4 September 2025 - With just four months to go until the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) comes into force, BSI, the business improvement and standards company and Optel have partnered to help organizations navigate the challenge of complex supply chains, reduce deforestation risks, and meet regulatory requirements, ensuring sustainable and responsible sourcing practices.
Deforestation poses a significant threat to Europe’s biodiversity and ecological stability and has resulted in the loss of more than half of the continent’s forests in the last 6,000 years. The EUDR is driving fresh efforts towards sustainable sourcing and traceability by halting and reversing EU-driven global deforestation, something voluntary commitments have not achieved thus far.
The partnership between BSI and Optel, will provide organizations with supply chain transparency, to help navigate the growing complexity of global supply chains. By combining BSI’s expertise in shaping globally recognized standards, consulting, and providing verification and assurance solutions and risk intelligence with Optel’s cutting-edge traceability technology - Optchain™ - companies will be able to meet the upcoming sustainability regulation, as well as ensure stakeholder trust.
Neil Coole, Enterprise Partnerships Director, BSI “The EU Deforestation Regulation is a significant requirement for organizations. Whether it’s cocoa or coffee, rubber or wood, businesses operating in the EU must be able to provide evidence of robust traceability, compliance, and due diligence for their products throughout their supply chains.
“We’re delighted to partner with Optel to support organizations with navigating the challenges of complex supply chains, reduce deforestation risks, and meet regulatory requirements, ensuring sustainable and responsible sourcing practices.”
Florent Bouguin, Executive VP, Chief Technology Officer, OPTEL “At OPTEL, we see digital traceability as essential for building responsible, future-ready supply chains. By partnering with BSI, we combine trusted standards and assurance with our real-time platform to help companies meet EUDR requirements and go beyond compliance. Together, we turn supply chain visibility into meaningful action—ensuring products are deforestation-free and aligned with sustainability goals.”
The EUDR rules apply for large and medium-sized operators and traders from 30 December 2025, and for micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2026. Companies must conduct and document due diligence confirming that products are deforestation-free (not sourced from recently deforested land after 31 December 2020 and not linked to forest degradation), produced in compliance with local environmental and social laws and provide a due diligence statement submitted to an EU system. Companies could face penalties of up to 4% of their EU turnover for non-compliance.
For more information, please visit the European Commission website
