guide for social and environmental management system guide eng
Guide for designing and documenting a social
and environmental management system
Sustainable Agriculture Standards, Sustainable Agricultural Network
This material is a production of the regional project
“Conservation of biodiversity in coffee: Transforming
productive practices in the coffee growing sector to
increase demand for certified sustainable coffee,” sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and
executed by the Rainforest Alliance and Partners of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network.
The material was also supported by the regional project on “Strengthening existing sustainable agriculture
initiatives in the CAFTA-DR Region,” sponsored by the
United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this material are
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the United States Department of State.
Editing:
Hugo Álvarez Vargas,
Consultant for Rainforest Alliance
Wilfredo Rodríguez Callejas,
Consultant for Salvanatura
Technical direction:
Sandy Vargas Rubí
Training Specialist for Latin America
Rainforest Alliance
Graphic design:
Priscila Coto Monge
Cover illustration:
Vicky Ramos
Photographs:
© Rainforest Alliance
© 2010 Rainforest Alliance
All rights reserved.
Foreword
his Guide has been developed to enhance the preparation of a SocialEnvironmental Management System (SEMS) as part of the requirements
for Principle 1 –Social and environmental management system– of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network’s (SAN) Sustainable Agriculture Standards. his Guide is an explanatory document that describes the steps for
designing a SEMS through the use of texts, photos, diagrams, drawings,
and templates and/or record forms that can be used or adapted by the producers, technicians, administrators and other implementers of the SEMS
on candidate farms to attain or maintain certiication.
he Guide was designed for use on individual farms or farms that unite a
group of organized agricultural producers. he level of detail or complexity
of the Guide will mainly depend on the size of the productive unit (small,
medium-size or large farms) and the crop’s technological management
system, as in the cases of small family farms with simple or “household”
technologies or large farms with extensive use of inputs and highly industrialized and sophisticated processes. It is therefore hoped that this Guide
can be adapted to the wide range of productive agricultural systems present
in the Neotropics (from Mexico to Brazil) that voluntarily want to comply
with the principles of the Sustainable Agriculture Network and obtain the
international recognition of the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal.
his material complements in greater detail the aspects presented in Chapter
1 of the Implementation Guide for the Sustainable Agriculture Standards, which
was also prepared by Rainforest Alliance and the SAN partners in 2010.
The Guide is mainly meant for technicians, advisors, administrators and other people
in charge of documenting and implementing the Social-Environmental Management
System on farms or groups of farms.
v
General contents
vi
Foreword ..........................................................................................iii
General contents............................................................................iv
Índice de anexos ...............................................................................vi
Introduction ....................................................................................1
1.
Guide to designing the social and environmental
management system .................................................................1
2.
he management cycle and the SAN concept of continuing
improvement.............................................................................2
3.
General structure of the social and environmental
management system .................................................................5
Development of the Social
and environmental management system .....................................9
1.
Deining the general policies ....................................................9
2.
Regulatory framework for certiication and the
management system ...............................................................13
3.
Structure and personnel responsible for applying the SEMS .15
4.
List of basic programs for the SEMS .....................................16
5.
General budget or main investments ......................................17
6.
Managerial commitment (Criterion 1.3 of the Standards) ......18
7.
Summary of the social and environmental management
system (Criterion 1.4 of the Standards) ..................................19
8.
Archive for the documentation that comprises
the SEMS (Criterion 1.5 of the Standards) ............................20
9.
Preparation of the farm sketch or maps
(Criterion 1.2 “e” of the Standards) ........................................24
10. Description of the SEMS programs .......................................25
Development of programs for the social
and environmental management system ...................................27
1.
Program for monitoring and continuing improvement ...........27
2.
Program for training, environmental education and hygiene
for personnel ..........................................................................32
3.
Program for the evaluation of providers ..................................35
4.
Program for chain of custody ...................................................36
5.
Program for ecosystem conservation and wildlife protection ..40
6.
Program for water conservation and sound use ......................42
7.
Program for occupational health and safety ............................45
8.
Program for integrated pest and disease management .............48
9.
Program for soil erosion prevention and control ......................53
10. Program for integrated farm waste management .....................56
v ii
Annexes
viii
1.
Checklist .................................................................................62
2.
Summary of indings or “non-conformities” ............................75
3.
Action plan or improvement plan ............................................77
4.
Six-month timetable of activities .............................................79
5.
List of possible topics for training ...........................................80
6.
Records for training activities .................................................83
7.
Evaluation of the farm’s providers (contractors).......................84
8.
Evaluation of farm providers (farm inputs)..............................86
9.
Records for chain of custody....................................................88
10. Processed product control form ...............................................89
11. Stored product control form ....................................................90
12. Inventory of animal sightings on the farm ...............................91
13. Inventory of farm trees ............................................................92
14. Classiication of trees on farm .................................................93
15. Evaluation of vegetation in protection zones ...........................94
16. Record of trees and shrubs planted ..........................................95
ix
17. Daily record of water consumption and recirculation ..............96
18. Work accident record ...............................................................97
19. Procedure for the transport of agrochemicals ..........................98
20. Procedures for emergencies when transporting
agrochemicals .........................................................................99
21. Requirements for agrochemical storage ................................100
22. Timetable for pest and disease control in cofee crops ...........102
23. Record of pests and diseases in crops .....................................104
24. Chemical pest and disease control records .............................105
25. Records on agrochemicals bought or purchase orders............106
26. Records of agrochemicals applied ..........................................107
27. Record of people applying agrochemicals .............................108
28. Timetable for the soil erosion prevention
and control program .............................................................109
29. Waste management, institutions that recycle ........................110
Introduction
1
1. Guide to designing the social
and environmental management system
he April 2009 version of the Sustainable Agriculture Standards of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), hereafter referred to as “the Standards”, presents a total of ten principles made up of 94 criteria that must
be met to achieve sustainability. Of these, 14 criteria are critical and full
compliance with these is obligatory.
According to SAN policies, the Standards are applicable to the evaluation
and certiication of 100 diferent crops and ive that are included in an “addendum” (oil palm, sugarcane, soybean, peanut and sunlower). At present,
of the 100 crops, the ones for which certiication is most often requested in
Latin America include cofee, banana, cacao and ornamental plants such as
lowers, ferns and other foliage types.
Principle 1 – Social and environmental management system, of the Standards, states that “the social and environmental management system is a set of
policies and procedures managed by the farm management or group administrator
for planning and executing operations in a manner that fosters the implementation of the best management practices.” Based on the Sustainable Agriculture
Network’s experience with the certiication program, most farms, whether
small or large, which enter or are already part of the certiication program, show problems or deiciencies in structuring and documentation for
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
compliance with this principle. Poor understanding and improper interpretation by the implementers are among the main causes for this, along with
a lack of ideas and practical examples on how to comply with the criteria
of the Standards. hese are some of the main reasons why the Rainforest
Alliance is making this Guide for designing and documenting a social and environmental management system available to interested parties and the general
public.
Consequently, it is hoped that this Guide will allow the implementers go
beyond simple documentation toward making a farm or group of farms
eicient in planning, executing and achieving their goals; helping them deine social and environmental policies; and developing programs for training, continuing improvement and ensuring traceability in accord with the
requirements of Principle 1 of the Standards.
2
2. The management cycle
and the SAN concept
of continuing improvement
Generally, the social and environmental management system is meant to
help a farm work on Continuing Improvement toward sustainability in its
productive processes, gradually complying with the criteria of the Standards that will lead to its recognition as a farm certiied by the SAN. his
concept of continuing improvement is achieved through the Management
Cycle, whose steps are cyclical like the numbers on a clock. It includes the
assessment of activities in which weaknesses are identiied in the productive process regarding compliance with the Standards, the planning and
programming of corrective measures, the implementation of the measures,
and inally, the control or monitoring of compliance with respect to the
proposed goals.
Once the cycle is closed, the farm must re-start the assessment stage and
successively complete the subsequent stages until attaining higher levels of
sustainability. We can show this process graphically as follows:
1
4
2
Contro
Planning
3
Implementation
In t r od uct ion
Identification
3
Identiication (assessment)
In the assessment phase, the farm is evaluated using audits that can be conducted internally or externally. In this stage, an internal audit is carried out
by the farm’s own personnel and this is called a first-party audit. If the audit
is done by members of the cooperative, product buyers or others interested
parties outside of the farm, it is known as a second-party audit. In the latter
case, when the audit is done by personnel with no relationship to the farm,
association or cooperative, it is known as an external audit or third-party
audit because it is carried out by an “independent third party.” hird-party
audits are carried out by SAN members for the purposes of attaining or
maintaining certiication.
During the assessment stage, the implementer will discover that not all the
criteria of the Standards apply to the crop evaluated, because some are speciic for agroforestry crops (crops like cofee and cacao that are combined
with shade trees) while others only apply to monocultures in full sun like
banana and pineapple. In other cases where crops are grown “organically”,
it will be found that criteria regarding the use of agrochemicals seldom
apply. In any case, the objective of the assessment stage is to develop a list
of “indings or weaknesses” to determine which activities require improvements with respect to the Standards. Later this will take us to the stages for
organization and planning of the necessary corrective actions.
