GEOAI — PALM OIL SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY
EUDR Palm Oil Traceability: Plot Geolocation Verification and Deforestation-Free Evidence from Satellite Imagery
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires every palm oil shipment placed on the EU market to be traceable to the coordinates of its plots of origin and proven free of deforestation after 31 December 2020. GeoAI by DTI helps you map plots, analyse historical satellite imagery, and assemble verifiable due diligence documentation — in one integrated platform.
EUDR — Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 — entered into force on 29 June 2023 and fundamentally changed how the EU market accepts palm oil. Operators and traders placing palm products on the EU market must exercise due diligence: collect the geolocation of every plot of land where the commodity was produced, ensure the product is deforestation-free against a cut-off date of 31 December 2020, and verify legal production under the laws of the country of origin. Application for large companies was set from 30 December 2025, with ongoing regulatory adjustments at EU level worth monitoring — but the direction is clear and irreversible: without credible traceability data, market access closes.
For Indonesian palm oil businesses — CPO producers, refineries, and exporters — the consequences are concrete. European buyers now request plot geolocation coordinates in structured formats (typically GeoJSON, with polygons required for plots above 4 hectares), historical evidence that the land has not been deforested since 2020, and an auditable document trail behind every Due Diligence Statement. The challenge is real: Indonesia's palm supply chain spans thousands of plots, including independent smallholders supplying through agents and dealers, with widely varying data completeness.
EUDR traceability is fundamentally a geospatial data problem: where exactly each plot is, what its land cover looked like at the end of 2020, and how it has changed since. GeoAI by DTI answers all three with verified plot mapping, time-series analysis of historical satellite imagery, and documented due diligence evidence management — built by a team experienced with large-scale plantation data in Indonesia, with data governance that respects Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection for smallholder data.
Why EUDR Compliance Is Hard to Achieve Manually
FFB Origin Is Obscured in Layered Supply Chains
Most fresh fruit bunches pass through agents, dealers, and cooperatives before reaching the mill, so the true plot of origin often goes unrecorded. Without plot-level mapping, traceability claims stop at the mill — which does not satisfy EUDR.
Plots Are Not Mapped as Valid Polygons
EUDR requires geolocation for all plots, and polygons for plots above 4 hectares — not a single coordinate for the estate office. Existing data frequently contains overlapping plots, inaccuracies, or unstandardised files scattered across systems.
Post-2020 Historical Evidence Cannot Be Created Retroactively
Proving land has been deforestation-free since 31 December 2020 requires analysing historical satellite imagery, not photographing today's conditions. Field surveys cannot answer questions about the past.
Due Diligence Documentation Does Not Scale
Every placement on the EU market requires a due diligence statement backed by per-plot evidence, and EU authorities can re-examine those claims. Managing evidence for thousands of plots with spreadsheets and manual archives risks inconsistency under audit.
End-to-End Palm Oil Traceability for EUDR with GeoAI
Plot Geolocation Mapping and Verification
Consolidate plot data from multiple sources into standardised polygons, with automated validation for plot overlaps, duplicates, and geometry anomalies. The result is a single plot database ready to export as GeoJSON for due diligence statements.
Historical Satellite Analysis from the 2020 Baseline
Time-series analysis of multi-source satellite imagery from the late-2020 baseline onward detects land cover change on every plot. Each plot receives a deforestation-free assessment backed by dated imagery evidence, not just an assertion.
Per-Plot and Per-Supplier Risk Scoring
Every plot and supplier is scored on geospatial indicators — detected land change, polygon completeness, and supporting data quality. You can prioritise field verification on high-risk plots instead of sweeping the entire supply chain evenly.
Documented Due Diligence Evidence Packages
For each shipment, the platform assembles an evidence package: plot geolocations, deforestation analysis results, legality documents, and processing timestamps. Output formats are designed to be compatible with EU buyer requirements and the EUDR information system.
