Due diligence

September 2026

28 September 2026

Legal & Regulatory Developments F&B / FMCG

Leather Out, Instant Coffee In: Annex I Revision Does Not Clear Cattle Land

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 removes cattle hides, skins and leather from Annex I while bringing soluble coffee and certain palm oleochemicals into scope from 30 December 2027. Large and medium operators still face the main EUDR clock on 30 December 2026 — 93 days from this edition. Consumer calendars for green and roasted beans diverge from instant coffee; leather exit is not a climate holiday for cattle hectares.

12 September 2026

Executive Syntheses ESG

Drought North, Cyclone Spice, EUDR Clock: The Week’s Field Risk Still Beats the Slowest Statute

UK reservoir money, German hop heat cuts, Peruvian blueberry El Niño revisions and Madagascar vanilla cyclone shock sit beside the same EUDR filing date. Large and medium operators still file from 30 December 2026. The week’s synthesis is one plot-and-practice file — not three separate workstreams.

EUDR Field risk watch Drought Spices

11 September 2026

Executive Syntheses Exporters

Three Clocks, One Plot: The Week’s EUDR, Omnibus I and LkSG Calendar Still Hits the Hectare

Large and medium operators file EUDR statements from 30 December 2026. CSDDD transposition closes 26 July 2028. BAFA is already reviewing German reports. Drought-stressed cocoa and smallholder geolocation do not wait for the slowest statute.

EUDR Omnibus I LkSG Due diligence

11 September 2026

Challenges & Material Risks Cooperatives

Who Pays for the Seal: Kenya Tea, Certification Cost and the Grower Who Absorbs It

In May 2025 Nairobi suspended Rainforest Alliance tea audits because factories and farmers were carrying the bill. The UK takes only about eight percent of Kenya’s tea exports. EU and UK buyer due diligence still expects a file — the question is who finances it.

Kenya Tea Smallholders Supply-chain risk

11 September 2026

Technology & Infrastructure Cooperatives

The Seal Is Not the Infrastructure: Certification Rent, Farm Data and the Grower Who Still Pays

Organic, Fairtrade and regenerative programmes are sold as proof. For Southern smallholders they are often recurring cost. The missing layer is producer-held readiness data — not another verifier — so the next buyer can inspect without re-taxing the same hectare.

Organic certification Polyculture Spices Smallholders

10 September 2026

Legal & Regulatory Developments Exporters

From Pledges to Penalties: The Logistics Cost of CSDDD after Omnibus I

Directive (EU) 2026/470 is in force. Transposition is due by 26 July 2028 and application from 26 July 2029. The maximum fine is three percent of worldwide turnover — and the livelihood cost hits the hectare when the buyer captures the due-diligence claim.

CSDDD Due diligence Civil liability Value chains