Despite EUDR uncertainties, FSC remains committed to forests

Accurate as of 20 November 2024

Last week, the European Parliament voted on several proposed amendments to the EU Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR). The voting result can be summarized as follows:  

1. One-year phase-in time for EUDR. This means that large operators and traders must comply by 30 December 2025, while micro- and small enterprises must comply by 30 June 2026.  

2. ‘No risk’ category for country benchmarking approved. Companies sourcing from these areas have limited due diligence obligations and will be subjected to fewer checks from EUDR Competent Authorities. 

The EU Parliament, Council of the EU, and EU Commission must reach an agreement on the above by 30 December 2024. If they don't, the EUDR goes into effect following the original timeline. 

FSC’s commitment to forests remains unwavering 

FSC strongly endorses the EUDR and its mission to drive deforestation-free supply chains in Europe and globally. Our missions are mutually reinforcing, and we have been actively supporting companies in preparing for compliance, developing tailored solutions to ease the transition, and getting ready to support EUDR implementation.  

Regardless of the final agreement among the EU Institutions, we remain steadfast in our commitment to resilient, thriving forests and forest communities. This is why FSC Aligned for EUDR – a set of solutions that FSC Certificate Holders can use to support compliance – has FSC Certification at the core. Our standards not only prevent deforestation but offers the strongest social and environmental safeguards for working forests, actively protecting biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.  

Any company, anywhere in the supply chain, who chooses FSC also chooses the highest standards for forest stewardship, no matter where the product is traded.  

FSC is optimizing compliance support in an uncertain time 

Given FSC and EUDR’s shared mission, when the Regulation came into force in June 2023, we prioritized streamlining the compliance journey for companies. We accelerated the development of several projects and envisioned new solutions. Developing solutions while new information often emerges is challenging and often requires redesigns and corrections.  

We released the first components of FSC Aligned for EUDR – the FSC Regulatory Module and the FSC Risk Assessment Framework – in July 2024. We accelerated the revision process of the FSC Risk Assessments, as well as the development of FSC Trace, the cornerstone technology to support automated traceability throughout the supply chain. We advanced development of FSC Risk Hub to support digital risk assessment maintenance and collaboratively founded the Risk Information Alliance, which will develop and maintain credible risk assessments across commodities.  

FSC Aligned for EUDR is envisioned to be a comprehensive, purpose-built solution and we remain committed to this goal. The outcome of the EU deliberations, which are expected by end-2024, might change the requirements for such a solution. Therefore, we are taking the opportunity to conduct a full technology impact assessment to inform the needed adjustments, and features that require priority. We are also analyzing any potential impact on our existing solutions, ultimately striving to best serve our FSC Certificate and Licence Holders. 

FSC Trace will remain the foundation of our digital solutions and we onboarded the first companies in October. Due to the original EUDR timeframes, we had to cater to a wide array of complex supply chains with the first public release, which meant limited time to test functionalities. We are also awaiting clarity on the EU’s information system and API, and we’ve learnt from our certificate holders that many are still working to understand the exact requirements and implications for the EUDR.  

Given the current uncertainties and likely postponement, we are pausing active onboarding until we know more. Our early adopters will be able to invite their trading partners this year, which will lead to organic expansion and the possibility to start using the platform. We expect to actively invite companies again in early-2025 and will begin with companies who registered for priority access. If you haven’t already, you can register here.  

Join us in putting forests first 

It might be an uncertain time for EUDR and the world’s forests, but FSC has been evolving and adapting to bring environmental, social, and economic balance in the forest landscape for 30 years. While we will continue to adapt to the unfolding situation, above all we continue to advance forest stewardship globally, embracing its transformative potential for climate, biodiversity, and people. We urge all our stakeholders, including companies, policy makers, NGOs, foresters, and smallholders, to continue our collective mission to protect forests, no matter the outcome of the Regulation.