ZERO DEFORESTATION

Regenerate your supply chain with the EMMA method

1. DEFORESTATION IN THE WORLD

How have the world’s forests changed?

Between 1990 and 2020, about 178 million hectares of forest cover, an area three times the size of France, were lost worldwide. Let’s take a look at which countries are gaining, and which are losing forests. The breakdown of deforestation by region provided by FAO shows that nearly all of the global deforestation occurs in the tropics.

Most of it is driven by agricultural expansion for the production of goods such as soy, palm oil, beef, cocoa, and coffee.

The EU Commission is currently discussing new legislation – the Zero Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) –  to halt deforestation associated with the production of specific agroforestry products that European citizens consume (known as indirect or embedded deforestation). Companies are targeted as possible ‘importers’ of deforestation and should thus prepare to improve the traceability and transparency of their supply chains.

Etifor is at the forefront of scientific research and consultancies on these topics. Explore our studies and the EMMA approach, the method we have conceived to support companies in the development of deforestation-free supply chain(s).

2. THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITALIAN RESPONSIBILITY

In 2017, the European Union (EU) was responsible for 16% of deforestation associated with international trade.

According to a recent study by WWF, the EU is the world’s second-largest ‘importer’ of tropical deforestation after China. Between 2005 and 2017, European Union imports of agroforestry commodities caused the loss of 3.5 million hectares of forest to make room for farmland (an average of 290 thousand hectares per year).

In the EU, 10 countries are responsible for almost 80% of deforestation linked to the import and consumption of tropical goods.

Among EU countries, Italy was the second-largest consumer of forest-risk commodities, being responsible for the embedded deforestation of almost 36,000 hectares each year. Soy and palm oil were the commodities traded by Europe and Italy with the largest embedded tropical deforestation, while beef and leather specifically played a key role in the Italian market. In 2021, Italy was the largest beef importer in the EU, with more than a third imported from Brazil.

Germany – 43.627 ha
Italy – 35.792 ha
Spain – 32.891 ha
The Netherlands – 29.515 ha
France – 26.275 ha
Belgio – 14.770 ha
Poland – 10.022 ha
Portugal – 7.129 ha
Denmark – 5.857 ha
Greece – 3.928 ha

Germany

Italy

Spain

The Netherlands

France

 Share of embedded deforestation per commodity per country

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3. EMMA AGAINST DEFORESTATION

EMMA is the approach developed by Etifor to support companies in developing deforestation-free supply chains.

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Explore the Regulation

Explore the Regulation

We introduce you to the new Zero Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), profiling your company and assessing and developing tailored strategies for a more secure and sustainable supply chain.

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Map the impacts of your supply chain

Map the impacts of your supply chain

We assess the risk of your supply chains in relation to direct or indirect deforestation, define the profiles of your suppliers, and classify the risk and critical issues related to the country you import from, the sector or the products you trade. We help you develop an efficient and structured due diligence system to save your time and monitor the management of your supply chains, while also training your company staff.

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Mitigate risks with innovative instruments

Mitigate risks with innovative instruments

We support you in mitigating risks in your supply chain, thanks to product and process certifications, field audits, new suppliers’ evaluation and strategic partnerships. 

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Anticipate change, while regenerating ecosystems

Anticipate change, while regenerating ecosystems

We help you plan your suppliers’ transition to unconventional production systems and projects to restore and enhance ecosystem services. We support you in becoming a Climate Positive company with our scientific approach – MARC – and we support you in communicating your journey, valuing every step of it.

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ELENA MASSARENTI
ELENA MASSARENTI