The legality puzzle of the EU Deforestation Regulation: Helping you to prepare
In response to the European Union Deforestation Regulation, Preferred by Nature is taking proactive steps to assist businesses and organisations facing the complexities of compliance with this pivotal environmental legislation. We have updated core normative documents within the Sustainability Framework Programme and our guide to the 46 forest/farm verification indicators of the framework that are relevant to the EUDR.
The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a crucial step towards combating deforestation and promoting sustainable practices. However, one of the challenges it poses is understanding which types of legislation are relevant for commodities which must be legally produced. This is essential when setting up the due diligence system required by the regulation. If you don’t know which law matters, how can you conduct effective due diligence?
The EU Deforestation Regulation defines ‘relevant legislation’ by listing eight broad categories that apply to the production area. These include land use rights, environmental protection, forest-related rules, third parties’ rights, labour rights and human rights protected under international law, among others. However, terms such as ‘labour rights’ or ‘environmental protection’ can mean (or include) different things to different people.
While the European Commission might provide further guidance on this topic (we hope so), this may also take some time. However, no guidance was provided in the case of the EU Timber Regulation, leading to confusion and differing opinions as to which types of law fell under each of its five categories of relevant legislation.
In the meantime, Preferred by Nature is stepping up to provide resources to assist those grappling with these complexities. We have just released updated core normative documents within the Sustainability Framework Programme. These updates incorporate valuable feedback from stakeholders collected during our recent public consultation and aim to align better with the EUDR. See the cornerstone Sustainability Framework document (version 1.4) here.
Furthermore, we have revised our guide to the 46 forest/farm verification indicators of the framework that are most relevant to the EU Deforestation Regulation.
So, whether you are implementing a due diligence system or managing a forest or farm, we believe this guide will help you determine which types of law are relevant to the regulation. Check it out here.
