LEGISLATION
BELOW: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a priority for many companies at the moment. Credit: Shutterstock.
WHAT SUPPLY CHAIN LEGISLATION
MEANS FOR PAPER With regulations tightening across sourcing, packaging and waste, the paper and publishing industry is entering a new era of accountability. Here’s what the latest EU and global legislation means in practice – and why traceability is now business‑critical. There is a lot of movement and discussion around legislation in global supply chains with different regulatory bodies and regions exerting their influence in different ways. In this section, we will cover two major areas of legislation that are particularly relevant to the paper and publishing industries. Whilst they are separate regulations with different objectives, they are all connected through the lifecycle of a product, from the sourcing of raw materials, through to how products and packaging are managed at end of life.
It covers several key commodities that have historically been linked to deforestation risk, including timber, paper and pulp products, cattle, cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil and rubber, alongside a range of derived products. While EUDR spans all of these sectors, for the purposes of this discussion we’re going to focus specifically on paper and paper-based products. For many businesses in our industry, paper is likely to be one of the first materials where the impact of these regulations will be felt, making it a useful place to start when understanding how the wider regulatory landscape is evolving. At the heart of EUDR is the EU’s ambition to ensure that products entering the European market are not contributing to global deforestation.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is arguably one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation currently coming out of the European Union. It forms part of the EU Green Deal, alongside the Green Claims Directive, Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
10 PRODUCTS OF CHANGE I THE PAPER CHAPTER
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