The EUDR introduces accountability throughout the timber supply chain, with particular emphasis on those importing materials from outside the EU. If you are the first party placing timber on the EU market, you carry the classification and responsibilities of an Operator under EUDR.
What Does "Operator" Mean?
An operator is any company that places timber products on the EU market for the first time , this typically means importers bringing in material from non-EU countries, or EU-based companies harvesting and selling domestically produced timber.
Full Due Diligence Responsibility
Operators must conduct comprehensive due diligence on all sourcing activities. The core compliance checklist includes:
- Deforestation-free: Products must originate from land not cleared after December 31, 2020
- Geolocation: Exact harvest location with GPS coordinates required from suppliers
- Legality: Compliance with the source country's environmental and labour laws must be verified
- Risk assessment: Identify and document sourcing risks and mitigation measures
- Due diligence statement: Required submission before market placement via EU TRACES
The Operator Workflow
- Responsible sourcing practices with documented supplier relationships
- Document collection , permits, GPS data, supply chain records
- Risk identification and mitigation strategy documentation
- Data logging and official statement submission via EU TRACES system
Common Challenges
Operators typically face obstacles including GPS data acquisition from suppliers in countries with limited digital infrastructure, legal harvest verification across different regulatory frameworks, and maintaining records across complex multi-supplier sourcing arrangements.
How Timberhub Helps
The Timberhub platform assists operators by facilitating GPS and documentation requests from suppliers, verifying traceability and legal compliance, and generating and archiving due diligence reports in the correct format for EU TRACES submission.
"Whether you're buying from Sweden or sourcing from Brazil, EUDR touches every part of the timber supply chain." Understanding your role as an operator is the foundational step toward compliance.