The EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) is a European Union law aimed at ensuring that products placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide. It applies to seven commodities—cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soy, and wood—as well as their derived products (e.g., beef, chocolate, furniture, palm oil derivatives).
Key Requirements:
– Deforestation-free: Commodities must be produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020.
– Legal Compliance: Production must comply with the relevant legislation of the country of production, including environmental, land-use, labor, and human rights laws.
– Due Diligence: Operators must conduct due diligence to verify compliance, including collecting geolocation data of production plots, and mitigating risks.
Implementation Timeline:
The European Commission has proposed a new “smart implementation” approach to address logistical challenges while maintaining the regulation’s ambition:
– 30 December 2025: Rules officially apply for large and medium-sized operators, who will benefit from a 6-month grace period (until approx. June 2026) for enforcement as the system is phased in.
– 30 December 2026: Rules apply for micro and small enterprises.
Simplifications and support:
The EU provides simplifications to reduce administrative burdens, such as reusing due diligence statements for large companies and annual submissions instead of per-shipment statements.
The EUDR is part of the broader European Green Deal and aims to reduce the EU’s impact on global deforestation while promoting sustainable supply chains. For more details, you can refer to the Cecafé EUDR Page and the EU Commission Page. And to know how Bourbon is dealing with EUDR you can contact our Certification team at certification@bourboncoffees.com.
