Effective from March 2013, the EU has implemented a law and regulation on timber to prevent illegal timber from entering the EU market for operators and traders.
The EUTR requires companies that enter the EU market for timber and wooden products to assume an obligation that the timber cannot come from illegally harvested forests. This includes implementing a due diligence system to collect information on the sources of supplied timber or wooden products, conducting risk assessments for timber and wooden products sourced from illegal sources, and mitigating the risk of illegally harvested timber and wooden products entering the supply chain.
The EUTR EU Wood Regulation includes the following basic contents:
(1) Basic requirements of EU timber regulations;
(2) The role of certification programs;
(3) How to enforce EU timber regulations;
(4) The timetable for implementing this regulation.
The regulations require companies that import timber and wooden products into the EU market to assume an obligation that the timber does not come from illegally harvested forests. It also imposes requirements on institutions within the EU engaged in the trade of these products, which cover a wide range of categories, with the exception of some clearly circular projects and their materials.
EUTR EU Wood Regulation Certification Conditions:
The basic requirement of this regulation is to implement a "due diligence" procedure for the first purchaser (supplier) of timber products entering the EU market (defined as the "operator") to minimize the risk of timber products from "illegal logging" entering the EU market. However, traders who procure within the EU are not required to conduct "due diligence", but must keep records of shipments from other institutions.
In order to comply with EU timber regulations, every operator is required to implement a record keeping system and conduct 'due diligence'. This can be a system they have already established themselves, or a system formulated by a third party. All relevant records must be kept for 5 years, and if necessary, qualified evidence must also be provided. However, sales records to the general public sector and end consumers are not within the scope of this regulation.
EUTR EU Wood Regulation Certification Cycle:
EUTR certification for EU timber regulations generally takes 3 months.
EUTR EU Wood Regulation Certification Procedure:
Operators (those who are launching timber or timber products into the EU market for the first time) must conduct due diligence reviews in accordance with established procedures and measures to reduce the risk of illegal logging entering the EU market. Operators must provide the following information regarding the timber or timber products they place on the EU market:
Product description, such as trade name and product type, as well as tree species name.
● Timber harvesting countries or regions and logging concession areas.
The volume, weight, or quantity of wood.
The name and address of the supplier who supplies wood to the operator.
The name and address of the trader who receives wood supply from the operator.
● Documents or other information showing that wood and wood products comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Operators must complete their own due diligence review or conduct due diligence review through mechanisms provided by supervisory agencies, but these supervisory agencies must comply with the provisions of Article 8 of the EU Timber Regulation. Furthermore, Regulations No. 363/2012 and No. 607/2012 provide more detailed guidance on the procedural rules for confirming supervisory agencies and due diligence review mechanisms.
In addition, traders within the supply chain (anyone or company selling or purchasing timber that has been placed on the EU market) must disclose their identities so that authorities can identify them, such as operators or traders supplying timber and timber products, as well as traders receiving timber supplies. The operator is required to retain this information for 5 years for member state institutions to access.
The EU Timber Regulation also stipulates that strict penalties must be established for violations, and the penalties must be effective, moderate, and dissuasive. For example, the amount of the fine must match the degree of environmental damage, the value of the relevant wood products, and the resulting tax and economic losses. The penalty aims to retrieve the economic benefits obtained from illegal logging. Other penalties include confiscation of relevant timber and timber products, as well as immediate prohibition of participation in timber and timber product trade.
Benefits of EUTR certification for EU timber regulations:
1. Meet the requirements of relevant wood regulations in Europe, America, and Australia;
2. Ensure confident trading on a global scale;
3. Track forests, timber, and wooden products;
