the Rainforest Alliance).