Trase: maintaining momentum towards deforestation-free supply chains

Trase provides recommendations for stakeholders to utilize the one-year postponement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) implementation, which is now set for 30 December 2025. The organization emphasizes the need for the European Commission to prioritize the delivery of benchmarking and IT systems, for member states to resource competent authorities, and for companies and producer countries to collaborate on inclusive traceability systems to avoid excluding smallholders.

• The European Union has postponed the implementation of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) by one year, moving the date to 30 December 2025, while rejecting amendments that would have weakened the regulation.
• Trase recommends that the European Commission prioritize the creation of an IT system and a benchmarking system. This benchmarking should use risk classifications that distinguish between specific commodities and regions within countries, as data availability is not a barrier to this process.
• There is a risk that smallholders could be excluded or a 'two-tier market' could emerge—where commodities with higher deforestation exposure are diverted to non-EU markets—unless the Commission works with producer countries to strengthen national traceability systems.
• EU member states must ensure they are sufficiently resourced for enforcement; currently, five countries have not nominated competent authorities, including Poland, which has the seventh-highest exposure to imported deforestation among the EU27.
• Brazil and Indonesia are identified as significant countries for EU deforestation exposure that possess experience others can learn from. Brazil has multi-sectoral supply chain initiatives and land use legislation, while Indonesia has experience with the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certification and corporate transparency in wood pulp and palm oil supply chains.

APA

Bellfield, H., & Vasconcelos, A. (2024). Trase: maintaining momentum towards deforestation-free supply chains. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/trase-maintaining-momentum-towards-deforestation-free-supply-chains/

Chicago

Bellfield, Helen, and André Vasconcelos. Trase: maintaining momentum towards deforestation-free supply chains. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/trase-maintaining-momentum-towards-deforestation-free-supply-chains/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bellfield |first1=Helen |last2=Vasconcelos |first2=André |title=Trase: maintaining momentum towards deforestation-free supply chains |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=18 December 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/trase-maintaining-momentum-towards-deforestation-free-supply-chains/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bellfield2024trase, author = {Bellfield, Helen and Vasconcelos, André}, title = {{Trase: maintaining momentum towards deforestation-free supply chains}}, publisher = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/trase-maintaining-momentum-towards-deforestation-free-supply-chains/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }