Deforestation, climate Change and the EUDR
Deforestation is a main driver of the climate and biodiversity crises.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 — IPCC has found that halting deforestation and restoring ecosystems is one of the most efficient ways to reduce CO2 levels and thus fighting climate change.
The EU acknowledges it’s role in contributing to climate change by consuming a significant share of products associated with deforestation. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to ensure that a set of key products traded and consumed in the EU and globally, no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation.
When the EU Regulation 2023/1115 (known as the European Union Deforestation Regulation, EUDR) came into force in June 2023, FSC accelerated several existing projects to align our sustainable forestry standards with the EUDR requirements and develop the required technology solutions to ease compliance for companies. Being EUDR-compliant means showing your forest-based products are legal, not sourced from deforested land, and do not contribute to degradation. It’s a complex task that the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) can help you with.
FSC certifications already meet the EUDR legal & social needs and, in many instances, go beyond the law’s requirements. This puts certificate holders in the best starting position for their EUDR compliance journey but being certified does not automatically exempt companies from EUDR obligations. By 30 December 2024, your business must be EUDR-compliant if you wish to continue selling your products within the EU or if your product will, after processing, end up in the EU.
Streamlining your journey to EUDR compliance The FSC has developed two modular solutions to streamline compliance with the EUDR. Together these are called the FSC Aligned solutions, comprising the FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR and FSC Aligned Reporting for EUDR.
Holders of FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody Certification that wish to be EUDR compliant will have to use both additional solutions. FSC Aligned for EUDR takes the complexity out of EUDR requirements and provides a robust solution to help certificate holders become compliant on time. These products will be launched publicly on 3rd July 2024. Please register for the launch event at Get ready: FSC Aligned for EUDR | fsc.org
While this launch event will provide a short section for questions and answers, FSC will host dedicated technical webinars to dive deep into FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR, where the experts involved will answer technical questions. It is also strongly recommended that certificate holders look at the FSC Regulatory Module (fsc-eudr-journey.org) as this provides a step by step view of the requirements for each certificate holders circumstances.
FSC Aligned Certification supports companies to fulfil their due diligence obligations. It includes the newly developed FSC Regulatory Module and FSC Risk Assessment Framework. Certificate holders who decide to get certified against the Regulatory Module will have a tool and additional independent assurance to support their efforts in demonstrating compliance with EUDR requirements as they can show competent authorities and other companies that relevant information has been gathered and due diligence exercised.
FSC Aligned Reporting comprises the Due Diligence Reports from the new Risk Assessment process and the required Due Diligence Statement for end to end traceability. These have been built to be prepared automatically and transferred along the value chain via the FSC blockchain, now called “FSC Trace”. Participation in the blockchain is not mandatory but if it is not chosen then Certificate Holders will have to find other acceptable ways to compile and transfer the data securely.
Further to this, companies can start to prepare for the FSC Aligned for EUDR solutions here and see the expected timeline for the roll out of the FSC Aligned products which are given in the fact sheet. www.fsc.org/en/media/fsc-eudr-fact-sheet
To learn more about FSC & EUDR, please visit the FSC-EUDR webpage EUDR – Regulation on Deforestation-free Products | fsc.org or read our FAQ. Stay informed on the evolution of the FSC Regulatory Module by checking the Development of FSC-STD-01-004 FSC Regulatory Module | FSC Connect process page
On this upcoming Monday, July 1 we are publishing FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR; including the FSC-STD-01-004. FSC Regulatory Module and the FSC-PRO-60-006b FSC Risk Assessment Framework. Please be sure to mark your calendars and join us at upcoming webinars to support the publication and implementation of these new and revised requirements.
Sign up information can be found here:
July 3 Virtual Launch Event to learn more about how FSC Aligned can streamline your compliance journey:
- Wednesday, July 3 at 10:00 – 11:00 CET – Register here
- Wednesday, July 3 at 15:00 – 16:00 CET – Register here
July 10 webinar on FSC Regulatory Module and system-wide changes:
- Wednesday, July 10 at 9:00 – 10:30 CET – Register here
- Wednesday, July 10 at 16:00 – 17:30 CET – Register here
July 17 webinar on the updated Risk Assessment Framework:
- Wednesday, July 17 at 9:00 – 10:30 CET – Register here
- Wednesday, July 17 at 16:00 – 17:30 CET – Register here
We appreciate your engagement throughout this process and looking forward to working together on the journey to support your EUDR compliance!
You can always reach out with any questions to eudr@fsc.org | r.fergusson@fsc.org
Written By: Richard Fergusson, FSC Coordinator Southern Africa
Source: Forestry in Focus
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