What happened
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) introduces more demanding supply-chain evidence requirements for goods associated with deforestation and forest degradation. It applies to cattle, wood, soy, cocoa, coffee, palm oil and rubber, alongside a range of products made from those commodities.
Businesses that place covered products on the EU market, make them available in the bloc or export them from it must show that goods are deforestation-free and produced under the relevant laws of their country of origin. The regulation calls for precise geolocation of production areas and documentation showing that production land was not cleared after the applicable cut-off.
Companies should now map relevant material flows, assess the completeness of origin records and test whether supplier information can withstand due-diligence checks. Certification and supplier statements can remain useful inputs, but they are not, by themselves, sufficient for all EUDR obligations.
Why it matters
Obtaining, validating and retaining location-level records may be difficult in supply chains with several intermediaries, disconnected systems or uneven digital capability. Smaller suppliers and smallholders may need support to provide the information required.
According to Sustainable Brands, weak compliance can lead to penalties, product seizures and reputational damage. Conversely, more reliable supply-chain data can help organisations identify inefficiencies, inform procurement decisions and respond to disruption.
What businesses should do next
Bring procurement, sustainability, compliance, risk and technology functions together to review commodity and supplier-tier data coverage. Establish processes for checking records, maintaining evidence and addressing supplier capability gaps. This approach treats traceability as an operational control rather than solely a sustainability claim.
