A group of major brands including Nestlé, Mars Wrigley and Ferrero, among several others, have issued a letter urging European lawmakers to avoid further delaying the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The companies argue that pushing the implementation of the law out further would negatively impact forests and climate change, and that it will be unjust to businesses and their supply chain partners who have already invested to comply with the new law.
The EC is currently conducting a review on the EUDR and is scheduled to report this month.
The letter is addressed to EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall. Organised by the EU Sustainable Supply Chains Coalition, the letter stated, as quoted by Printweek: “The company signatories to this letter, together with their value chain partners, including smallholder farmers, have been actively preparing for and investing in compliance with the two provisions of the EUDR, which we have consistently supported.
“These efforts have been made in good faith that the European legislative framework and timeline were reliable. Many producer countries, similarly, have made significant investments in measures, such as national traceability systems, designed to meet the requirements of the EUDR and to keep smallholder farmers connected to EU markets.
“If the regulation is reopened yet again after the April review – for a third time before its application – all these investments will be put at risk. Reopening the regulation would introduce considerable uncertainty.”
