News 15.12.2020
Norevo signs INA statement on EU consultation on deforestation-free supply chains
Joint Statement on the EU Consultation on Deforestation-Free Supply Chains:
15 companies and civil society organisations take a position on future EU action on deforestation-free supply chains in the EU consultation.
Many products in our everyday lives contain agricultural raw materials for which large areas of tropical forests are cleared: From palm oil in shampoo to natural rubber in car tyres and cocoa in chocolate to soya fed to us for our schnitzel. The European Union alone causes about one third of the deforestation attributable to internationally traded agricultural commodities.
For this reason, the European Commission announced in May that it would present a legislative proposal to minimise deforestation and forest degradation in EU supply chains in early 2021. To this end, the EU Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment conducted a public consultation where stakeholders from the private sector and civil society could provide their perspective on EU action for deforestation-free supply chains.
Companies and organisations represented and associated in the INA have signed a joint statement. This advocates, among other things, a smart mix of regulatory and non-regulatory EU measures specific to deforestation-free supply chains, which will cover all relevant agricultural commodities and thus ensure a level playing field. According to the INA statement, EU measures must reduce not only illegal but also legal deforestation and thus promote sustainable production of agricultural commodities. Furthermore, producing countries in general and smallholders in particular must receive support in implementing deforestation-free supply chains. The forthcoming EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains should be complementary to the forthcoming horizontal due diligence on human rights and environmental protection at EU level.
Through the joint position paper, INA stakeholders explicitly welcome the EU Commission's announcement to present an ambitious legislative proposal on deforestation-free supply chains in 2021.
About the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA)
The Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) is an alliance of numerous actors from the private sector, civil society and politics. Together they want to achieve more sustainability in global agricultural supply chains and improve the living conditions of smallholder farmers. The INA sees itself as an open platform and works across commodities. Its focus is on livelihoods and the protection of natural resources.
The following companies and organisations have signed the statement and submitted it jointly as part of the EU consultation: Assoziation ökologischer Lebensmittelhersteller e.V., Bodensee-Stiftung, dm Drogeriemarkt, Dr Bronner's, Einhorn, Fairtrade Deutschland, Global Nature Fund, Jaro-Institut, Lorenz Snack World, Lush, Nestlé Deutschland, Norevo, Olam, Weinrich Schokolade.
