In early May, the European Commission published the revised version of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The new regulations provide significant relief for many companies and create greater clarity regarding the implementation of the requirements.
Particularly positive is the distinction between first-time placers on the market and downstream operators. Downstream operators will no longer be required to prepare their own due diligence statement. Instead, it will suffice to obtain the reference number of their supplier’s due diligence statement and document it accordingly. For first-time placers on the market, however, the requirements remain unchanged. They must continue to fulfill all due diligence obligations—from risk assessment and data collection to the provision of geolocation data.
In addition, a new category of businesses has been introduced: “micro-enterprises and small primary producers.” Businesses in this group benefit from simplified due diligence statements and reduced reporting requirements.
For many companies, these changes represent a significant relief. At the same time, however, they do not fully exempt them from their verification and documentation obligations. In practice, many companies will even assume both roles simultaneously: While they act as downstream operators for certain products, they may be first-time distributors for others. A careful assessment of the respective position in the supply chain is therefore essential, particularly for extensive product portfolios.
The associated data volumes and documentation requirements make it clear that professional software support is becoming increasingly indispensable. Companies need solutions that standardize and automate processes while helping to implement the diverse requirements of the EUDR efficiently and in compliance with the law.
This is precisely where the EUDR module of our DataCross software solution comes in. The module automatically identifies which products are affected by the EUDR and which are not. At the same time, all information required for the due diligence declaration can be requested from suppliers in a standardized and automated manner.
DataCross takes into account all relevant company roles—from the first distributor to downstream market participants, including micro-enterprises and small primary producers—and automatically identifies the applicable role in each case. Furthermore, a direct interface to the EU information system enables the submission of due diligence statements.
The entire process is fully documented—from the initial supplier request to the successful submission of the due diligence statement.
In this way, companies not only create transparency and legal certainty but also significantly reduce the administrative burden associated with implementing the EUDR.