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
4
Planning
his phase is for planning the way that the indings encountered will be
corrected. he idea is to develop an Action Plan or Improvement Plan that
describes what must be done, the time period, the person in charge and
how much the activity will cost. Once the decision has been made to assign
resources for making improvements, the farm enters the implementation
stage.
Implementation
During this phase, the activities programmed in the planning phase are
executed using the resources assigned.
In general, the corrective actions generated by the farms or groups evaluated against the Standards are going to require improvements in the ield, in
infrastructure, in the product processing system, and in the documentation
that backs up the development of the productive activity. Fundamentally,
as we shall see further on, the improvement process will require implementing training and education actions with the personnel involved in crop
management, and the topic of training will be essential for achieving continuing improvement on a certiied farm or group of farms.
Control or monitoring
Control or monitoring is the last stage of the cycle where compliance with
what was programmed and what was implemented is evaluated. he effectiveness of the corrective actions selected for meeting the criteria of the
Standards is also evaluated.
Following this stage, the process continues giving rise to a new cycle of
identifying new indings or weaknesses and so on successively until ensuring that the goal of sustainability is being achieved under the conditions of
time and resources available for the farm.
In the continuing improvement process, the most important variable is
time, in which it is expected that the farm or group, year after year, will
be making positive changes in its activities toward achieving sustainability.
his is the main reason why the Management Cycle is constant in time,
which we can represent as an ascending spiral.
Toward sustainability
In t r od uct ion
rovement ove
r time
nuing imp
Conti
5
3. General structure of the social and
environmental management system
A documented social and environmental management system (SEMS) can
have diferent sections depending on the size, intensity or level of technological management of the farm or group. In any case and in accord with
the requirements of certiication, it will be necessary to at least describe the
main elements for compliance with the ten criteria that comprise Principle
1 of the Standards.
In a broader sense and without afecting the functionality of the SEMS,
this makes it possible to present it in two large groups to facilitate its comprehension, implementation and above all, documentation. herefore, the
requirements of the Standards can be organized into topics on planning/
administration and operation.
The documented SEMS should include
the following sections as a minimum:
Planning and administration aspects
Operational aspects
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
6
SEMS planning
and administration aspects
1. General policies:
• Consider the objectives, scope and validity of social and environmental policy.
• If desired, for large or more complex farms or groups, vision and
mission can be included1.
2. General conditions for certiication:
• Recognize the SAN policies and speciic standards as well as national legislation and international agreements that are applicable to
the farm or group.
3. Structure and personnel responsible for applying the SEMS:
• Deine the personnel in charge such as the farm landowner or producer, the administrator, manager, technicians, advisors, supervisors, and the organizational chart in cases where hierarchies are
more complex.
4.
List of the basic programs of the SEMS:
• Make a list of at least four basic programs for continuing improvement,
and six operational programs necessary for complying with Principles
2 to 10 of the Standards.
The implementers can also structure more programs if required.
5. General budget or principal investments:
• Describe the general core budget for the implementation of the main
activities of the SEMS.
6. Managerial commitment:
• Deine the commitment of the farm landowner or producer, and the
general manager or the legal representative, with respect to compliance
with the policies, standards and programs of the SEMS.
1
The Guide for the Implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Standards mentions how to prepare
the “Vision and Mission” concepts.
7. Summary of the SEMS:
• For medium-size and large farms, a summary of the SEMS should be
prepared for outreach to the workers and those in charge of areas and
the general public.
8. Archive of the documentation that integrates planning and administration; and the operational management of the SEMS.
In t r od uct ion
9. Preparation of sketches or maps.
Operational aspects of the SEMS
Detailed description of the programs and procedures for the SEMS:
7
Describe the basic programs for continuing improvement and other elements required by Principle 1, as
well as the operational programs needed to comply
with Principles 2 to 10 of the Standards.
Programs required
by Principle 1
1. Monitoring and continuing improvement.
Programs for complying
with Principles 2 to 10
2. Training, environmental
education and hygiene.
5. Ecosystem conservation and wildlife protection program.
3. Evaluation of providers.
6. Water conservation
program:
4. Chain of custody.
and
sound
use
• Wastewater monitoring.
• Potable water monitoring.
7. Occupational health and safety program.
8. Integrated pest and disease management
program.
9. Soil erosion
program.
prevention
and
control
10. Integrated waste management program for
farm wastes.
Development of the Social and
environmental management system
Once the general structure of the SEMS required by the Standards has been
deined, you can then proceed with the development stage. In this chapter
of the Guide, a more precise idea is given about how to formulate all the
documents that comprise the SEMS.
1. Deining the general policies
When you start to develop the SEMS, the irst step is to deine the social
and environmental objectives of the farm or group policies, as well as their
scope and validity.
Objectives of environmental and social policy
Independently of whether or not a Vision or Mission has been prepared,
a farm or group under Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certiication should
have a statement of environmental and social policies based on the requirements of the Standards. he policies describe the general intentions of the
landowners or producers, administrators and other implementers in farms
or groups with agricultural crops.
9
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Environmental policy
In objective terms, the farm’s environmental policy should mainly be focused on compliance with the following principles of the Standards:
• Ecosystem conservation.
• Wildlife protection.
• Water conservation.
• Integrated crop management.
• Soil conservation.
• Integrated waste management.
10
E X A M P L E S
Environmental
policy can be:
Protecting the agro-ecosystem,
to contribute to the conservation of the environment and the
wildlife that live on the farm.
To comply with this policy, reforestation plans will be developed
to diversify native species in the
area, protect recently planted
trees, plant trees on the edges
of roads, and prohibit the keeping of wild animals in captivity,
hunting, logging and the extraction of parasitic plants.
The farm makes a commitment to
produce cacao (coffee or banana,
depending on the crop) only in
zones that are suitable for agriculture and to use integrated crop
management to minimize pests
and diseases while avoiding the
use of banned agrochemicals.
Additionally, the farm commits to managing and treating
wastes from the farm and the
processing of cacao in a way
that complies with the law and
that does not negatively affect
the environment or the people
on or off the farm.
he social policy should be focused on the farm’s responsibility in ensuring
the rights of the workers, their good treatment, fair wages, occupational
safety, education, training and relations with the community. According to
the Standards, the social policy should consider the following principles:
• Fair treatment and good conditions for the workers.
• Occupational health and safety.
• Relations with the community.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
Social policy
11
E X A MPLE
The social policy can be:
The social policy of the La Suerte banana plantation is to ensure the
wellbeing of all the workers through compliance with the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certification requirements, the national legislation and
the international agreements signed by the country, such as those of the
International Labor Organization (ILO).
In hiring personnel, administrators will avoid discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sexual orientation or civil status and will not limit the
workers’ right to organize.
Only adults will be hired, preferably those who are inhabitants of neighboring communities; they and their families will have access to education
and health services.
The farm will not hire personnel through intermediaries or contractors, all
hiring of labor will be done directly through the administrators. Overtime,
days off, vacations and other rights established by law are recognized for
all temporary and permanent workers.
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
12
Scope of the policy and the management system
he scope briely describes the sites and places involved in the Rainforest
Alliance CertifiedTM certiication.
he scope emphasizes the people involved, the type of group they represent
(association, cooperative, farm), the size and number of farms, as well as
the places and types of installations involved.
E X A MPLE
Scope of the SEMS:
A total of five farms in the community of La Esperanza are included in
the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certification. The farms’ producers are
affiliated with the El Progreso RL Cooperative. It includes a total of 100
hectares in full coffee production with caturra, catuaí and typical varieties, 30 hectares of natural forest, a seedbed with 5000 coffee plants, two
wet mills, two areas for worm composting, and two pulp water treatment
plants. One of the farms has an area with 10 dormitories for temporary
workers during the harvest season.
Validity of the policy
and the management system
he policy and the SEMS will be in force for the maximum period for
complying with at least one cycle of the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certiication, which is three years.
E X A MPLE
Validity of the SEMS:
The Social and Environmental Management System will be valid for three
years, for the purpose of complying with at least one cycle of the contract for certification under Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM.
The SEMS document will be valid from January 2010 to January 2013, and
afterward this period will be reviewed and fully updated.
Each nation in Latin America has speciic labor and environmental legislation for regulating productive activities and in each case in particular,
the governments have signed international agreements that must also be
considered. Additionally, the farms and groups that have Rainforest Alliance
CertifiedTM certiication must also comply with their own standards, which
should be recognized by the implementers of the SEMS.
A copy of the decrees and national laws, the international agreements that
apply, as well as the SAN Standards should be kept in the administrative
oices of the farms or groups, for consultation by the implementers, workers and the general public.
In the case of small producers in a cooperative with reading limitations or
diiculty understanding the language, they should be given a talk or training session about the Standards by the extension agents of the organization.
his condition should also be met for all the ield workers and the technical
and administrative employees of medium-size and large farms.