Continuous Monitoring and Early Warning
EUDR compliance is not a one-off check — verified plots remain monitored for indications of new land clearing. Early alerts let you follow up with suppliers before the next shipment becomes a problem.
This satellite-based mapping and monitoring approach has been applied by DTI's GeoAI team in large-scale plantation programmes in Indonesia, working with industry players in regulated sectors.
How It Works: From Raw Plot Data to a Due Diligence Dossier
Plot Consolidation and Mapping
We gather plot data from internal systems, suppliers, and field mapping — including independent smallholder plots — and standardise it into validated geospatial polygons. Individual growers' data is handled in line with Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection.
Baseline and Time-Series Satellite Analysis
Each polygon is analysed against the historical satellite archive: land cover at the end-2020 baseline is compared with imagery from subsequent periods to the present. AI models detect indications of forest conversion, and results are reviewed by analysts before being confirmed as findings.
Verification, Risk Scoring, and Follow-Up
Plots with detected land change or incomplete data are flagged for clarification and, where needed, field verification. Every plot's status — verified, under review, or excluded from EUDR supply — is recorded with an audit trail.
Due Diligence Evidence Assembly and Ongoing Monitoring
The platform generates per-shipment evidence packages — plot GeoJSON, deforestation analysis reports, and legality attachments — ready to support due diligence statements. All plots then remain under periodic monitoring with automated alerts on new changes.
Frequently Asked Questions on EUDR and Palm Oil Traceability
What is EUDR and who is affected in Indonesia?
EUDR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115) is an EU regulation prohibiting the placement of certain commodities — including palm oil and its derivatives — on the EU market if they come from land deforested after 31 December 2020 or were produced illegally. The legal obligation sits with EU operators and traders, but in practice Indonesian producers, mills, refineries, and exporters are directly affected because European buyers require geolocation data and deforestation-free evidence from their suppliers.
What exactly are EUDR's geolocation requirements?
Operators must collect geolocation coordinates for every plot of land where the commodity was produced. Plots larger than 4 hectares must be described as polygons delineating the plot boundary, while smaller plots may be declared with a single latitude-longitude point. This data accompanies the due diligence statement, typically in GeoJSON format.
How do you prove a plantation is deforestation-free after 2020?
The only independently verifiable method is historical satellite imagery analysis: comparing a plot's land cover at the 31 December 2020 baseline with imagery from subsequent periods. GeoAI performs this time-series analysis per polygon, documents dated imagery as evidence, and flags plots with indications of forest conversion for further review.
What about supply from independent smallholders?
Smallholder plots still require geolocation if their production enters an EUDR supply chain — this is the weakest point in most Indonesian palm supply chains. GeoAI supports participatory mapping of smallholder plots, linkage to documents such as the STDB cultivation registration letter, and handling of growers' personal data in accordance with Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection.
Is ISPO or RSPO certification sufficient for EUDR?
No. EUDR allows certification schemes to be used as supporting information in risk assessment, but explicitly states that due diligence responsibility remains with the operator and cannot be replaced by a certificate. ISPO (mandatory for palm oil plantation businesses under Presidential Regulation No. 44 of 2020) and RSPO remain valuable, but must be complemented with per-plot geolocation and deforestation analysis.
What are the risks of non-compliance, and what data must be ready for inspection?
EU competent authorities can reject products or withdraw them from the market, and the regulation sets fines with a maximum of at least 4% of the operator's total annual EU turnover, on top of the commercial risk of losing buyer contracts. Under inspection, an operator must produce plot geolocations, deforestation-free evidence, production legality documents, and records of risk assessment and mitigation — precisely the evidence package GeoAI assembles and archives for every shipment.
GEOAI — PALM OIL SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY
Get Your Palm Oil Supply Chain EUDR-Ready Now
Discuss your plot data and supply chain readiness with DTI's GeoAI team. We will help you map the gaps against EUDR requirements and build a realistic traceability roadmap — from plot mapping through to an audit-ready due diligence dossier.
