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What is the EUDR?
The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a groundbreaking initiative designed to combat deforestation associated with the consumption of certain products within the EU market. Adopted to address global environmental challenges, the EUDR requires companies to adhere to stringent regulations to ensure their products are free from deforestation. This regulation replaces and expands upon the European Timber Regulation, extending its scope beyond legality to cover sustainability aspects.
What Information Do Organisations Need to Provide?
Organizations engaging in the EU market must undergo detailed due diligence and verification processes to demonstrate the deforestation-free status of their products. This involves providing comprehensive information on the traceability of products, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation in the country of origin. The due diligence process aims to enhance transparency and traceability in the production and marketing of products associated with deforestation.
What Changes Are Coming?
As of December 30, 2024, companies will be required to implement the new rules outlined in the EUDR. This includes exercising diligence in supply chain management, scrutinizing sourcing practices, and ensuring products meet the sustainability criteria set by the regulation. The EUDR marks a shift from focusing solely on the legality of products to embracing a broader sustainability perspective, covering key commodities such as beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, rubber, wood, and their derivatives.
Who and What is Affected?
The EUDR applies to any organization trading products associated with deforestation within the EU, whether as an operator putting the product on the market for the first time or as a trader distributing the product. The regulation casts a wide net, affecting various industries, including clothing brands, coffee roasters, and others sourcing cellulosic fibers or dealing with commodities linked to deforestation. Companies need to be aware of the potential penalties, including fines up to 4% of annual turnover, for non-compliance.
What Happens Next?
Once the EUDR is published in the EU Official Journal, companies and Member States will have to prepare for its official implementation. Operators and traders will have 18 months to adapt to the new rules, with SMEs granted a longer adaptation period. Effective implementation involves establishing a supply chain monitoring system, improving transparency, and ensuring traceability to identify and address unsustainable business practices. Certifying organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council can assist companies in meeting the legislation’s requirements.
Our Solutions
At Anthesis, our Forest Positive team is ready to support companies in navigating the complexities of the EUDR. We offer a range of services, including benchmarking, target setting, policy development, supplier engagement, monitoring, verification, and communication. As a recognized Delivery Partner by the Accountability Framework initiative, we utilize international norms and good practices to help companies assess, prioritize, and address deforestation-related risks in their supply chains.
Frequently Asked Questions
The EUDR aims to minimize the EU’s contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and combat global biodiversity loss by ensuring that products associated with deforestation are not marketed in the EU unless they comply with sustainability criteria.
Companies will have 18 months from the official entry into force of the regulation to adapt to the new rules. SMEs are granted a longer adaptation period.
A: Non-compliance may result in fines of up to 4% of annual turnover for companies allowing deforestation-linked commodities to enter the EU.
Anthesis offers a range of services, including benchmarking, target setting, policy development, supplier engagement, monitoring, verification, and communication, to help companies create deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains.
The Accountability Framework serves as a guide for achieving ethical supply chains in agriculture and forestry. Anthesis, recognized as a Delivery Partner, utilizes the framework’s core principles to support companies in addressing deforestation-related risks.
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