Remember:
All the producers, technicians, administrators and farm workers should be familiar with the
main aspects of the laws and standards that apply to their different crop and processing
systems.
References applicable
to Rainforest Alliance Certiied™ certiication
• Sustainable Agriculture Standards.
• Farm Certiication Policy.
• Group Certiication Standards.
• Group Certiication Policy.
• Addendum with Additional Criteria.
• Requirements for Approval
of Chain of Custody.
• List of Prohibited Pesticides.
Remember:
Consult the valid
versions of these
documents at
agstandards@ra.org
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
2. Regulatory framework for certiication
and the management system
13
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
14
Applicable national legislation (by country)
• National labor laws and decrees, work codes, etc.
• National laws and decrees on occupational health and safety.
• National environmental laws and decrees (forests, water conservation,
soil use, watershed protection, closed seasons on endangered plant and
animal species, other).
• Speciic laws and decrees for crop processing, industrial waste management, wastewater treatment, other.
Applicable international
conventions (signed by each country)
of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
• Conventions 29 and 105 of the ILO – Regarding Forced Labor.
• Convention 87 of the ILO – Regarding Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize.
• Convention 98 of the ILO – Regarding the Right to Organize and
Collective Bargaining.
• Convention 138, recommendation 146 of the ILO – Regarding the
Minimum Age.
• Conventions 100 and 111 of the ILO – Regarding Equal Remuneration and Discrimination (Employment and Occupation).
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as
Habitat for Aquatic Species (RAMSAR Convention).
On small farms where management and production activities are done with
family participation, such as cofee and cacao farms, the person directly
in charge of applying the SEMS is the farm landowner or producer or the
head of the family.
When small farms are organized into cooperatives, the person in charge
of writing the SEMS is generally in charge of the technicians or extension agents, but the responsibility of applying it in the ield is always the
producer’s.
For medium-size or large farms where activities are managed with many
technical and administrative personnel, such as farms that produce banana,
pineapple, citrus or even large cofee farms, the chain of command and
the people in charge of areas that are responsible for the SEMS should be
described in a diagram. his diagram is called an organizational chart and
the people shown on it should be very well trained for the best development of the productive activities and
the management of the requirements
for certiication. he organizational
chart will also be extremely important for eiciently carrying out the
internal controls for production and
sound management of traceability or
the chain of custody, procedures or
systems that will be explained later in
this Guide.
The implementers of medium-size and
large farms and cooperatives designate
the people responsible for the SEMS
depending on their position and work
area location (for example: supervisors
of blocks or several cables on banana
farms, supervisors of various lots on
coffee farms or even zone supervisors,
communities or municipalities in the
case of group certifications).
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
3. Structure and personnel responsible
for applying the SEMS
15
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
4. List of basic programs for the SEMS
he SEMS document should at least contain a description of the following programs for compliance with the actions required by each one of the
principles of the Standards.
Programs for continuing improvement
• Monitoring and Continuing Improvement Program (Criterion 1.7)
• Training, Environmental Education and Personal Hygiene Program.
(Criteria 1.9, 5.18 and 7.5)
16
Operational programs
• Program for the Evaluation of Providers (Criterion 1.8)
• Program for the Management of Chain of Custody (Critical Criterion
1.10)
• Program for Ecosystem Conservation and Wildlife Protection (Principles 2 and 3)
• Program for Water Conservation and Sound Use (Criterion. 4.1)
• Wastewater monitoring
• Potable water monitoring
• Program for Occupational Health and Safety (Criterion 6.1)
• Program for Integrated Pest and Disease Management (Criterion 8.1)
• Program for Soil Erosion Prevention and Control (Criterion 9.1)
• Program for Integrated Farm Waste Management (Criterion 10.1)
Once the programs for continuing improvement and the operational programs of the Standards have been prepared, the basic budget needed for the
implementation of the procedures and main activities should be deined.
It is essential that farm producers, administrators and group managers assign the funds and personnel necessary for complying with the requirements of the Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS).
It should not be forgotten that once certiication has been achieved, the
system should be kept up to date and operating during the years of the
certiication contract, because if the resources are cut of the SEMS could
be ignored and certiication lost as a consequence.
The producers, technicians, administrators and other implementers should understand
that for logical reasons, investments will have to be made that are higher than those
made in the first years of the certification. This will depend on the type and quantity
of best practices that will have to be implemented in order to meet the criteria of the
Standards.
A reasonable way of preparing a budget for a farm or group of farms of any
size is through the information provided by the assessments in the internal
or external audits; by knowing the weaknesses, the activities needed to
deine the programs can be selected.
As an example, the format below can be used to make a budget:
Budget
Activities (Santa María Farm)
Year 1
An explanatory talk for personnel about the SAN Standards.
A talk for personnel about occupational safety.
A talk about first aid in the field.
Produce and plant 500 trees and shrubs for living barriers along
public roads and around housing areas.
Materials for building a composter.
Build filters for the treatment of processing water.
Buy personal protection equipment for applicators.
Total
Year 2
Year 3
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
5. General budget
or main investments
17
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
18
6. Managerial commitment
(Criterion 1.3 of the Standards)
he farm producer, administrator or manager should demonstrate their
commitment to certiication by meeting the requirements of the Standards
and the legislation in force. Similarly, they should be aware of and approve
the execution of the programs that comprise the SEMS and assign the
resources required for their implementation.
he commitment of the producer, administrator, manager or designated
person can be demonstrated by their signature on the SEMS document.
A paragraph can be written with the content of the commitment, placing
it on the front or inside cover of the documented SEMS.
E X A MPLE
Cover
THE GENERAL MANAGER OF
THE CACAOTEROS UNIDOS S.A. CERTIFIES THAT:
On behalf of this company, I express its commitment to comply with the
Principles and Criteria of the SAN’s Sustainable Agriculture Standards, the
policies described in this Social and Environmental Management System,
and with the labor, social and environmental legislation of the nation.
The human and economic resources for complying with the goals and
objectives of the operational work programs are recognized.
Signed in the city of
in the year two thousand ten.
Signature of the Manager
at
(hour) of
Corporate Seal
Establishing a commitment to compliance with the activities for the continuing improvement of the farm or group is very important.
Criterion 1.4 of the Standards requests that a summary of the SEMS be
made available and disseminated to the workers of the farm or group. he
summary can present the following elements:
• he social policy.
• he environmental policy.
• he mission and vision (if these were prepared).
• he objectives and the programs.
• he commitment of the producer, administrator, manager or person
designated to the SEMS and continuing improvement.
Depending on the type of farm and personnel involved, several resources
can be used in presenting the summary. For example, in the case of large
banana or cofee farms, blackboards or bulletin boards can used in administrative oices, dining halls, health centers, schools and worker lounges.
Depending on the type of personnel and their culture, photographs, texts
or drawings regarding the SEMS can also be posted.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
7. Summary of the social
and environmental management system
(Criterion 1.4 of the Standards)
19
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Another way of presenting the SEMS summary is through pamphlets or
brochures that can be posted or given to workers, families, schoolchildren
and visitors to the farm or cooperative.
he SEMS can also be made available to the national and international
public through the creation of a web page where general information about
the farm or group of farms can be posted.
In the case of associations or cooperative groups of small farms (cofee,
cacao, lowers and foliage), the administrators can use these ideas or even
generate their own options, to ensure suitable comprehension by the producers and their families.
Remember:
20
Training sessions for technical and administrative personnel and
farm workers should be programmed to ensure the best execution of the SEMS.
8. Archive for the documentation
that comprises the SEMS
(Criterion 1.5 of the Standards)
Written copies of all the documents that comprise the SEMS should be
kept in the administrative oices of the farms or cooperatives, including:
• he documented SEMS.
• A public summary of the SEMS.
• Records on training sessions.
• Records on program oversight or monitoring.
• Results from soil laboratory analyses.
• Results of potable water laboratory analyses.
• Results from processing wastewater analyses.
• Minutes of meetings of the health commission.
• hank-you letters to communities and schools for their assistance.
• … and all the documentation that is generated in the implementation
of the programs.
Some suggestions or ideas for archiving the information are presented below; these ideas depend on whether one is dealing with a small farm, a
large farm associated with a cooperative, or a medium-size or large farm
working individually.
Use of the notebook
and folder for on small farms
In most cases, small producers have made a sketch or hand-drawn map that
indicates the location of the crop areas, streams, the house, storage area,
processing site and the boundaries of the farm with the name of its neighbors. his kind of sketch is very useful in the farm’s SEMS document.
Generally, the small cofee or cacao producer also keeps a notebook with
the number of work hours invested in an activity, the cost (with invoices
and receipts) of the agrochemicals received or bought, and vouchers for
products that were received by the association or cooperative (sacks of coffee or rolls of lowers and foliage, for example).
In the case of cooperatives, another way to archive the documentation is
through the use of the “folder” that administrators deliver to each one of
the associated producers, which include the following documents:
• Document signed by the producer in which he agrees to:
• Comply with the principles and criteria of the Standards.
• Allow inspection visits by technicians.
• Allow external audit visits by SAN members.
