This is a summary of Articles 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 29 of the UEDR to facilitate understanding for the general public. This summary does not replace the full text of the UEDR, and to facilitate understanding of the document, we (CED, Fern, Earthsight) are organizing a webinar to explain what it is about, this Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 10 a.m. on Zoom. You can register by clicking HERE. Enjoy reading…💚
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of 23 May 2023, commonly referred to as the EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation), aims to prohibit the placing on the market or export from the European market of products that have contributed to deforestation or forest degradation. The EUDR targets seven key commodities and their derivatives: timber, cocoa, coffee, soy, rubber, palm oil, and cattle. The Regulation entered into force in June 2023. Its provisions will apply from 31 December 2024 for large companies and from 30 June 2025 for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To be considered EUDR-compliant, the targeted commodities and their derivatives must:
• Be ‘deforestation-free’, i.e., not have contributed to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020;
• Be legal, i.e., comply with the legislation of the country of production;
• Be subject to a due diligence statement. (Article 3)
For operators and traders placing these products on the market or exporting them from the EU, the EUDR entails two main obligations:
• They must be able to trace the supply chains of these products back to the specific farms or forests from which they originate;
• They must provide evidence that the relevant commodities were produced legally and sustainably in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country of production.
In practical terms, operators and traders must carry out due diligence. This means undertaking a thorough analysis and risk assessment process to identify, prevent, and mitigate risks associated with an activity, transaction, or project. Under the EUDR, due diligence follows a three-step approach (Article 8).
1. Information collection and submission to the competent EU authorities (Article 9)
• Product data: description of the commodity and its derivatives, including the list of commodities contained. For timber, both common and scientific species names are required.
• Traceability data: name(s) and contact details of the supplier(s).
• Production data: the country of production, or in some cases the region. Geolocation coordinates for all plots of land where the product was grown or raised, using points (for plots under 4ha) or polygons (for plots over 4ha). For cattle, geolocation data is required for all premises where the animals were kept, not just the first or last. A date or estimated date of production must also be included.
• Sustainability data: sufficiently conclusive and verifiable information demonstrating that the commodities and their derivatives are deforestation-free and legally produced, including any agreement granting the right to use the land for production purposes.
Note: Producers may use third-party information, including voluntary certification systems or publicly available data on deforestation and traceability. However, evaluating the reliability and relevance of these sources remains the responsibility of the operators and traders. (Article 9)
2. Risk assessment (Article 10):
Operators and traders must use the information collected to assess whether there is a risk that the products are not compliant with the EUDR (Article 3). If the assessment reveals zero or negligible risk, the products can be placed on the EU market or exported.
Criteria for risk assessment include:
• The level of risk assigned to the country or region of production (Article 29);
• The presence of forests in the country or region of production;
• The presence of Indigenous Peoples in the area of production;
• Evidence of good-faith consultation and cooperation with Indigenous Peoples;
• Documented claims by Indigenous Peoples based on verifiable information concerning land use or ownership;
• The scale of deforestation or forest degradation in the area;
• The source, reliability and validity of the information referred to in Article 9;
• Concerns relating to the country or region of origin, such as levels of corruption, document falsification, lack of law enforcement, human rights violations, armed conflict, or sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council or the EU Council;
• The risk of circumvention of the Regulation or mixing with products of unknown origin or from deforested or degraded areas.
3. Risk mitigation (Article 11)
If a risk is identified, operators or traders must implement procedures and mitigation measures before placing the product on the EU market or exporting it. The aim is to ensure the risk is negligible or zero.
Such measures may include:
• Requesting additional information, data or documents;
• Conducting investigations or independent audits;
• Taking further steps related to the information requirements under Article 9;
• Providing support to suppliers, especially smallholders, to help them comply with the Regulation, including capacity-building and investment initiatives.
The EUDR relies on a country benchmarking system (Article 29), which determines the due diligence obligations. EU Member States and third countries are classified into three risk categories:
• High risk: countries where the commodities or derivatives are generally not compliant with the EUDR;
• Low risk: countries where non-compliance is exceptional;
• Standard risk: countries not classified under either of the above categories.
Operators and traders dealing with products from low-risk countries are not required to fulfil all three due diligence steps. However, they must provide all relevant information demonstrating negligible risk of Regulation circumvention or mixing with products of unknown origin or from high or standard-risk countries.
This process for products from low-risk countries is known as simplified due diligence (Article 13).
