This ban on deforestation-linked goods is also expected to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and conserve biodiversity. The following blog post will explain what is the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) and for further information on recommendations for compliance, get your copy of the extended guide on How to Comply with EUDR.
The main goal of the EU Deforestation-free Regulation is to ensure that the production of certain goods and commodities will not contribute to further degradation of forest ecosystems. This is also expected to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and conserve biodiversity.
Operators and traders will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier of the product has issued a so-called “due diligence statement”. Having stringent due diligence in place is needed to confirm that the product does not come from deforested land nor has led to forest degradation, including of irreplaceable primary forests.
Companies will also have to make sure and verify that these products comply with relevant legislation of the country of production including human rights and that the rights of affected indigenous people have been respected.
at least 4%
of the total annual turnover in the EU of
the non-compliant operator or trader could be fined.
Under the Regulation, operators and traders who place on or export from the EU market one of the commodities in scope, must be able to prove that this commodity does not originate from a deforested land.
Relevant commodities and products may be placed or made available on the EU market, or exported from the EU market only if all the following conditions are fulfilled:
This also implies that operators and traders will be required to trace the products that they are selling back to the plot of land where it was produced.
What is the Due Diligence Statement?
For a commodity to be accepted, its due diligence statement shall contain:
Small-sized operators will have the possibility to rely on larger operators to prepare their due diligence declarations.
Member States shall designate one or more competent authorities responsible for carrying out the obligations arising from this Regulation.
Compliance Checks and Controls:
The designated authorities will be required to carry out checks within their territories to establish whether operators and traders comply with this Regulation. The checks shall include:
By 18 months after the entry into force (December 2024), the Commission will issue a categorization of countries or regions based on their risk of deforestation. After conducting an objective and transparent assessment, they will be considered either low-risk, standard-risk, or high-risk.
A simplified due diligence process will be applicable to products originating from countries or regions categorized as low-risk.
The proportion of checks performs on operators will also vary according to the countries’ risk level: 9% for high, 3% for standard, and 1% for low risk level.
Penalties for non-compliance will be proportionate and dissuasive and the maximum fine must be at least 4% of the total annual turnover in the EU of the non-compliant operator or trader.
To sell products made from commodities that come from forested lands, the seller must be able to show valid and verified evidence of the original plot of land which the raw materials have been harvested from. This can be done with documentation such as a due diligence statement from the supplier.
We recommend having a digital transparency and traceability platform in place where you can link due diligence documentation to suppliers, facilities, and products easily, and retrieve it on demand.Get your copy of the detailed guide on How to Comply with EUDR.
TrusTrace offers digital traceability and compliance data management solutions that streamline, structure and store supplier declarations, scope certifications and due diligence reports with less clicks in a single digital place. Learn more about TrusTrace products.
Book a demo to find out more about how TrusTrace can support you with due diligence and certification collection upstream of your value chains.
Last Updated: This article was updated on 29 September 2023 with clarifications to the who is impacted, important dates and requirements.
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14151-2021-INIT/en/pdf