European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): What Companies Need to Know to Ensure Compliance

Global deforestation is one of the leading drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. According to the FAO, nearly 10 million hectares of forest disappear every year, mainly due to agricultural expansion. As the world’s second-largest importer of embedded deforestation, the European Union has decided to act. It is in this context that Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, known as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), was adopted. Its objective: to prohibit the placing on the EU market or export of products linked to deforestation after December 31, 2020.

But beyond its environmental goal, this regulation significantly transforms how companies manage their supply chains. It introduces new obligations around traceability, compliance, and due diligence that will affect all stakeholders—importers, manufacturers, distributors, and public operators.

Timeline and Deadlines

Although the regulation is in force, its effective application has been delayed by one year to allow companies time to prepare.

From December 30, 2025, all large enterprises placing regulated products on the EU market must prove they are “deforestation-free.” SMEs will have an additional six months to comply.

Key Obligations for Companies

The regulation requires companies to implement a structured due diligence system to ensure product compliance and traceability.

1. Due Diligence

Companies must:

• Collect information about suppliers, material origins (plot-level geolocation), volumes, and local compliance.
• Assess the risk of deforestation or legal non-compliance in the country of origin.
• Implement mitigation measures such as audits, contractual guarantees, or enhanced monitoring.

2. Traceability

Each company must be able to geolocate the source plot of raw materials and prove no deforestation has occurred since December 31, 2020.

3. Legal Compliance

Products must comply with all relevant environmental, land use, and labor laws of the country of origin.

4. Declaration and Documentation

Before being placed on the market, a due diligence statement must be submitted to the European Information System. This document, accessible to authorities, proves product compliance.

5. Controls and Sanctions

Member States will conduct regular checks.

Non-compliance may lead to fines of up to 4% of annual EU turnover and even temporary bans on marketing the products.

How to Prepare Effectively

The key to EUDR compliance lies in anticipation and structure.

Companies should:

1. Map their supply chain
2. Identify affected products and suppliers
3. Implement automated ESG and geolocation data collection systems
4. Train internal teams
5. Centralize all information in a unified platform

Solutions like Aprovall already enable digitization of these processes: third-party assessment, document traceability, compliance checks, supply chain mapping, and automated alerts.