Asda has pledged to source all of its non-Fairtrade bananas from farms certified to the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) standard by March 2016.
Farms have to achieve the SAN standard in order to become Rainforest Alliance-certified, and to be able to carry the green frog seal.
The supermarket, which pointed out that it was the first in the UK to make a public commitment to Rainforest Alliance-certified bananas, said it would help secure the long-term social and environmental sustainability of farmers in Central America.
Over 700 million bananas, or 93 per cent of the total it sells, are affected by the move. The remaining 7 per cent will be Fairtrade certified.
Rainforest Alliance certification focuses on bringing a range of positive changes to banana farms to help them conserve their natural resources and promote the wellbeing of workers and local communities.
Barry Williams, Asda’s chief customer officer said: “We have been working hard with our suppliers for three years to ensure our commitment to sourcing bananas from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms can be realised. We believe this will help improve the sustainability of the banana industry.
“The banana supply chain can be complicated but through our strong grower relationships we know that all the bananas we buy are from sources that work to ensure effective environmental stewardship and help workers enjoy safe working conditions and better standards of living.”
Williams stressed the new commitment still meant bananas would be 'great value', suggesting Asda will not be looking to raise the selling price.
The move was welcomed by the Rainforest Alliance’s vice president of market transformation, Dominique Gangneux.
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