Driving transformational innovation for the Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working at the intersection of business, agriculture, and forests to make responsible business the new normal. Their certification programs drive sustainability improvements for over 2 million producers in 63 countries. Despite immense progress, many of these countries still face major challenges with deforestation, biodiversity loss and human rights violations that require new solutions on top of certification.

Looking beyond the scope of their current business, the Rainforest Alliance was looking to develop new directions for growth with relevance in the future world. In three phases, we developed distinctive routes for the future of the organization.

A guiding future vision for 2030

Using our future vision framework, we helped the Rainforest Alliance to envision the future of their business and their role within it. By imagining the world in 2030 and leveraging on Rainforest Alliance strength as a connector of people and organizations, we developed a vision as a coalition builder for the future.

Ideation in Nairobi

To test our initial vision and find transformative ideas, we travelled to Nairobi, a city bustling with entrepreneurial energy and a young generation ready to make a change. Through co-creation with experts in sustainable agriculture, finance, technology, and marketing, our eyes were opened to a myriad of ideas that would be relevant and innovative in the context of Rainforest Alliance’s work.

Global online co-creation for validation and localization

The ideas and insights from Kenya formed the basis for four possible future business models, covering different ends of the value chain. To test these ideas for global relevance, we co-created together with experts and country teams in Mexico, Guatemala, and Indonesia. We used online co-creation methods and collaboration tools to host digital workshops for people in different time zones, with the same energy and creativity as in our physical sessions.

Fueled with global insights, we translated the concepts to prototypes that were successfully received by Rainforest Alliance’s board and leadership team as directions for future growth.

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