Introduction to the new EU Deforestation Regulation

EU Deforestation Regulation

On Thursday 20 April, our special PEFC webinar introduced the new EU Deforestation Regulation and our related work. Watch the recording to discover how PEFC is aligned with the regulation and how companies can benefit from PEFC certification to demonstrate their compliance:

The EU Deforestation Regulation

The European Union (EU) agreed on the new EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in December 2022. The new EU law will fight global deforestation and forest degradation driven by EU production and consumption by addressing a set of key goods, among them timber and rubber, and their derived products, placed on or exported from the EU market. 

When the EUDR rules enter into force across the EU (expected in May/June 2023), the commodities in scope may only be placed on, or exported from, the EU market if they are deforestation-free, legal, and supported by a mandatory due diligence statement conducted by companies. Deforestation-free means produced on land that was not subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020 and legal means compliant with all relevant applicable laws in force in the country of production. 

Operators and traders will have 18 months to implement the new rules and micro and small enterprises six months more. 

The new rules will have major global implications, as the EUDR will stop products linked to deforestation from being sold on, or exported from, the EU market in the case of non-compliance. EUDR is expanding the scope of and is gradually replacing the EU Timber Regulation. 

PEFC and the new Deforestation Regulation

Voluntary certification, like PEFC, is positioned to support the new regulation and can be used as part of the due diligence procedure. This builds on the role that voluntary certification held in the framework of the EU Timber Regulation, where PEFC ensured a global application and implementation of its provisions by integrating them in the PEFC standards.  

To provide you with more information, our introductory webinar on the Deforestation Regulation: 

• Introduced the EUDR objectives and its implication 
• Presented how well PEFC is aligned with the EUDR 
• Suggested how companies will be able to benefit from PEFC to demonstrate compliance with the EUDR 
• Shared the impact of a regulation, such as EUDR, on the ground