ForestGuard

The EU Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which came into force on June 29, 2023, sets out comprehensive requirements for companies along the supply chains of beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood. Successful implementation requires transparency of various data that is currently either not available at all or not available in sufficient quality, reliability, tamper-proofness or manageability. New technical concepts and solutions are therefore needed to meet the requirements of the EUDR before the regulation comes into force on December 30, 2024.

The ForestGuard project aims to develop a software solution that enables the implementation of the EUDR. Using the example of a coffee supply chain, a blockchain-based open source solution is being developed that brings together data from different stakeholders along the supply chain. This will create the transparency required to fulfill the due diligence obligations stipulated in the EUDR. The resulting software solution should be scalable and also applicable to other supply chains and other regulatory requirements such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz - LkSG).

The steps and partial results of the project are structured as follows:

• Identification of requirements: Recording the functional, technical and regulatory requirements for a blockchain-based approach to implementing the EUDR from the perspective of the directly affected stakeholders.

• Solution concept development: Development of a solution concept for the implementation of the EUDR, including program flow chart, software architecture, data model and interface description.

• Implementation of a minimum viable product (MVP): Development and implementation of an initial functional prototype that demonstrates the effectiveness of the solution concept.

• Pilot operation: Implementation of a pilot operation of the MVP using the example of a coffee supply chain and testing the transferability to other supply chains.

ForestGuard is intended to create a practicable solution that enables the required transparency in supply chains and can serve as a model for other sectors and legal requirements.