• Comply with the recommendations issued by the technicians.
• Comply with the sanctions of the Group in cases of non-compliance.
• he sketch of the farm.
• Receipts for agrochemicals and fertilizers.
• Vouchers for product received by the association or cooperative.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
• Maps of the farm (location of crop areas, rivers, storage areas, other).
21
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
22
• Copies of inspection reports from the group’s technicians or promoters,
signed by the producer and the technicians, which indicate recommendations and corrective measures for crop management and compliance
with the Standards.
• Documents for training (pamphlets, brochures, photocopies and
others).
In the case of small producers, the folder and the notebook are the main documents
that should be kept on each one of the farms.
In the case of group or cooperative administrators, the documentation that should
be kept and archived corresponds to all the documents that comprise the SEMS, plus
other documents that are required by the Standards for Group Certification.
It is assumed that group administrators have the technical and administrative capacity
for managing the level of documentation required in representing small producers.
Use of ten portfolios
If the number of documents generated is considerable, another way of keeping the documentation is to place all the information for each principle of
the Standards in a portfolio; there should be 10 portfolios, each with enough
capacity to hold 500 sheets. All the paperwork corresponding to each principle is kept here.
he portfolios should be numbered
from 1 to 10 and labeled with the name
of its corresponding principle. For
example:
• Portfolio Nº 1 – Social and environmental management system
• Portfolio Nº 2 – Ecosystem
conservation
And so on, to the last principle,
• Portfolio Nº 10 – Integrated waste
management.
Another way of archiving the documentation is to use two portfolios, dividing the material into the two large groups that were presented at the
beginning of the section on the Structure of the Management System, for
example:
• Portfolio Nº 1 – Social and environmental management system. Stores
documents related to planning and administration:
• Copy of the SEMS documents.
• SAN Standards (standards, policies, pesticide list, etc.).
• Copies of national laws.
• Copies of international agreements that apply to the farm.
• Portfolio Nº 2 – Year 2011. Stores the information that is generated
in each one of the programs and archives the information in a single
portfolio by year:
• Copy of programs.
• Records on implementation.
• Results of laboratory analyses.
• Letters for neighboring communities.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
Use of 2 portfolios
23
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Use of metal
or wood iling cabinets
In the case of large and medium-size
farms with administrative oices, a wooden ile with at least two drawers or even
an upright metal ile can be used to store
the documentation. In this case a hanging
ile can be assigned to each principle of the
Standards or a drawer can be used for the
planning documents (documents for Principle 1), and another drawer can be used
for documentation generated each year for
Principles 2 to 10, corresponding to the
programs for the Standards.
24
Remember:
All documentation must be
kept on file for at least three
years.
9. Preparation of the farm sketch or maps
(Criterion 1.2 “e” of the Standards)
As part of the SEMS, the Standards mention
that sketches or maps should be prepared
that identify the farms, the infrastructure
and the special areas for conservation.
Sketch or hand-drawn map.
In the case of small individual farms or
ones organized into cooperatives, as mentioned earlier, each producer must draw a
map or sketch that shows the boundaries
of the farm, the lots of cofee or crop areas,
streams, springs, the house, other crops and
the protected forest areas, if any.
For larger, more techniied farms, the maps
should contain more detail and possibly be
prepared using a Geographic Information
System (GIS). In it, land use should be better identiied, showing the areas suitable for
crops and the areas suitable for environmental conservation. Due to the size of the farm,
infrastructure can be deined in greater
Maps aid mobility on the farm and
also make the work more efficient,
reducing operational costs.
During assessments and audits,
maps help orient the auditors (internal and external) so that they better
understand the management of the
system on the farm.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
detail, showing the placement of: housing, storage areas, the mill, roads,
composting area, oxidation lagoons or wastewater treatment systems, and
schools and health centers, if these exist on the farm.
25
Map prepared using a Geographic
Information System (GIS).
10. Description of the SEMS programs
To facilitate the organization of the information, the content of the SEMS
programs can be presented using the following scheme. he implementers
can use the preferred scheme or one that has been better adapted to each
farm or group of farms:
E X A MPLE
Scheme
• Introduction: summary of the program.
• Objectives: short and long term plans.
• Short/long term goals: quantify achievements for meeting objectives.
• Activities to carry out: activities and tasks for achieving goals.
• Procedures: ordered steps for the execution of a process.
• Timetable: time periods for developing activities.
• Persons in charge: those responsible for activities and procedures.
• Necessary records: charts for verifying the execution of activities.
Development of programs
for the social and environmental
management system
We have now learned about the general structure of the SEMS and the
documents that comprise it. his chapter of the Guide will provide ideas
and examples of how to develop each one of the programs required by
the Standards along with sample forms, procedures, checklists, records and
other documents needed in each one of the programs.
In the Annexes section (at the end of this Guide), you will ind blank formats for these templates that you can photocopy and ill out by hand; or if
you prefer, we have prepared a compact disc with these formats that you
can download and ill out in your computer.
1. Program for monitoring
and continuing improvement
Remember, the farms and groups of farms that aim to achieve sustainability should have a method to help them determine the current status
of the farm, the status desired, and whether or not this is being achieved
(Criterion 1.7 of the Standards).
As mentioned at the beginning, the method required the execution of several basic stages such as the Identiication or Assessment stage, the Planning stage, and the Implementation and Control or Monitoring stages.
his sequence of steps over time is the Management Cycle.
he Monitoring and Continuing Improvement Program should describe
the ways that internal audits, the evaluation of results, the planning of activities and the preparation of a new Action Plan or Improvement Plan will
27
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
be carried out in the coming months. In the case of already certiied farms,
the external or third-party audits also give us information for the preparation of the action plans. his entire process applies to individual farms and
groups of farms.
For a large or small farm, the Monitoring and Continuing Improvement
Program can include the following information:
Introduction
Write a general summary of the entire program that describes: the plans
and programs to be monitored, the sites that fall within the scope of the
certiication, the time periods, the way that monitoring will be carried out,
and the means of implementing continuing improvements.
28
Objectives
hese are the achievements that we are expecting and they will be attained
by the fulillment of several goals.
E X A MPLE
Objectives
One short-term objective is to conduct an assessment of the farm to see
whether or not it is in compliance with the Standards and to select the
best management practices for adherence to the farm’s environmental
and social policies.
The long-term objective is to have the farm implementing best agricultural practices in order to obtain certification for a second three-year
cycle.
Short, medium and long term goals
Completion of the goals allows fulillment of the objectives proposed,
which is why they should be very well deined and relevant.
To deine the goals, we ask ourselves several questions:
• How many and which programs are going to be monitored?
• How long will monitoring take?
• How often should monitoring be carried out (frequency)?
• What will the continuing improvements be?
E X A MPLE
Short-term goals:
During year 1 of the certification, evaluate compliance with the 10 programs that comprise the SEMS.
Incorporate two best practices for solid and liquid waste treatment into
wet mill operations.
Conduct interviews and hold a meeting to measure the level of knowledge about solid and liquid waste management among farm workers
and their families.
Medium-term goals:
During year 2 of the certification, evaluate the level of solid and liquid
waste management that families carry out in nine housing areas of the
farm.
Evaluate the functionality of the two best practices for wet mill solid and
liquid waste treatment.
Long-term goals:
In 2012, form a team of five people from outside the farm to conduct an
internal assessment of compliance with the ten programs and update
the SEMS.
Prepare a list of new “Non-conformities” found to update the Action Plan
or Improvements Plan and implement the necessary corrective actions.
Main activities to carry out
Provide details of the activities that will be carried out for monitoring and
continuing improvement of the programs.
Identiication (Assessment)
In this irst stage an internal audit is done. Remember that this is a review
done by farm personnel, people known to the farm, or people from other
nearby farms. It is better and more realistic if done by people who do not
belong to the farm.
• On the farm of a small producer, the review can be made by a group of
neighboring producers.
De v el opme n t of pr o g rams
Goals
29
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
30
• If the farm is ailiated with a cooperative, the review should be done
by the technician or extension agent who works for the cooperative.
In this case, several neighbor producers can participate as a means of
training regarding evaluating the use of best agricultural practices and
the ways of evaluating compliance with the Standards.
It is easier for outside persons to find the
weaknesses of our farm during audits.
During the internal audit, observations and interviews are made and the
documents are reviewed:
• Observations: tours are made of the entire farm to observe the status of
the plantations, the soil, the storage areas, the river and stream protection areas, worker housing, housing sewage disposal, and the domestic
waste disposal sites. In the case of cofee farms, observations are made
of the wet mill, pulp disposal sites, and waste or pulp water discharge. In the cases of pineapple and banana farms, the fruit processing
plants and the waste and processing water treatment systems will be
observed.
• Interviews: temporary and permanent farm workers, pickers and
neighbors that may be afected by the farm’s productive activities are
interviewed.
If there is any support provided by the farm to the community, then
it is important to include interviews with community representatives
(mayor, development association, water committee, roads committee,
school director, teachers, and others).
