A tech bridge between companies and European standards
Hub for Eudr, a cloud platform developed by osapiens with the aid of artificial intelligence, automates data management to enforce the deforestation regulation
by Chiara Bussi
3' min read
Key points
- The necessary fulfilments
- Analysis of satellite images
- The Italian market
3' min read
A tech bridge between companies and the rain of European regulations to be transposed. These include the EU regulation (Eudr) to prove that their supply chains do not contribute to global deforestation. This is offered by Hub for Eudr, a cloud platform with the aid of artificial intelligence developed by osapiens. The scale-up, founded in Mannheim, Germany in 2008, landed in Italy last December and also has offices in France, Spain and the UK.
The necessary fulfilments
."The Eudr,' says Giuseppe Dimaria, sales director of osapiens Italia, 'is a complex regulation: even if the proposal to postpone the entry into force by one year (to the end of 2026) as requested by the EU Commission were to materialise, companies cannot be found unprepared and must act as soon as possible. Those that fall within the scope of the measure, he emphasises, 'must be able to trace the origin and region of origin of their products to determine whether the affected areas have been deforested after the 2020 deadline. To do so, they are required to systematically collect and verify a large amount of data, including geolocation, supplier information and risk assessments. And they must have access to effective grievance mechanisms to deal with non-compliance and curb deforestation'. Hub for Eudr, developed by osapiens - in collaboration with the international law firm Graf von Westphalen, which specialises in the legal aspects of sustainability reporting - automates the management of this data to support all actors in the value chain. "Our analysis," explains Dimaria, "is based on data collection from suppliers and uses artificial intelligence methods to assess the risk of deforestation. A unified platform consolidates all collected data, including verification of evidence such as certificates. It also allows risk mitigation actions to be initiated, documented and archived'.
Analysis of satellite images
.Among the flagships is the analysis of satellite images. "We have," he adds, "a series of satellites with an analysis algorithm of our own: the first analyses data with a 40-year history to verify, for example, the state as of 2020, the year from which forest degradation is subject to EU regulation. The second captures high-resolution images to verify the state of the art, and the third system uses radar technology to analyse the soil. In this way farmers can determine and communicate the geolocation of their plots, operators collect and communicate relevant information along the supply chain, operators and traders request and share data, conduct risk assessments and prepare due diligence statements.
The Italian market
.Osapiens counts on an international team of over 500 professionals and over 2,000 customers worldwide. 'In Italy,' Dimaria emphasises, 'there are now 40 clients. Among these, some, such as Iveco, Bialetti, Burgo and Panini, are already at an advanced stage in the application of the new anti-deforestation rules, the others are accelerating and, in the event of a delay, the extra time will be useful to get to the finishing line without any worries'. The goal is to grow in triple figures by the end of the year. "The widespread presence of articulated supply chains and the growing interest in ESG governance," he concludes, "have indicated a high level of maturity in the Italian market and a growing demand for integrated solutions: sustainability regulations should not be seen as a mere compliance exercise but as a real opportunity for innovation and competitive leverage.
