Our Perspective on EUDR: Why Proactive Management Defines Tomorrow’s Leaders
When the European Union announced a new postponement of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), some companies across the food and cosmetics sectors may have breathed a sigh of relief. More time, less pressure, fewer immediate decisions. Other companies that invested significant effort to ensure compliance before the regulation took effect may feel frustrated by another delay.
But for teams responsible for sourcing and long-term risk management, the delay should not be mistaken for a pause button. The regulation may be postponed, but the direction of travel is clear. And the clock is ticking.
EUDR in Short
EUDR represents one of the most ambitious regulatory efforts to address deforestation and environmental degradation in global supply chains. Its objectives remain unchanged: it requires products on the EU market to not originate from or contribute to deforestation or forest degradation and be legally produced. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. This regulation applies to products produced, imported, or exported within the EU and also commodities identified as major drivers of deforestation, like palm oil.
The EU is a major consumer of palm oil and therefore wants to lead the way to minimize more biodiversity loss. And so, the EUDR entered into force on 29 June 2023. In December 2024, the EUDR was postponed for one year. On 30 December 2025, the regulation was scheduled to become fully applicable.
Companies Should Already Take Proactive Steps
Just as we were expecting progress, the news confirms the regulation is delayed for another year. But we believe this postponement does not signal a softening of regulatory intent, and companies should already be taking proactive steps.
Julie Cortal: “The postponement reflects the complexity of EUDR implementation across diverse industries and geographies. Once enforcement begins, expectations will be high and non-compliance will carry significant consequences. Companies that interpret the delay as permission to wait, risk finding themselves unprepared when the regulation comes into force. Alongside competitors who used this time more strategically.”
Suppliers need to gather traceability data, geolocation mapping, and legal documentation. Waiting for deadlines will create bottlenecks across the supply chain, higher costs, and limited supplier availability, particularly for high-risk commodities. Even for companies with strong sustainability strategies, verifying parts of their supply chain can be more difficult than expected.
Transparent Supply Chains Will Be the New Standard
Critical gaps in implementation continue to undermine global efforts to deforestation. Research done by SPOTT showed encouraging results: more industry giants monitor deforestation within their own operations, a 31% increase since 2015. However, only 24.74% extend this monitoring to their suppliers, leaving most supply chains without full accountability.
Our acceptance study highlighted the critical role of transparency. It is a key factor for both consumers and businesses when selecting ingredients. Clear communication about sourcing and sustainability impacts fosters greater openness towards ingredients
To close this gap, companies must urgently embrace a comprehensive approach that ensures transparency and accountability across the entire supply chain.
It Isn’t Just About Reporting, But About How We Create Resilience in the Market
Certain raw materials, like palm oil, inherently carry a higher compliance burden due to complex supply chains and geographic exposure to deforestation risk. In this context, compliance is no longer isolated within legal or sustainability teams. It becomes a strategic sourcing question, directly linked to procurement decisions, product development, and long-term supply security.
Julie Cortal: “In both food and cosmetics, ingredient decisions made today will determine compliance complexity tomorrow. Choosing inputs with transparent origins and shorter supply chains does not just ease future reporting but it increases resilience in the market where regulatory, environmental, and reputational risks are increasingly interconnected.”
Rather than treating EUDR as an external constraint, forward-looking companies are already using it as a lens to reassess ingredient choices and sourcing models. Simplifying supply chains, reducing reliance on high-risk commodities, and favoring deforestation-free inputs significantly lower regulatory exposure.
Combining Innovative Solutions for Lasting Change
The palm industry continues to grow 4% annually, from USD 58.719 billion in 2025 to USD 71.304 billion by 2030. 20% of global palm oil production is now RSPO, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, certified, but we are not there yet.
Where RSPO focuses on improving palm oil production from palm trees, NoPalm Ingredients takes a different route. Our biotechnology eliminates the dependence on palm trees altogether by using undervalued food industry side streams as a raw material. This approach not only reduces pressure on forests but also creates a circular, resource-efficient alternative.
Transforming the palm oil industry, a global, billion-dollar sector, requires collaboration. By combining initiatives like RSPO with bold, forward-thinking innovations from start-ups, we can accelerate lasting change and take a step further in sustainability goals.
Let’s Not Wait
The companies that will emerge strongest from EUDR will not be those that reacted fastest at the last minute, but those that acted deliberately during the transition period. Just as importantly, it enables companies to turn compliance into a competitive advantage, strengthening sustainability credentials while reducing long-term operational risk.
The world is changing fast: climate goals, biodiversity, and the circular economy demand more than compliance. It’s time to raise the bar and actively embrace alternatives that truly make an impact, rather than waiting for regulations to catch up.
Let's show the world what's already possible.
Literature
Dutch Food- and Commodities Authority. (2025). Over de EUDR. EUDR - Ontbossingsverordening | NVWA. https://www.nvwa.nl/onderwerpen/eudr-ontbossingsverordening/over-de-eudr
European Commision. (z.d.). Environment. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/forests/deforestation/regulation-deforestation-free-products_en
Fenning, I. (2025). Palm oil sector threatens progress to UN goal of ending deforestation. Palm oil sector threatens progress to UN goal of ending deforestation - SPOTT.org | SPOTT.org
Research and Markets. (2025). Palm Oil Market to Grow by $12.5 Billion During 2025-2030: Global Industry Assessment Featuring Analysis of Carotino, Yee Lee Corp., Innovans Palm Industries and More. Palm Oil Market to Grow by $12.5 Billion During 2025-2030:
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). (2025). A global partnership to make palm oil sustainable. https://rspo.org/