Certainty. 

It’s the one thing that businesses crave. The certainty that the sun will rise, business will be done, and life will find a way to prosper. 

And yet, certainty is the one thing that those working within the confines of EUDR - the European Union Deforestation Regulation, still don’t have, years after the groundbreaking legislation was first announced. 

Let’s not beat around the provably undeforested bush: this is a seismic decision, which affects all those buying or selling cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soy, and wood related products in the European Union. It’s no small matter, with some estimates putting the commodity imports at €70 billion a year. 

Will it actually happen after two years of postponement?

When might it happen?

Is the IT system to blame?

Did the EU really care about deforestation, or was it simply a realpoliticking stick, used to damage the reputation of political adversaries and coerce potential trade partners into deals?

Will  the rise of the climate-skeptical right  weaken resolve even further and point towards the general rolling back of sustainability reforms?

Is this part of a global agenda of sustainability dieback? 

We don’t know.

How mad is that? Aside from one departmental memo from the European Commission, there has been no word. And with the regulation due to come into force in less than three months, the doomsday sustainability clock is ticking mightily close to midnight. 

In that vortex of information, uncertainty flourishes and grows. Some businesses, those who are less ideologically driven, those who are complacent, and those that have gambled on the delay or cancellation of the legislation, will be breathing a big sigh of relief. In some ways, they are the big winners here.

A Case Study in How Not To Deliver Sustainability Legislation

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But what about those companies  who have worked hard on EUDR, invested millions in preparation and who fully support its aims (if not its admittedly dreadful implementation)? These companies are now left in a tricky position. Do they stick or twist? 

We’re working with several high-profile companies who will have a big part to play in the success of EUDR if it gets implemented: KTC for leading the way with sustainable palm oil in the UK and MosaiX for providing the complex array of data needed to provide compliance. Both are fully committed to sustainability in the supply chain, so whether EUDR happens this year, next year - or is taken off the global menu entirely? - they’ll be forging ahead, confident in their beliefs. 

The EU was supposed to be the great outlier, the great green defender. They were supposed to be the too-big-to-fail proof that far from dying off like forest scrubland, sustainability was here to stay and would grow under the EU’s big brotherly embrace. In some ways, it’s a shame that EUDR doesn’t cover mushrooms, as under the current regulations, they’d thrive being growing in the dark and fed on scraps.

Make no mistake - the EUDR debacle has been damaging for the EU’s reputation, at home and outside its borders. It was badly planned, modelled, implemented and communicated, and in years to come, it will be used as a case study in how not to deliver sustainability legislation. 

We could write a book on the failures of EUDR - and how it could have been improved, but instead, we’ll suggest a few lessons that the EU Commission could take from the affair. 

Good intentions don’t make good legislation. Gain understanding before you try to make legislation. Collaborate with industry, certification bodies and environmental NGOs, rather than dictating to them. Think of the second order impacts of your actions. Realise that your market isn’t as important as you think it is.

And perhaps most importantly… learn how to communicate to your citizens, industries and people around the world in a way that makes you seem less like the self-aggrandising, virtue signalling cartel you’ve become. 

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Get in touch 

Want to know more about dogs, sustainability and the music industry? One Nine Nine are experts, with dedicated music marketing and sustainability divisions. To find out how we can impact your marketing, please contact our team at 01138444111 or email us at contact@onenenenine.agency.

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