The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which promotes the use of deforestation-free products, is imminent. Discover what you need to know and how we can support you.
What is the EUDR?
The EUDR promotes the consumption of deforestation-free products to vastly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while assisting the fight against global biodiversity loss. It provides assurance that the EU will not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation.
Organizations marketing, importing or exporting to or from the EU any items in the following list, including derived products, must perform due diligence and be EUDR compliant. This guarantees that their commodities are not associated with deforestation, forest degradation or breaches in local environmental or social legislation in the country of production.
The EUDR comes into effect on December 30, 2024, covering commodities produced on land not subject to deforestation after December 31, 2020.
What exactly does the EUDR cover?
The new regulation covers:
- Cattle – live cattle, meat and leather
- Cocoa – cocoa beans, paste, butter, powder and chocolate products
- Coffee – roasted, unroasted and decaffeinated coffee, and substitutes containing any proportion of coffee
- Oil palm – nuts, kernels, palm oil, glycerol and palm oil-derived fatty acids
- Rubber – natural rubber, gums and all articles of vulcanized rubber, whether hard or not, including tires and clothing
- Soya – soya beans, meal oil and residues, including oilcake
- Wood – logs, processed wood, wooden furniture, paper and packaging
Who is responsible and what are the penalties?
The primary responsibility for EUDR compliance lies with the organization placing the commodity on the EU market or exporting it. This organization must follow due diligence, transparently and informatively, along the supply chain.
Consequences for noncompliance include hefty fines, the confiscation of products/revenue and temporary exclusion from the market.
What are the benefits of EUDR compliance?
We can enable you to:
- Decrease reputational and legal risks
- Meet and exceed consumer demands for ethical, environmentally friendly and legal products
- Enhance supply chain sustainability and traceability
- Secure your supply
- Contribute to global efforts to combat deforestation and climate change, and promote responsible land use
Why choose EUDR services from SGS?
Combining our decades of forestry, food industry, supply chain, sustainability and training expertise, we offer a trio of key services:
- A rigorous gap analysis of your EUDR due diligence system, including a checklist and report, highlighting any noncompliance or areas for improvement to smooth your compliance journey
- An online introductory EUDR training course outlining the regulation and its requirements
- Auditing and certification against forestry, agriculture and food sector voluntary certifications, such as FSCTM, PEFC, RSPO, RTRS, UTZ, FSSC, IFC and BRCGS, to help you demonstrate EUDR compliance and enhance your brand’s reputation
Contact us now to start or enhance your EUDR compliance journey.
For further information, please contact:
Christian Kobel
Global Business Manager Forestry, Timber and Paper
SGS
t: +41 786217552
About SGS
We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 99,600 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.
