Reference number: 2021/0366(COD) “Deforestation Regulation”

What?

To fight climate change and biodiversity loss, a new law obliges companies to ensure products sold in

the EU have not led to deforestation and forest degradation.

 

What Does That Mean?

“The co-legislators set the cut-off date of the new rules on 31 December 2020, meaning that only products that have been produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020 will be allowed on the EU market or to be exported.”

“The co-legislators agreed on stringent due diligence obligations for operators, which will be required to trace the products they are selling back to the plot of land where it was produced.”

Which Industries Does It Involve?

”The rules also apply to a number of derived products such as chocolate, furniture, printed paper and selected palm oil based derivates (used for example as components in personal care products)”

In other words, if you use palm oil in your supply chain, you will have to prove that the products are both deforestation-free (produced on land that was not subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020) and legal (compliant with all relevant applicable laws in force in the country of production)

Requirements

Companies are required to do due diligence with different requirements for SME operators and traders:

1. From 2025, operators and traders are obliged to do due diligence proving that products within the EUDR, placed on or exported from the EU market, are deforestation-free.
   
   
2. Operators and traders in the supply chain will need to document that the products are produced in compliance with the legal requirements of the country of production. Furthermore, that they are included in a due diligence statement.
   
   
3. Reasonable doubt: any doubt regarding a product or commodity will mean that operators must complete a risk assessment to demonstrate that the risk of deforestation is not present.
   
   
4. No products produced on land related to deforestation after 2020 can be placed on the EU market.
   
   
5. SME operators will be required to administer full due diligence requirements for parts of products not already covered by a statement from 2025. Small and microenterprises will have to administer these rules in mid-2025.

 

The NorFalk alternative

NorFalk creates a bio-based alternative to using palm oil in the
production of soap, cosmetics, and laundry detergent. We make high-performing,
bio-based surfactants; the surface active and stabilizing
ingredients in soaps, cosmetics, and laundry detergents.

By using our surfactants in your production of personal care and
household care products, you can reduce CO₂ emissions and avoid
deforestation. This is because NorFalk surfactants are produced without
palm oil (or fossil fuel).

By replacing the palm oil in your production with our surfactants, you
will achieve the CO₂ reduction without compromising the quality of
your final product, and at the same price as the current bio-based surfactants
on the market.

 

More facts and background knowledge

·       “The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 420 million hectares of forest — an area larger than the EU — were converted from forests to agricultural use between 1990 and 2020.
EU consumption represents around 10% of this global deforestation. Palm oil (33,95%) and soya (32,83%) account for more than two-thirds of this.” 

·       The EU deforestation-free regulation, EUDR, 2021/0366(COD), is a part of the EU Green Deal and a wider EU strategy to protect the world’s forests.

·       The EU Commission is considering expanding the scope of EUDR law beyond forests to also include wooden land, land with high carbon storage, and land of biodiversity value.

 

 

Sources

WWF, 2023

European Parliament Pressroom, 2017

Greenpeace, 2019

Bloomberg article, 2021

Euronews article, 2022

European Commission, 2019

European Commission, 2022

KPMG, 2023

CDP, 2023