Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on the placing on the market in the Union and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (EU RD) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 9 June 2023.
The products affected by the ban are as follows:
- All types of livestock (cattle, pigs, poultry, etc.)
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Oil palm (palm oil and palm derivatives)
- Soya
- Wood and printed paper products
- Rubber
The aim is to minimise the European Union’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation by prohibiting the placing on the market, making available and exporting of basic products and products with causes.
The regulation imposes a joint obligation on operators and traders to place a product on the market only if all the following conditions are met:
– The product in question is said to be ‘zero deforestation’ if it contains or is made from the relevant commodities that have been produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation activities after 31 December 2020.
– The product was produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production.
– The product in question has been the subject of a due diligence declaration.
Operators (manufacturers and importers of these commodities and products) are obliged to implement a due diligence procedure to ensure that the product does not come from deforested land.
This due diligence procedure consists of 3 phases:
- Gathering information about the product in question:
-The description containing the trade name and type of basic products.
-The quantity of the basic products and products in question.
-Identification of the country of production.
The name, e-mail address and address of any company or person from whom they have obtained or been supplied with the basic products or products in question.
-Sufficient and verifiable information attesting that the commodities and products in question are ‘zero deforestation’.
-Sufficient and verifiable information attesting that the production has been carried out in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production, in particular any agreement conferring the right to use the area concerned for the purposes of producing the basic product in question.
-Geolocation of the entire production area with the date or period of production.
- Risk assessment :
Operators shall carry out a risk assessment to determine whether there is a risk that commodities and relevant products intended to be placed on or exported from the Union market do not comply with the requirements of this Regulation.
- Mitigation to achieve zero or negligible risk
Operators must put in place adequate and proportionate controls and procedures to mitigate and effectively manage the risks of non-compliance.
These include: Risk management, reporting, internal controls and compliance management models.
Manufacturers of finished products are not covered by the due diligence and reporting requirements. They are not considered to be operators. On the other hand, it is generally advisable to check the traceability of the raw materials used and the associated good production practices, both as a duty of vigilance and to safeguard sources of supply (which will be affected in the event of non-compliance).
Application deadline :
– Application on 30 December 2025, for the requirements applicable to operators and traders (instead of 30 December 2024 initially planned)
– Application on 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises (instead of 30 June 2025 initially planned)
If you’d like to find out more about our Quality Management System at Neo Cosmetique, click here: https://www.neo-cosmetique.fr/qualite/
Sources:
COSMED : EU – Règlement européen (UE) n°2023/1115 relatif à la lutte contre la déforestation importée Juin 2023