Large importers, suppliers and exporters of seven staple commodities and products made from them will from 29 December 2024 be required to produce a due diligence statement under new EU rules coming into force on 29 June. The statement must declare that following due diligence it can be concluded that there is no more than a negligible risk of the products having been illegally sourced or associated with deforestation. It will apply to EU internal and external trade in cocoa, coffee, cattle, soy, rubber, palm oil and timber, and listed products made from them. Smaller businesses will be brought into the scheme from June 2024 with slightly lighter touch obligations.

We invite you to listen to our podcast where members of our environmental team, Julie Vaughan and Nicolas Walker lead you through how it all works.