top
Blog Posts
 - 
#news

European Companies: How to comply with the new EU Deforestation-Free legislation?

The European Union has decided to adopt a trade policy that is increasingly mindful of the environment and, in particular, of deforestation. Under the new import regulation, in fact, only sustainable and "zero deforestation" products of soybeans, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, and derivative products such as leather, chocolate, and furniture will be allowed on the EU market.

The EU has decided to introduce a new regulation introducing rules for the import of certain products, which must guarantee that they come from Zero Deforestation areas.

What does "Zero Deforestation" product mean?

So-called "Zero Deforestation" or deforestation-free products are all those products that come from territories (parcels) that have not been subject to Deforestation after December 31, 2020. In this definition, there are a number of indispensable characteristics that must be met in order to prove that a product is "Zero Deforestation" (deforestation-free), specifically the product must travel with its traceability so for each product we need to know the provenance, not a generic provenance, but the exact parcel from which the product comes.

Reasons behind the new EU Deforestation Free legislation

In fact, according to some estimates, expansion of agricultural land is the leading cause of forest clearance, responsible for 90 percent of global deforestation in the period 2000-2018. The responsibility for this phenomenon is not exclusive to producing countries, but also to importing countries. In fact, the European Union is the world's second largest importer of embodied deforestation (i.e., products that originate from areas subject to deforestation or that their production is a consequence of the very phenomenon of deforestation) after China, which is responsible for 16 percent of deforestation associated with international trade, totaling 203,000 hectares and 116 million tons of carbon.

In order to counter this phenomenon, the EU has decided to introduce a new regulation that aims to reduce its impact relatively to deforestation, this will prohibit in the future the import from third countries of any product-legally or illegally made-that can be linked to deforestation and forest degradation. Thus, there is a shift from the concept of legality to the broader concept of sustainability, including legal deforestation in the concept of deforestation if this will be motivated by agricultural exploitation of the land for the production of the raw materials covered by the regulation.

EU condemns deforestation

Trusty and the new EU Deforestation Free legislation

To prove the Zero Deforestation (deforestation-free) origin of products, some companies are adopting innovative solutions such as Trusty, a traceability system based on blockchain technology.

Trusty makes it possible to trace,in an easy and accessible way for all actors in the supply chain, the provenance and origin of raw materials and products, providing traceability directly from the field and plot. In this way, importers and exporters can prove that the raw materials and products included in EU regulations come from Zero Deforestation (deforestation-free) areas, reducing the risk of buying products that contribute to deforestation and meeting the new EU regulations in a timely manner.

Deforestation Free legislation changes reports on product imports

As well as geolocation and the ability to report parcels of land from where raw materials and products included in the standard originate. The Trusty system using blockchain technology, creates accountability for all actors in the supply chain, ensuring who and when information is declared. This ensures transparency and immutability of data.

Trusty thanks to the traceability algorithms (track and trace) implemented, also exploiting GS1 standards (specifically GS1 EPCIS) allows all actors to know the origin of the product and raw materials by simply knowing the lot. In fact, the track and trace functionality starting from a batch allows to recognize all the actors that have intervened in the production of the same, including the suppliers. At this point knowing the actors, it is also possible to know the parcels of origin, responding in a timely manner to the EU Deforestation Free (Zero Deforestation) regulations.

In addition, Trusty provides greater visibility into production processes, allowing inefficiencies to be identified and improving the sustainability of the entire supply chain.

Trusty enables greater visibility into production processes

In conclusion, Trusty represents an innovative and secure solution for demonstrating the Zero Deforestation (deforestation free) origin of products included in the regulations. In addition, the inclusion of blockchain technology increases the value of information by protecting all stakeholders, thereby increasing, the credibility of companies and the trust of consumers.

To implement 🖐 Trusty in your company. contact us here.

Search for something