Prewave is a Business Reporter client It’s not just EU companies looking closely at the European Deforestation Regulation – lawmakers and tech leaders are changing the global compliance landscape. In just three months, the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) comes into force – and companies across the continent are locked into a race against time to ensure compliance. From 30 December 2024, traders of wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber and cattle in the EU must ensure “ deforestation free ” status for their supply chains.
The approaching deadline has provoked criticism on all sides: from Ethiopian smallholders to the US government . The fact that a European environmental law is causing ripples from Addis-Ababa to Washington, DC indicates a global shift in perspective for corporate governance: a notion that because companies are technologically capable of ensuring sustainability, they have a moral obligation to do so. Surprisingly, EU-based companies – notably in the fashion and automotive industries – appear to be more in favour, reflecting a growing confidence in AI-powered supply chain monitoring to keep companies on the right side of the law, and of history.
Only 1 per cent of Europeans trust “big business” on the environment, and the EU is aware of its influence over the supply chains of its most recognisable products. From the steak in the brasseries of Paris to the tyres on the autobahns of Germany, companies that want to sell in Europe ha.
