Streamlining FSC-certified companies’ EUDR journeys: Critical EU updates

New guidance materials and technical information released by the EU Commission in October will further support companies as they prepare for EUDR, amid a postponement proposal.

The European Commission announced a proposal for an extra 12 months of phasing-in time of the EUDR. FSC continues to strongly support the creation of deforestation-free markets, in Europe and worldwide, while underlining the continued urgency of swift action to prevent deforestation. Read our response here.

FSC remains committed to supporting EUDR implementation and business compliance in the timber and rubber value chains and we encourage companies to continue their preparations. To do so, the following critical updates, clarifications, and resources, recently released by the Commission complements FSC’s mission to streamline the compliance journey.

New materials from the EU Commission

All these materials can be found on the revamped EUDR website.

Guidance document: This long-awaited, non-binding guide complements the EUDR text and will be useful for both operators and Competent Authorities. It features sections for legality, timelines, certification systems, and product scope. Read it here.

Third update to official FAQs: About 40 new questions are added, including a highly debated clarification that packaging materials are excluded from the EUDR scope only if used as packaging. Download it here.

EUDR Newsletter: The Commission is starting an EUDR newsletter. You can sign up here.

More materials to note:

Strategic Framework for International Cooperation Engagement on Deforestation. Download it here.
Fact sheet for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). View it here.
EUDR myths vs reality. Read it here.

Clarifications from the EU Commission

The Commission provided several often-requested clarifications around the technicalities of EUDR compliance and implementation.

Information System, also known as the EUDR Due Diligence Registry

Training sessions already started, and operators will be able to start registering in November. The system will open in December for due diligence statement (DDS) submissions. Training videos are available here.
API integration is underway for automated submissions, with ongoing testing.
New due diligence statement limits:
- Max reference per DDS: 2000
- Max number of commodities per DDS: 100
- Max number of scientific names per commodity: 500
- Max geolocation data file size per DDS: 25 Mb

Benchmarking

The Commission is expecting completion by 30 December 2024, but no further information is available yet.

How companies can (and should) start EUDR preparations

The EU Parliament and the Council of the EU still need to agree on the postponement proposal, but even if it is accepted, our forests cannot wait. Mandatory and voluntary actions go hand in hand to achieve ambitious sustainability goals, which will be reinforced again at the upcoming COP16 and COP29.