How do I perform the risk assessment that the EUDR requires of me?

Risk assessment tests collected data against fixed criteria

The risk assessment required by the EUDR involves comparing the information gathered about a product stream — origin, geolocation of parcels, supplier, evidence of legal production and absence of deforestation after the reference date — against a fixed list of criteria from the regulation. On this basis, it is determined whether there is a negligible risk that the product does not meet the requirements, or a risk that calls for further action. These criteria address, among other things, the extent of deforestation or forest degradation in the country or region of origin, the complexity of the supply chain, the likelihood that the product is mixed with material of unknown or non-compliant origin, and signals such as findings by competent authorities, complaints from third parties, or indications of corruption or forged documents.

If this assessment shows that the risk is not negligible, risk mitigation follows: requesting additional information or data, arranging independent investigations or audits, or taking other measures to reduce the risk. Only after this is done and documented can the market operator conclude that the due diligence obligation has been met. This assessment is not a one-time paper exercise; it relies on data actually collected for each product stream and should be explainable to a competent authority.

This follows from articles 10 and 11

This structure follows directly from the regulation: article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 sets out the criteria used for the risk assessment, and article 11 describes which risk mitigation measures may follow when the risk cannot be considered negligible. For the exact wording of both articles, and for the information requirements on which the assessment is based, the full text on EUR-Lex is the authoritative source.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (deforestation regulation): eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/NL/TXT/?uri=CELE…