EU Legislation for deforestation-free leather
The European Union has passed a law to ban imports of leather and other commodities if they are shown to have links to deforestation. For organisations to comply with this legislation they will need to understand where their leather raw material comes from.
Eurofins | BLC have been working with organisations for several years to map and assess their leather supply chain risk against deforestation. We can work with you to ensure compliance with this new legislation through our Risk-Mapped Supply Chain tool.
The leather industry is complex and multi stepped. It can be challenging to understand where the raw material for your leather products originates from. This new legislation is further justification that now is the time for introducing a robust traceability and risk assessment program for your leather sourcing.
The legislation requires that commodities including leather be traced with clear geographical information alongside supportive technologies such as satellite data information and physical tracking systems to ensure products are compliant.
The introduction of the new legislation will take place over the next 18 months, with companies being required to show progress using evidence. Failure to comply will result in financial penalties proportionate to the company size.
Cattle ranching is a significant contributor to international deforestation. Over the past 30 years an area larger than the footprint of the EU has been lost to deforestation with commodity consumption in the EU representing a measurable percentage.
How can Eurofins | BLC help?
For a demonstration of the Eurofins | BLC Risk-Mapped Supply Chain tool and to understand how you can understand your risk exposure to this new legislation you can speak with one of our experts by emailing [email protected]
28 April 2023