• Documents: all the documents of the SEM
and environmental management system
Sustainable Agriculture Standards, Sustainable Agricultural Network
This material is a production of the regional project
“Conservation of biodiversity in coffee: Transforming
productive practices in the coffee growing sector to
increase demand for certified sustainable coffee,” sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and
executed by the Rainforest Alliance and Partners of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network.
The material was also supported by the regional project on “Strengthening existing sustainable agriculture
initiatives in the CAFTA-DR Region,” sponsored by the
United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this material are
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the United States Department of State.
Editing:
Hugo Álvarez Vargas,
Consultant for Rainforest Alliance
Wilfredo Rodríguez Callejas,
Consultant for Salvanatura
Technical direction:
Sandy Vargas Rubí
Training Specialist for Latin America
Rainforest Alliance
Graphic design:
Priscila Coto Monge
Cover illustration:
Vicky Ramos
Photographs:
© Rainforest Alliance
© 2010 Rainforest Alliance
All rights reserved.
Foreword
his Guide has been developed to enhance the preparation of a SocialEnvironmental Management System (SEMS) as part of the requirements
for Principle 1 –Social and environmental management system– of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network’s (SAN) Sustainable Agriculture Standards. his Guide is an explanatory document that describes the steps for
designing a SEMS through the use of texts, photos, diagrams, drawings,
and templates and/or record forms that can be used or adapted by the producers, technicians, administrators and other implementers of the SEMS
on candidate farms to attain or maintain certiication.
he Guide was designed for use on individual farms or farms that unite a
group of organized agricultural producers. he level of detail or complexity
of the Guide will mainly depend on the size of the productive unit (small,
medium-size or large farms) and the crop’s technological management
system, as in the cases of small family farms with simple or “household”
technologies or large farms with extensive use of inputs and highly industrialized and sophisticated processes. It is therefore hoped that this Guide
can be adapted to the wide range of productive agricultural systems present
in the Neotropics (from Mexico to Brazil) that voluntarily want to comply
with the principles of the Sustainable Agriculture Network and obtain the
international recognition of the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal.
his material complements in greater detail the aspects presented in Chapter
1 of the Implementation Guide for the Sustainable Agriculture Standards, which
was also prepared by Rainforest Alliance and the SAN partners in 2010.
The Guide is mainly meant for technicians, advisors, administrators and other people
in charge of documenting and implementing the Social-Environmental Management
System on farms or groups of farms.
v
General contents
vi
Foreword ..........................................................................................iii
General contents............................................................................iv
Índice de anexos ...............................................................................vi
Introduction ....................................................................................1
1.
Guide to designing the social and environmental
management system .................................................................1
2.
he management cycle and the SAN concept of continuing
improvement.............................................................................2
3.
General structure of the social and environmental
management system .................................................................5
Development of the Social
and environmental management system .....................................9
1.
Deining the general policies ....................................................9
2.
Regulatory framework for certiication and the
management system ...............................................................13
3.
Structure and personnel responsible for applying the SEMS .15
4.
List of basic programs for the SEMS .....................................16
5.
General budget or main investments ......................................17
6.
Managerial commitment (Criterion 1.3 of the Standards) ......18
7.
Summary of the social and environmental management
system (Criterion 1.4 of the Standards) ..................................19
8.
Archive for the documentation that comprises
the SEMS (Criterion 1.5 of the Standards) ............................20
9.
Preparation of the farm sketch or maps
(Criterion 1.2 “e” of the Standards) ........................................24
10. Description of the SEMS programs .......................................25
Development of programs for the social
and environmental management system ...................................27
1.
Program for monitoring and continuing improvement ...........27
2.
Program for training, environmental education and hygiene
for personnel ..........................................................................32
3.
Program for the evaluation of providers ..................................35
4.
Program for chain of custody ...................................................36
5.
Program for ecosystem conservation and wildlife protection ..40
6.
Program for water conservation and sound use ......................42
7.
Program for occupational health and safety ............................45
8.
Program for integrated pest and disease management .............48
9.
Program for soil erosion prevention and control ......................53
10. Program for integrated farm waste management .....................56
v ii
Annexes
viii
1.
Checklist .................................................................................62
2.
Summary of indings or “non-conformities” ............................75
3.
Action plan or improvement plan ............................................77
4.
Six-month timetable of activities .............................................79
5.
List of possible topics for training ...........................................80
6.
Records for training activities .................................................83
7.
Evaluation of the farm’s providers (contractors).......................84
8.
Evaluation of farm providers (farm inputs)..............................86
9.
Records for chain of custody....................................................88
10. Processed product control form ...............................................89
11. Stored product control form ....................................................90
12. Inventory of animal sightings on the farm ...............................91
13. Inventory of farm trees ............................................................92
14. Classiication of trees on farm .................................................93
15. Evaluation of vegetation in protection zones ...........................94
16. Record of trees and shrubs planted ..........................................95
ix
17. Daily record of water consumption and recirculation ..............96
18. Work accident record ...............................................................97
19. Procedure for the transport of agrochemicals ..........................98
20. Procedures for emergencies when transporting
agrochemicals .........................................................................99
21. Requirements for agrochemical storage ................................100
22. Timetable for pest and disease control in cofee crops ...........102
23. Record of pests and diseases in crops .....................................104
24. Chemical pest and disease control records .............................105
25. Records on agrochemicals bought or purchase orders............106
26. Records of agrochemicals applied ..........................................107
27. Record of people applying agrochemicals .............................108
28. Timetable for the soil erosion prevention
and control program .............................................................109
29. Waste management, institutions that recycle ........................110
Introduction
1
1. Guide to designing the social
and environmental management system
he April 2009 version of the Sustainable Agriculture Standards of the
Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), hereafter referred to as “the Standards”, presents a total of ten principles made up of 94 criteria that must
be met to achieve sustainability. Of these, 14 criteria are critical and full
compliance with these is obligatory.
According to SAN policies, the Standards are applicable to the evaluation
and certiication of 100 diferent crops and ive that are included in an “addendum” (oil palm, sugarcane, soybean, peanut and sunlower). At present,
of the 100 crops, the ones for which certiication is most often requested in
Latin America include cofee, banana, cacao and ornamental plants such as
lowers, ferns and other foliage types.
Principle 1 – Social and environmental management system, of the Standards, states that “the social and environmental management system is a set of
policies and procedures managed by the farm management or group administrator
for planning and executing operations in a manner that fosters the implementation of the best management practices.” Based on the Sustainable Agriculture
Network’s experience with the certiication program, most farms, whether
small or large, which enter or are already part of the certiication program, show problems or deiciencies in structuring and documentation for
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
compliance with this principle. Poor understanding and improper interpretation by the implementers are among the main causes for this, along with
a lack of ideas and practical examples on how to comply with the criteria
of the Standards. hese are some of the main reasons why the Rainforest
Alliance is making this Guide for designing and documenting a social and environmental management system available to interested parties and the general
public.
Consequently, it is hoped that this Guide will allow the implementers go
beyond simple documentation toward making a farm or group of farms
eicient in planning, executing and achieving their goals; helping them deine social and environmental policies; and developing programs for training, continuing improvement and ensuring traceability in accord with the
requirements of Principle 1 of the Standards.
2
2. The management cycle
and the SAN concept
of continuing improvement
Generally, the social and environmental management system is meant to
help a farm work on Continuing Improvement toward sustainability in its
productive processes, gradually complying with the criteria of the Standards that will lead to its recognition as a farm certiied by the SAN. his
concept of continuing improvement is achieved through the Management
Cycle, whose steps are cyclical like the numbers on a clock. It includes the
assessment of activities in which weaknesses are identiied in the productive process regarding compliance with the Standards, the planning and
programming of corrective measures, the implementation of the measures,
and inally, the control or monitoring of compliance with respect to the
proposed goals.
Once the cycle is closed, the farm must re-start the assessment stage and
successively complete the subsequent stages until attaining higher levels of
sustainability. We can show this process graphically as follows:
1
4
2
Contro
Planning
3
Implementation
In t r od uct ion
Identification
3
Identiication (assessment)
In the assessment phase, the farm is evaluated using audits that can be conducted internally or externally. In this stage, an internal audit is carried out
by the farm’s own personnel and this is called a first-party audit. If the audit
is done by members of the cooperative, product buyers or others interested
parties outside of the farm, it is known as a second-party audit. In the latter
case, when the audit is done by personnel with no relationship to the farm,
association or cooperative, it is known as an external audit or third-party
audit because it is carried out by an “independent third party.” hird-party
audits are carried out by SAN members for the purposes of attaining or
maintaining certiication.
During the assessment stage, the implementer will discover that not all the
criteria of the Standards apply to the crop evaluated, because some are speciic for agroforestry crops (crops like cofee and cacao that are combined
with shade trees) while others only apply to monocultures in full sun like
banana and pineapple. In other cases where crops are grown “organically”,
it will be found that criteria regarding the use of agrochemicals seldom
apply. In any case, the objective of the assessment stage is to develop a list
of “indings or weaknesses” to determine which activities require improvements with respect to the Standards. Later this will take us to the stages for
organization and planning of the necessary corrective actions.
