March 2024
Facing up to supply chain divergence — or why due diligence alone will not solve agriculture-driven tropical deforestation and what else is needed
Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence have become the word of the day in…
Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence has become the word of the day in policy-making targeting agriculture-driven tropical deforestation. The EU has led such efforts, approving a deforestation regulation (EUDR) that requires businesses to prove that agricultural commodities do not come from lands deforested after 2020. Policy-makers’ explicit expectation is that companies trading with forest-risk commodities are not willing to forgo the European market and will, therefore, streamline these standards across their operations. In other words, we would witness a so-called “Brussels Effect,” referring to the EU’s ability to set regulatory standards that end up becoming the global norm, as seen in other domains such as data privacy, consumer protection, and AI technology. However, a reality check regarding Europe’s ability to accomplish that in the case of agriculture-driven deforestation is needed.
