Nigel sizer from the rainforest alliance is a crook.

[dragonrider]

I just found out that the board of directors of the rainforest alliance receive a salary of 400.000 dollar.

Wich is a problem because the rainforest alliance has merged their busines with UTZ, that is based in the netherlands.

UTZ is an NGO that runs many projects around the world that have to do with the certification of products that are supposed to be fair-trade, eco-friendly, and so on.
They receive a substantial amount of subsidies from the dutch government.
But only on the condition that people within their organisation do not earn over 187000 euro's (from their work at these organisations, that is).

As a result of this, the CEO and CPO of the greenforest alliance have decided to no longer run these projects.

Projects that many people around the world sort of rely on. Projects that range from banishing slavery or child labour, to protecting rainforests.

In other words....the CPO of the rainforest alliance, nigel sizer, has sacrificed some of the core projects of his organisation, so he can keep earning 400.000 dollars.

And most of this money comes from governments (so you paid for it), or from donations.

 

[fathomlessness]

That is infuriating to see the greed that is so needless for one human. How can anyone in their right mind and conscience do such a thing? Without UTZ running effectively, if at all, the slave trade in africa will surely increase. To my knowledge children are captured at a young age and are forced to work on farms (such as most of the worlds cocoa plantations) without money and stay out of fear of being beaten or mutilated. This is everything Max Havelaar wouldn't stand for!

 

[RoundAbout]

I don't understand the timeline. Is this condition for government funding new, and now he has stepped down? I can't seem to find any sources, though I suppose they may not be online or in english.

Also, most of the Rainforest Alliance's money seems to come from participation agreements with companies that use certified farms. So most of their money seems to come from the industry they regulate, unless that's changed more recently (not sure how you would check without financial statements more recent than 2018, which is all I can find). They have a breakdown here: How is the Rainforest Alliance Funded?

 

[dragonrider]

I don't understand the timeline. Is this condition for government funding new, and now he has stepped down? I can't seem to find any sources, though I suppose they may not be online or in english.

Also, most of the Rainforest Alliance's money seems to come from participation agreements with companies that use certified farms. So most of their money seems to come from the industry they regulate, unless that's changed more recently (not sure how you would check without financial statements more recent than 2018, which is all I can find). They have a breakdown here: How is the Rainforest Alliance Funded?

My sources are some people i know, who work for UTZ, in amsterdam.

There is a lot of stuff going on within the organisation right now. Some people at UTZ are even talking about "divorcing" the rainforest alliance.

I have been told that the rainforest alliance has also been involved in some things that are quite dodgy.
Maybe even fraud.

As far as i can see, there is no reason for people at UTZ to lie to me about these things. The people i know, who work for UTZ, are passionate about their work and devoted to making this world a better place.

Their major fear is that these things, when they come out, will damage the reputation of UTZ. Integrity is the core of the UTZ brand. If people believe you take bribes, the brand becomes worthless.