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
4
Planning
his phase is for planning the way that the indings encountered will be
corrected. he idea is to develop an Action Plan or Improvement Plan that
describes what must be done, the time period, the person in charge and
how much the activity will cost. Once the decision has been made to assign
resources for making improvements, the farm enters the implementation
stage.
Implementation
During this phase, the activities programmed in the planning phase are
executed using the resources assigned.
In general, the corrective actions generated by the farms or groups evaluated against the Standards are going to require improvements in the ield, in
infrastructure, in the product processing system, and in the documentation
that backs up the development of the productive activity. Fundamentally,
as we shall see further on, the improvement process will require implementing training and education actions with the personnel involved in crop
management, and the topic of training will be essential for achieving continuing improvement on a certiied farm or group of farms.
Control or monitoring
Control or monitoring is the last stage of the cycle where compliance with
what was programmed and what was implemented is evaluated. he effectiveness of the corrective actions selected for meeting the criteria of the
Standards is also evaluated.
Following this stage, the process continues giving rise to a new cycle of
identifying new indings or weaknesses and so on successively until ensuring that the goal of sustainability is being achieved under the conditions of
time and resources available for the farm.
In the continuing improvement process, the most important variable is
time, in which it is expected that the farm or group, year after year, will
be making positive changes in its activities toward achieving sustainability.
his is the main reason why the Management Cycle is constant in time,
which we can represent as an ascending spiral.
Toward sustainability
In t r od uct ion
rovement ove
r time
nuing imp
Conti
5
3. General structure of the social and
environmental management system
A documented social and environmental management system (SEMS) can
have diferent sections depending on the size, intensity or level of technological management of the farm or group. In any case and in accord with
the requirements of certiication, it will be necessary to at least describe the
main elements for compliance with the ten criteria that comprise Principle
1 of the Standards.
In a broader sense and without afecting the functionality of the SEMS,
this makes it possible to present it in two large groups to facilitate its comprehension, implementation and above all, documentation. herefore, the
requirements of the Standards can be organized into topics on planning/
administration and operation.
The documented SEMS should include
the following sections as a minimum:
Planning and administration aspects
Operational aspects
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
6
SEMS planning
and administration aspects
1. General policies:
• Consider the objectives, scope and validity of social and environmental policy.
• If desired, for large or more complex farms or groups, vision and
mission can be included1.
2. General conditions for certiication:
• Recognize the SAN policies and speciic standards as well as national legislation and international agreements that are applicable to
the farm or group.
3. Structure and personnel responsible for applying the SEMS:
• Deine the personnel in charge such as the farm landowner or producer, the administrator, manager, technicians, advisors, supervisors, and the organizational chart in cases where hierarchies are
more complex.
4.
List of the basic programs of the SEMS:
• Make a list of at least four basic programs for continuing improvement,
and six operational programs necessary for complying with Principles
2 to 10 of the Standards.
The implementers can also structure more programs if required.
5. General budget or principal investments:
• Describe the general core budget for the implementation of the main
activities of the SEMS.
6. Managerial commitment:
• Deine the commitment of the farm landowner or producer, and the
general manager or the legal representative, with respect to compliance
with the policies, standards and programs of the SEMS.
1
The Guide for the Implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Standards mentions how to prepare
the “Vision and Mission” concepts.
7. Summary of the SEMS:
• For medium-size and large farms, a summary of the SEMS should be
prepared for outreach to the workers and those in charge of areas and
the general public.
8. Archive of the documentation that integrates planning and administration; and the operational management of the SEMS.
In t r od uct ion
9. Preparation of sketches or maps.
Operational aspects of the SEMS
Detailed description of the programs and procedures for the SEMS:
7
Describe the basic programs for continuing improvement and other elements required by Principle 1, as
well as the operational programs needed to comply
with Principles 2 to 10 of the Standards.
Programs required
by Principle 1
1. Monitoring and continuing improvement.
Programs for complying
with Principles 2 to 10
2. Training, environmental
education and hygiene.
5. Ecosystem conservation and wildlife protection program.
3. Evaluation of providers.
6. Water conservation
program:
4. Chain of custody.
and
sound
use
• Wastewater monitoring.
• Potable water monitoring.
7. Occupational health and safety program.
8. Integrated pest and disease management
program.
9. Soil erosion
program.
prevention
and
control
10. Integrated waste management program for
farm wastes.
Development of the Social and
environmental management system
Once the general structure of the SEMS required by the Standards has been
deined, you can then proceed with the development stage. In this chapter
of the Guide, a more precise idea is given about how to formulate all the
documents that comprise the SEMS.
1. Deining the general policies
When you start to develop the SEMS, the irst step is to deine the social
and environmental objectives of the farm or group policies, as well as their
scope and validity.
Objectives of environmental and social policy
Independently of whether or not a Vision or Mission has been prepared,
a farm or group under Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certiication should
have a statement of environmental and social policies based on the requirements of the Standards. he policies describe the general intentions of the
landowners or producers, administrators and other implementers in farms
or groups with agricultural crops.
9
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Environmental policy
In objective terms, the farm’s environmental policy should mainly be focused on compliance with the following principles of the Standards:
• Ecosystem conservation.
• Wildlife protection.
• Water conservation.
• Integrated crop management.
• Soil conservation.
• Integrated waste management.
10
E X A M P L E S
Environmental
policy can be:
Protecting the agro-ecosystem,
to contribute to the conservation of the environment and the
wildlife that live on the farm.
To comply with this policy, reforestation plans will be developed
to diversify native species in the
area, protect recently planted
trees, plant trees on the edges
of roads, and prohibit the keeping of wild animals in captivity,
hunting, logging and the extraction of parasitic plants.
The farm makes a commitment to
produce cacao (coffee or banana,
depending on the crop) only in
zones that are suitable for agriculture and to use integrated crop
management to minimize pests
and diseases while avoiding the
use of banned agrochemicals.
Additionally, the farm commits to managing and treating
wastes from the farm and the
processing of cacao in a way
that complies with the law and
that does not negatively affect
the environment or the people
on or off the farm.
he social policy should be focused on the farm’s responsibility in ensuring
the rights of the workers, their good treatment, fair wages, occupational
safety, education, training and relations with the community. According to
the Standards, the social policy should consider the following principles:
• Fair treatment and good conditions for the workers.
• Occupational health and safety.
• Relations with the community.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
Social policy
11
E X A MPLE
The social policy can be:
The social policy of the La Suerte banana plantation is to ensure the
wellbeing of all the workers through compliance with the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certification requirements, the national legislation and
the international agreements signed by the country, such as those of the
International Labor Organization (ILO).
In hiring personnel, administrators will avoid discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sexual orientation or civil status and will not limit the
workers’ right to organize.
Only adults will be hired, preferably those who are inhabitants of neighboring communities; they and their families will have access to education
and health services.
The farm will not hire personnel through intermediaries or contractors, all
hiring of labor will be done directly through the administrators. Overtime,
days off, vacations and other rights established by law are recognized for
all temporary and permanent workers.
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
12
Scope of the policy and the management system
he scope briely describes the sites and places involved in the Rainforest
Alliance CertifiedTM certiication.
he scope emphasizes the people involved, the type of group they represent
(association, cooperative, farm), the size and number of farms, as well as
the places and types of installations involved.
E X A MPLE
Scope of the SEMS:
A total of five farms in the community of La Esperanza are included in
the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certification. The farms’ producers are
affiliated with the El Progreso RL Cooperative. It includes a total of 100
hectares in full coffee production with caturra, catuaí and typical varieties, 30 hectares of natural forest, a seedbed with 5000 coffee plants, two
wet mills, two areas for worm composting, and two pulp water treatment
plants. One of the farms has an area with 10 dormitories for temporary
workers during the harvest season.
Validity of the policy
and the management system
he policy and the SEMS will be in force for the maximum period for
complying with at least one cycle of the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM certiication, which is three years.
E X A MPLE
Validity of the SEMS:
The Social and Environmental Management System will be valid for three
years, for the purpose of complying with at least one cycle of the contract for certification under Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM.
The SEMS document will be valid from January 2010 to January 2013, and
afterward this period will be reviewed and fully updated.
Each nation in Latin America has speciic labor and environmental legislation for regulating productive activities and in each case in particular,
the governments have signed international agreements that must also be
considered. Additionally, the farms and groups that have Rainforest Alliance
CertifiedTM certiication must also comply with their own standards, which
should be recognized by the implementers of the SEMS.
A copy of the decrees and national laws, the international agreements that
apply, as well as the SAN Standards should be kept in the administrative
oices of the farms or groups, for consultation by the implementers, workers and the general public.
In the case of small producers in a cooperative with reading limitations or
diiculty understanding the language, they should be given a talk or training session about the Standards by the extension agents of the organization.
his condition should also be met for all the ield workers and the technical
and administrative employees of medium-size and large farms.
Remember:
All the producers, technicians, administrators and farm workers should be familiar with the
main aspects of the laws and standards that apply to their different crop and processing
systems.
