Why is it necessary for operators to gather coordinates, and how should this be done?

The Regulation mandates non-SME operators and traders to collect geographic coordinates of the land plots where commodities are sourced. This traceability is crucial to verify absence of deforestation at specific locations where commodities are sourced.

Operators need to provide these coordinates in due diligence statements submitted to the Information System prior to product placement or export, as mandated by the Regulation. Failure to comply prohibits market placement or export of regulated products without submitted geolocation coordinates.

The collection of coordinates can be done using mobile phones, handheld GNSS devices, and free-to-use digital applications like GIS. For land plots over 4 hectares, polygons with latitude and longitude points of six decimal digits are required to describe the perimeter of each plot. For plots under 4 hectares, operators can use either a polygon or a single point with six decimal digits of latitude and longitude. Cattle keeping establishments can be described with a single geolocation coordinate point, for example.