Description
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) marks a significant shift toward mandatory sustainability governance by requiring companies to ensure that products placed on the EU market are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation across seven key commodities. While the EUDR aims to transform global supply chains, its effectiveness will depend not only on formal rules and enforcement capacities but also on expectations of key actors about its implementation, as expectations influence cooperation, compliance, and contestation, shaping the trajectories of policy implementation.
This paper investigates how diverse stakeholders envision the implementation and outcomes of the EUDR. Using Q-methodology interviews, it examines how expectations vary among policymakers, industry representatives, civil society organizations, as well as producing-country actors in Colombia and in Côte d’Ivoire, across three commodity sectors – cocoa, coffee and palm oil. The analysis seeks to uncover shared viewpoints and potential (mis-)matches in expectations that may influence the effectiveness and legitimacy of the EUDR. The paper builds on 30 Q-methodology interviews with key stakeholders in Colombia, and upcoming interviews with stakeholders in the EU and in Côte d’Ivoire. Overall, the study underscores the importance of understanding and aligning stakeholder expectations to enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of the EUDR’s implementation.
