If your business uses leather, rubber, wood, beef, palm oil, soy, or paper, then you may need to comply with the EU Deforestation Directive (EUDR), a new rule intended to ensure that no goods traded in the EU contribute to global deforestation. Even if a company does not operate directly in the EU, you may be asked to supply data and provide assurance that your products do not come from deforested areas if you supply EU-based companies.

Ruth Prickett graduated from Cambridge University with a BA hons in History and has specialized in business and finance journalism for the past 20 years. She was editor of Financial Management, the magazine...