References applicable
to Rainforest Alliance Certiied™ certiication
• Sustainable Agriculture Standards.
• Farm Certiication Policy.
• Group Certiication Standards.
• Group Certiication Policy.
• Addendum with Additional Criteria.
• Requirements for Approval
of Chain of Custody.
• List of Prohibited Pesticides.
Remember:
Consult the valid
versions of these
documents at
agstandards@ra.org
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
2. Regulatory framework for certiication
and the management system
13
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
14
Applicable national legislation (by country)
• National labor laws and decrees, work codes, etc.
• National laws and decrees on occupational health and safety.
• National environmental laws and decrees (forests, water conservation,
soil use, watershed protection, closed seasons on endangered plant and
animal species, other).
• Speciic laws and decrees for crop processing, industrial waste management, wastewater treatment, other.
Applicable international
conventions (signed by each country)
of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
• Conventions 29 and 105 of the ILO – Regarding Forced Labor.
• Convention 87 of the ILO – Regarding Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize.
• Convention 98 of the ILO – Regarding the Right to Organize and
Collective Bargaining.
• Convention 138, recommendation 146 of the ILO – Regarding the
Minimum Age.
• Conventions 100 and 111 of the ILO – Regarding Equal Remuneration and Discrimination (Employment and Occupation).
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as
Habitat for Aquatic Species (RAMSAR Convention).
On small farms where management and production activities are done with
family participation, such as cofee and cacao farms, the person directly
in charge of applying the SEMS is the farm landowner or producer or the
head of the family.
When small farms are organized into cooperatives, the person in charge
of writing the SEMS is generally in charge of the technicians or extension agents, but the responsibility of applying it in the ield is always the
producer’s.
For medium-size or large farms where activities are managed with many
technical and administrative personnel, such as farms that produce banana,
pineapple, citrus or even large cofee farms, the chain of command and
the people in charge of areas that are responsible for the SEMS should be
described in a diagram. his diagram is called an organizational chart and
the people shown on it should be very well trained for the best development of the productive activities and
the management of the requirements
for certiication. he organizational
chart will also be extremely important for eiciently carrying out the
internal controls for production and
sound management of traceability or
the chain of custody, procedures or
systems that will be explained later in
this Guide.
The implementers of medium-size and
large farms and cooperatives designate
the people responsible for the SEMS
depending on their position and work
area location (for example: supervisors
of blocks or several cables on banana
farms, supervisors of various lots on
coffee farms or even zone supervisors,
communities or municipalities in the
case of group certifications).
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
3. Structure and personnel responsible
for applying the SEMS
15
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
4. List of basic programs for the SEMS
he SEMS document should at least contain a description of the following programs for compliance with the actions required by each one of the
principles of the Standards.
Programs for continuing improvement
• Monitoring and Continuing Improvement Program (Criterion 1.7)
• Training, Environmental Education and Personal Hygiene Program.
(Criteria 1.9, 5.18 and 7.5)
16
Operational programs
• Program for the Evaluation of Providers (Criterion 1.8)
• Program for the Management of Chain of Custody (Critical Criterion
1.10)
• Program for Ecosystem Conservation and Wildlife Protection (Principles 2 and 3)
• Program for Water Conservation and Sound Use (Criterion. 4.1)
• Wastewater monitoring
• Potable water monitoring
• Program for Occupational Health and Safety (Criterion 6.1)
• Program for Integrated Pest and Disease Management (Criterion 8.1)
• Program for Soil Erosion Prevention and Control (Criterion 9.1)
• Program for Integrated Farm Waste Management (Criterion 10.1)
Once the programs for continuing improvement and the operational programs of the Standards have been prepared, the basic budget needed for the
implementation of the procedures and main activities should be deined.
It is essential that farm producers, administrators and group managers assign the funds and personnel necessary for complying with the requirements of the Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS).
It should not be forgotten that once certiication has been achieved, the
system should be kept up to date and operating during the years of the
certiication contract, because if the resources are cut of the SEMS could
be ignored and certiication lost as a consequence.
The producers, technicians, administrators and other implementers should understand
that for logical reasons, investments will have to be made that are higher than those
made in the first years of the certification. This will depend on the type and quantity
of best practices that will have to be implemented in order to meet the criteria of the
Standards.
A reasonable way of preparing a budget for a farm or group of farms of any
size is through the information provided by the assessments in the internal
or external audits; by knowing the weaknesses, the activities needed to
deine the programs can be selected.
As an example, the format below can be used to make a budget:
Budget
Activities (Santa María Farm)
Year 1
An explanatory talk for personnel about the SAN Standards.
A talk for personnel about occupational safety.
A talk about first aid in the field.
Produce and plant 500 trees and shrubs for living barriers along
public roads and around housing areas.
Materials for building a composter.
Build filters for the treatment of processing water.
Buy personal protection equipment for applicators.
Total
Year 2
Year 3
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
5. General budget
or main investments
17
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
18
6. Managerial commitment
(Criterion 1.3 of the Standards)
he farm producer, administrator or manager should demonstrate their
commitment to certiication by meeting the requirements of the Standards
and the legislation in force. Similarly, they should be aware of and approve
the execution of the programs that comprise the SEMS and assign the
resources required for their implementation.
he commitment of the producer, administrator, manager or designated
person can be demonstrated by their signature on the SEMS document.
A paragraph can be written with the content of the commitment, placing
it on the front or inside cover of the documented SEMS.
E X A MPLE
Cover
THE GENERAL MANAGER OF
THE CACAOTEROS UNIDOS S.A. CERTIFIES THAT:
On behalf of this company, I express its commitment to comply with the
Principles and Criteria of the SAN’s Sustainable Agriculture Standards, the
policies described in this Social and Environmental Management System,
and with the labor, social and environmental legislation of the nation.
The human and economic resources for complying with the goals and
objectives of the operational work programs are recognized.
Signed in the city of
in the year two thousand ten.
Signature of the Manager
at
(hour) of
Corporate Seal
Establishing a commitment to compliance with the activities for the continuing improvement of the farm or group is very important.
Criterion 1.4 of the Standards requests that a summary of the SEMS be
made available and disseminated to the workers of the farm or group. he
summary can present the following elements:
• he social policy.
• he environmental policy.
• he mission and vision (if these were prepared).
• he objectives and the programs.
• he commitment of the producer, administrator, manager or person
designated to the SEMS and continuing improvement.
Depending on the type of farm and personnel involved, several resources
can be used in presenting the summary. For example, in the case of large
banana or cofee farms, blackboards or bulletin boards can used in administrative oices, dining halls, health centers, schools and worker lounges.
Depending on the type of personnel and their culture, photographs, texts
or drawings regarding the SEMS can also be posted.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
7. Summary of the social
and environmental management system
(Criterion 1.4 of the Standards)
19
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Another way of presenting the SEMS summary is through pamphlets or
brochures that can be posted or given to workers, families, schoolchildren
and visitors to the farm or cooperative.
he SEMS can also be made available to the national and international
public through the creation of a web page where general information about
the farm or group of farms can be posted.
In the case of associations or cooperative groups of small farms (cofee,
cacao, lowers and foliage), the administrators can use these ideas or even
generate their own options, to ensure suitable comprehension by the producers and their families.
Remember:
20
Training sessions for technical and administrative personnel and
farm workers should be programmed to ensure the best execution of the SEMS.
8. Archive for the documentation
that comprises the SEMS
(Criterion 1.5 of the Standards)
Written copies of all the documents that comprise the SEMS should be
kept in the administrative oices of the farms or cooperatives, including:
• he documented SEMS.
• A public summary of the SEMS.
• Records on training sessions.
• Records on program oversight or monitoring.
• Results from soil laboratory analyses.
• Results of potable water laboratory analyses.
• Results from processing wastewater analyses.
• Minutes of meetings of the health commission.
• hank-you letters to communities and schools for their assistance.
• … and all the documentation that is generated in the implementation
of the programs.
Some suggestions or ideas for archiving the information are presented below; these ideas depend on whether one is dealing with a small farm, a
large farm associated with a cooperative, or a medium-size or large farm
working individually.
Use of the notebook
and folder for on small farms
In most cases, small producers have made a sketch or hand-drawn map that
indicates the location of the crop areas, streams, the house, storage area,
processing site and the boundaries of the farm with the name of its neighbors. his kind of sketch is very useful in the farm’s SEMS document.
Generally, the small cofee or cacao producer also keeps a notebook with
the number of work hours invested in an activity, the cost (with invoices
and receipts) of the agrochemicals received or bought, and vouchers for
products that were received by the association or cooperative (sacks of coffee or rolls of lowers and foliage, for example).
In the case of cooperatives, another way to archive the documentation is
through the use of the “folder” that administrators deliver to each one of
the associated producers, which include the following documents:
• Document signed by the producer in which he agrees to:
• Comply with the principles and criteria of the Standards.
• Allow inspection visits by technicians.
• Allow external audit visits by SAN members.
• Comply with the recommendations issued by the technicians.
