(Bonn, Tuesday, March 19, 2024) Act sustainably, protect forests: The implementation of the new EU regulation for deforestation-free products (EUDR) poses challenges for many companies. What exactly do the new rules look like? And how can companies check whether they are violating the law and risk high penalties in future?
The tropical forest foundation OroVerde and the environmental foundation Global Nature Fund (GNF) provide answers to these questions. Tchibo, Hornbach, toom, the Melitta Group, Naturland e.V. and around 70 other companies, among others, informed themselves about the implementation of the new regulation at the Corporate Forum for Deforestation-Free Supply Chains on March 18 at the Bonn University Club.
"A big thank you for the commitment of GNF and OroVerde on behalf of the Federal Government," said Dr. Felix von Glisczynski from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in his opening keynote. The policy advisor on the EUDR provided information on the status of legislation from the government's perspective. "GNF and OroVerde fill this legally secure framework with life."
With a presentation of the
online information portal elan!, the two NGOs gave the companies an insight into how they can check the deforestation risk of their raw material purchases and take countermeasures. Representatives from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) also provided insights into the implementation of the regulation and answered questions from the company representatives.
In her keynote speech, Lena Schweighöfer from Tchibo GmbH gave an insight into practice: "We at Tchibo are convinced of the necessity of the legislation. At the same time, we do not want to put small farmers at a disadvantage and continue to give them access to the European market."
The urgency with which action must be taken is clear to the companies. "The global community has crossed six out of nine planetary boundaries. This should be on the news every night," said Stefan Dierks, Director Sustainability Strategy at the Melitta Group. "We all need to completely change the way we do business. We don't have to become less bad, we have to become good."
In small groups on specific raw materials, the participants then engaged in intensive discussions on open points and promising strategies.
"The fact that companies see the EUDR as an opportunity is encouraging and important," says Nathalie Schynawa from the OroVerde Tropical Forest Foundation. "The exchange brought together a variety of ideas on solutions and synergies for a good implementation of the regulation. Now the next step is to put these ideas into practice and shape a deforestation-free future."
The elan! project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection as part of the National Climate Protection Initiative. If you would like to find out more about the elan! portal, have questions about the company forum or are looking for interview opportunities with our experts, please contact us by email at
kemper@globalnature.org.
Contact Global Nature Fund
Steffen Kemper
Phone: +49 228 184 86 94 16
E-mail:
kemper@globalnature.org For more biodiversity in companies!
The Global Nature Fund (GNF) was founded in 1998 as an international foundation for the environment and nature, is independent of the state and pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes. GNF projects are implemented around the globe with a large number of partner organizations and in various subject areas - water protection, reforestation, development cooperation and many more. In the area of Business & Biodiversity, GNF works closely with companies in Germany and Europe and is actively and effectively committed to integrating more biodiversity into operational processes. This takes place in various projects and cooperations. Together, solutions for sustainable, biodiversity-oriented business are developed.