Statement on the EU consultation on deforestation-free supply chains

Many products in our everyday lives contain agricultural commodities for which large areas of tropical forests are cut down: From palm oil in shampoo to natural rubber in car tyres and cocoa in chocolate to the soy fed for our schnitzel. The European Union alone causes about one third of the deforestation caused by internationally traded agricultural commodities.

 

For this reason, the European Commission announced in May that it would present a legislative proposal to minimise deforestation and forest degradation in EU supply chains in early 2021. To this end, the EU Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment conducted a public consultation where stakeholders from the private sector and civil society could provide their perspective on EU action for deforestation-free supply chains.

 

Companies and organisations represented and associated in the INA signed a joint statement. This advocates, among other things, a smart mix of regulatory and non-regulatory EU measures specific to deforestation-free supply chains. The smart mix should cover all relevant agricultural commodities and thus ensure a level playing field. According to the INA statement, EU measures must reduce not only illegal but also legal deforestation and thus promote sustainable production of agricultural commodities. In addition, producing countries in general and smallholders in particular must receive support in implementing deforestation-free supply chains. The forthcoming EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains should be complementary to the forthcoming horizontal due diligence regulation at EU level.

 

Through the joint position paper, INA stakeholders explicitly welcome the EU Commission's announcement to present an ambitious legislative proposal on deforestation-free supply chains in 2021.

 

The following companies and organisations have signed the statement and submitted it jointly to the EU consultation: Association of Organic Food Producers (AÖL), Bodensee-Stiftung, dm Drogeriemarkt, Dr. Bronner’s, Einhorn, Fairtrade Deutschland, Global Nature Fund, Jaro-Institut, Lorenz Snack World, Lush, Nestlé Deutschland, Norevo, Olam, Rainforest Alliance, Weinrich Schokolade.