EUDR – How to prepare your company for the new requirements?
What is EUDR?
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (EUDR) was introduced to prevent goods contributing to global deforestation from being made available on the EU market or exported from the Union. Companies must demonstrate that their supply chains are unrelated to illegal deforestation or forest degradation. This regulation focuses on high-risk commodities, such as: soya, oil palm, wood, cattle, rubber, coffee and cocoa.
The EUDR also applies to chemical products.
Among the products covered by the Regulation are chemical raw materials and cosmetic ingredients:
- Cocoa butter, fat and oil
- Glycerol, with a purity of 95 % or more (calculated on the weight of the dry product)
- Palmitic acid, stearic acid, their salts and esters
- Saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids, their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxyacids; their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives (excluding formic acid, acetic acid, mono-, di- or trichloroacetic acids, propionic acid, butanoic acids, pentanoic acids, palmitic acid, stearic acid, their salts and esters, and acetic anhydride)
- Stearic acid, industrial
- Oleic acid, industrial
- Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining (excluding stearic acid, oleic acid and tall oil fatty acids)
- Industrial fatty alcohols
Why was the EUDR introduced and what are its goals?
The EUDR aims to protect the world’s forests and combat their destruction. It focuses on commodities whose plantation or breeding significantly contributes to environmental degradation. The regulation requires companies to comply with the highest environmental standards. Businesses must implement appropriate due diligence systems to demonstrate that their products are not linked to deforestation.
The regulation not only protects forests but also promotes sustainable trade and supports global climate policy.
Who does the EUDR apply to?
The Regulation applies to entities established in the European Union, i.e.:
- natural persons,
- legal persons,
- associations of persons,
who carry out production and/or trade activities using the relevant commodities and products listed in Annex I of the EUDR.
What changes are related to the EUDR?
With the introduction of EUDR, the entities must comply with a number of new requirements:
- Due diligence requirements: Entities importing or exporting high-risk commodities or products related to them must implement due diligence systems to prove that their products do not contribute to deforestation. This includes collecting and verifying data on the origin of raw materials.
- Monitoring of supply chains: Full transparency of their supply chains must be ensured, using geolocation data and satellite monitoring to confirm that the commodities and products come from deforestation-free areas.
- Reporting obligations: Entities must submit detailed reports to EU authorities documenting compliance with the EUDR requirements. This requires providing evidence of the sustainable origin of products and ensuring legal compliance at every stage of the supply chain.
- Penalties for non-compliance with Regulation: Failure to comply with the new requirements may result in:
- severe financial penalties,
- confiscation of products covered by the regulation,
- confiscation of income from transactions involving products contributing to deforestation,
- temporary exclusion from procurement procedures and access to public funding,
- temporary ban on placing or making available on the market products affected by EUDR or exporting them,
- ban on the application of simplified due diligence.
- Prohibition of high-risk products: Commodities linked to deforestation or originating from high-risk areas may be banned from the EU market altogether.
Offer of Ekotox Centers
In response to the new requirements, we offer comprehensive support for entities that need to adapt to EUDR requirements. Our services include:
- Regulatory advice: We help companies verify whether they are subject to EUDR and understand the obligations resulting from it,
- Assistance in implementing due diligence systems: We advise and support companies in developing and implementing due diligence systems that will enable effective monitoring of supply chains and minimize risk.
- Support in documentation and reporting: We help prepare the necessary documentation and reports that must be submitted to EU bodies.
With our help, your company will be fully prepared to meet EUDR requirements and maintain access to the EU market.
Contact Us
If you would like to learn more about how we can help your company meet EUDR requirements, feel free to reach out!