A Regulation to curb EU-driven deforestation and forest degradation

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The Regulation on deforestation-free products sets mandatory due diligence rules for operators which place specific commodities on the EU market that are associated with deforestation and forest degradation. This is done guarantee that the products that EU citizens consume on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation within the EU and globally. This set of rules apply to six commodities: soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee; as well as some of their derived products, such as leather, chocolate or furniture. 

The regulation sets common rules for any company from the EU or from abroad and will require operators that place relevant commodities or products for the first time on the EU market to exercise due diligence to be able to ensure that those commodities and products have not been produced on land deforested or degraded after 31 December 2020 and have been produced in accordance with the laws of the country of production. 

All operators will be required to collect, with strict product traceability, the geographic coordinates of the land where the commodities they place on the market were produced. The obligations for operators and authorities will vary according to the level of risk of the country or region of production, with simplified due diligence duties for products coming from low-risk and enhanced scrutiny for high-risk areas. 

As part of their due diligence systems, operators will have to go through these three steps: 

1. Ensure access to information on, amongst others, the commodity, quantity, supplier, country of production, etc. A key requirement, in this step, is to obtain the geographic coordinates of the plots of land where the commodities they place on the market were produced. 
2. Use the information on the plots of land used for producing the commodities to analyse and evaluate the risk in the supply chain. 
3. Take adequate and proportionate mitigation measures. DNV can help companies design, implement, and monitor the due diligence systems to ensure compliance to this regulation and make essential product information available. As part of our wider Digital services, DNV also offers a unique Digital Product Passport service to its customers, which enables them to meet the requirements for digital availability of compliance information, as well as additional communication and post-market traceability services. 

Reach out to our team of experts to know if your products will be subject to this regulation and see how we can support in your overall EU Green Deal strategy and compliance needs.