LIFE FairTHRIVE: Empowering Businesses to Thrive Fairly Under the EUDR

ongoing

The LIFE FairTHRIVE project aims to boost the ability of EU MSMEs to comply with the EUDR. Utilizing Fairtrade's network of over 2,700 EU companies and its expertise in sustainability and regulation, our consortium—Fairtrade Germany, Fairtrade Finland (covering Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and hosting the Fairtrade HREDD Center of Excellence), Fairtrade Belgium, Max Havelaar France, and Fairtrade Italy, coordinated by Fairtrade International—is set to provide training and tools for EUDR compliance. While the consortium includes six partners, the project's impact will reach beyond Belgium, Finland, the Baltics, Italy, Germany, and France, involving collaboration with other Fairtrade organizations to broaden its scope. For example, Fairtrade Belgium will partner with Fairtrade Netherlands and Luxembourg, and Fairtrade Germany will work with Fairtrade Austria. Max Havelaar France will team up with Fairtrade Ibérica for the Spanish market. The project will also engage Fairtrade's EU network, including organizations in Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia to further amplify the project's impact across the EU. Additionally, the project will share insights from traceability tools to support deforestation-free cocoa and coffee, in partnership with brands and suppliers in producing countries. Learnings and best practices will be shared widely through Fairtrade's involvement in industry platforms like the Global Coffee Platform and the National Platforms for Sustainable Cocoa in Europe (ISCO), where Fairtrade is a founding and/or active member. Beyond coffee and cocoa, collaboration with organizations such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)—all part of the ISEAL Alliance working group on Deforestation where Fairtrade International is an active member—will extend knowledge-sharing and skills transfers to SMEs in other EUDR-affected sectors.