Santiago Gowland

The nonprofit Rainforest Alliance, headed by Santiago Gowland, runs one of the world’s largest sustainability certification programs—partnering with farmers and brands around the world to support climate resilient growing practices under its iconic green frog seal. In 2025, the organization’s efforts resulted in some 5.5 million metric tons of emissions being avoided or sequestered. The group recently announced a new regenerative agriculture standard aimed at transforming the way tropical commodities are grown, certified, and traded. The standard supports farmers looking to better understand and employ regenerative agriculture practices—focusing on areas such as soil health and fertility, biodiversity, and crop resilience. The first crop the framework is focusing on is coffee, but the organization plans to extend the certification to cocoa, citrus, and tea. —Simmone ShahWhat is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?The single most important action we can take to advance the global climate agenda is to accelerate the transition to regenerative agri...