• Comply with the sanctions of the Group in cases of non-compliance.
• he sketch of the farm.
• Receipts for agrochemicals and fertilizers.
• Vouchers for product received by the association or cooperative.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
• Maps of the farm (location of crop areas, rivers, storage areas, other).
21
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
22
• Copies of inspection reports from the group’s technicians or promoters,
signed by the producer and the technicians, which indicate recommendations and corrective measures for crop management and compliance
with the Standards.
• Documents for training (pamphlets, brochures, photocopies and
others).
In the case of small producers, the folder and the notebook are the main documents
that should be kept on each one of the farms.
In the case of group or cooperative administrators, the documentation that should
be kept and archived corresponds to all the documents that comprise the SEMS, plus
other documents that are required by the Standards for Group Certification.
It is assumed that group administrators have the technical and administrative capacity
for managing the level of documentation required in representing small producers.
Use of ten portfolios
If the number of documents generated is considerable, another way of keeping the documentation is to place all the information for each principle of
the Standards in a portfolio; there should be 10 portfolios, each with enough
capacity to hold 500 sheets. All the paperwork corresponding to each principle is kept here.
he portfolios should be numbered
from 1 to 10 and labeled with the name
of its corresponding principle. For
example:
• Portfolio Nº 1 – Social and environmental management system
• Portfolio Nº 2 – Ecosystem
conservation
And so on, to the last principle,
• Portfolio Nº 10 – Integrated waste
management.
Another way of archiving the documentation is to use two portfolios, dividing the material into the two large groups that were presented at the
beginning of the section on the Structure of the Management System, for
example:
• Portfolio Nº 1 – Social and environmental management system. Stores
documents related to planning and administration:
• Copy of the SEMS documents.
• SAN Standards (standards, policies, pesticide list, etc.).
• Copies of national laws.
• Copies of international agreements that apply to the farm.
• Portfolio Nº 2 – Year 2011. Stores the information that is generated
in each one of the programs and archives the information in a single
portfolio by year:
• Copy of programs.
• Records on implementation.
• Results of laboratory analyses.
• Letters for neighboring communities.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
Use of 2 portfolios
23
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
Use of metal
or wood iling cabinets
In the case of large and medium-size
farms with administrative oices, a wooden ile with at least two drawers or even
an upright metal ile can be used to store
the documentation. In this case a hanging
ile can be assigned to each principle of the
Standards or a drawer can be used for the
planning documents (documents for Principle 1), and another drawer can be used
for documentation generated each year for
Principles 2 to 10, corresponding to the
programs for the Standards.
24
Remember:
All documentation must be
kept on file for at least three
years.
9. Preparation of the farm sketch or maps
(Criterion 1.2 “e” of the Standards)
As part of the SEMS, the Standards mention
that sketches or maps should be prepared
that identify the farms, the infrastructure
and the special areas for conservation.
Sketch or hand-drawn map.
In the case of small individual farms or
ones organized into cooperatives, as mentioned earlier, each producer must draw a
map or sketch that shows the boundaries
of the farm, the lots of cofee or crop areas,
streams, springs, the house, other crops and
the protected forest areas, if any.
For larger, more techniied farms, the maps
should contain more detail and possibly be
prepared using a Geographic Information
System (GIS). In it, land use should be better identiied, showing the areas suitable for
crops and the areas suitable for environmental conservation. Due to the size of the farm,
infrastructure can be deined in greater
Maps aid mobility on the farm and
also make the work more efficient,
reducing operational costs.
During assessments and audits,
maps help orient the auditors (internal and external) so that they better
understand the management of the
system on the farm.
Development of the Social
and environmental management system
detail, showing the placement of: housing, storage areas, the mill, roads,
composting area, oxidation lagoons or wastewater treatment systems, and
schools and health centers, if these exist on the farm.
25
Map prepared using a Geographic
Information System (GIS).
10. Description of the SEMS programs
To facilitate the organization of the information, the content of the SEMS
programs can be presented using the following scheme. he implementers
can use the preferred scheme or one that has been better adapted to each
farm or group of farms:
E X A MPLE
Scheme
• Introduction: summary of the program.
• Objectives: short and long term plans.
• Short/long term goals: quantify achievements for meeting objectives.
• Activities to carry out: activities and tasks for achieving goals.
• Procedures: ordered steps for the execution of a process.
• Timetable: time periods for developing activities.
• Persons in charge: those responsible for activities and procedures.
• Necessary records: charts for verifying the execution of activities.
Development of programs
for the social and environmental
management system
We have now learned about the general structure of the SEMS and the
documents that comprise it. his chapter of the Guide will provide ideas
and examples of how to develop each one of the programs required by
the Standards along with sample forms, procedures, checklists, records and
other documents needed in each one of the programs.
In the Annexes section (at the end of this Guide), you will ind blank formats for these templates that you can photocopy and ill out by hand; or if
you prefer, we have prepared a compact disc with these formats that you
can download and ill out in your computer.
1. Program for monitoring
and continuing improvement
Remember, the farms and groups of farms that aim to achieve sustainability should have a method to help them determine the current status
of the farm, the status desired, and whether or not this is being achieved
(Criterion 1.7 of the Standards).
As mentioned at the beginning, the method required the execution of several basic stages such as the Identiication or Assessment stage, the Planning stage, and the Implementation and Control or Monitoring stages.
his sequence of steps over time is the Management Cycle.
he Monitoring and Continuing Improvement Program should describe
the ways that internal audits, the evaluation of results, the planning of activities and the preparation of a new Action Plan or Improvement Plan will
27
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
be carried out in the coming months. In the case of already certiied farms,
the external or third-party audits also give us information for the preparation of the action plans. his entire process applies to individual farms and
groups of farms.
For a large or small farm, the Monitoring and Continuing Improvement
Program can include the following information:
Introduction
Write a general summary of the entire program that describes: the plans
and programs to be monitored, the sites that fall within the scope of the
certiication, the time periods, the way that monitoring will be carried out,
and the means of implementing continuing improvements.
28
Objectives
hese are the achievements that we are expecting and they will be attained
by the fulillment of several goals.
E X A MPLE
Objectives
One short-term objective is to conduct an assessment of the farm to see
whether or not it is in compliance with the Standards and to select the
best management practices for adherence to the farm’s environmental
and social policies.
The long-term objective is to have the farm implementing best agricultural practices in order to obtain certification for a second three-year
cycle.
Short, medium and long term goals
Completion of the goals allows fulillment of the objectives proposed,
which is why they should be very well deined and relevant.
To deine the goals, we ask ourselves several questions:
• How many and which programs are going to be monitored?
• How long will monitoring take?
• How often should monitoring be carried out (frequency)?
• What will the continuing improvements be?
E X A MPLE
Short-term goals:
During year 1 of the certification, evaluate compliance with the 10 programs that comprise the SEMS.
Incorporate two best practices for solid and liquid waste treatment into
wet mill operations.
Conduct interviews and hold a meeting to measure the level of knowledge about solid and liquid waste management among farm workers
and their families.
Medium-term goals:
During year 2 of the certification, evaluate the level of solid and liquid
waste management that families carry out in nine housing areas of the
farm.
Evaluate the functionality of the two best practices for wet mill solid and
liquid waste treatment.
Long-term goals:
In 2012, form a team of five people from outside the farm to conduct an
internal assessment of compliance with the ten programs and update
the SEMS.
Prepare a list of new “Non-conformities” found to update the Action Plan
or Improvements Plan and implement the necessary corrective actions.
Main activities to carry out
Provide details of the activities that will be carried out for monitoring and
continuing improvement of the programs.
Identiication (Assessment)
In this irst stage an internal audit is done. Remember that this is a review
done by farm personnel, people known to the farm, or people from other
nearby farms. It is better and more realistic if done by people who do not
belong to the farm.
• On the farm of a small producer, the review can be made by a group of
neighboring producers.
De v el opme n t of pr o g rams
Goals
29
Su stain abl e Ag r icult ur e N e t wor k
30
• If the farm is ailiated with a cooperative, the review should be done
by the technician or extension agent who works for the cooperative.
In this case, several neighbor producers can participate as a means of
training regarding evaluating the use of best agricultural practices and
the ways of evaluating compliance with the Standards.
It is easier for outside persons to find the
weaknesses of our farm during audits.
During the internal audit, observations and interviews are made and the
documents are reviewed:
• Observations: tours are made of the entire farm to observe the status of
the plantations, the soil, the storage areas, the river and stream protection areas, worker housing, housing sewage disposal, and the domestic
waste disposal sites. In the case of cofee farms, observations are made
of the wet mill, pulp disposal sites, and waste or pulp water discharge. In the cases of pineapple and banana farms, the fruit processing
plants and the waste and processing water treatment systems will be
observed.
• Interviews: temporary and permanent farm workers, pickers and
neighbors that may be afected by the farm’s productive activities are
interviewed.
If there is any support provided by the farm to the community, then
it is important to include interviews with community representatives
(mayor, development association, water committee, roads committee,
school director, teachers, and others).
• Documents: all the documents of the SEM