Lecture Description
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and its requirements for full traceability, deforestation monitoring, legality and due diligence for European coffee imports have the potential to fundamentally reshape the coffee sector in ways that promote greater sustainability. However, the limited inclusion of producing countries in the policy process, alongside considerable uncertainty regarding its application date and regulatory practicalities complicate stakeholder preparation and effective implementation of the regulation.
This panel presents novel and timely research findings on how preparatory efforts to comply with the EUDR have progressed across the coffee sector, highlighting both best practices as well as ongoing challenges. It brings together researchers from the University of Basel and the University of Amsterdam and synthesizes insights gained from in-depth qualitative fieldwork conducted in the heart of EU policymaking – Brussels – and in two producing countries – Colombia and Côte d’Ivoire – that are producing Arabica and Robusta coffee.
The session aims to foster learning and dialogue across actors in the coffee value chain, across origins, and between research and practice with regard to EUDR preparations. It also introduces participants to the broader EXPECT-AGRI research project, which will continue to analyze the implementation of EUDR and other due diligence legislations over the coming years.
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Time: 9:30 - 10:30
Location: Room 1122
Category: Sustainability
Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.
Speakers
Janina Grabs
Associate Professor of Sustainability Research, University of Basel
Janina Grabs holds a PhD in Political Science and is an Associate Professor of Sustainability Research at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her work focuses on the governance of sustainability in global value chains, with a special focus on tropical agricultural commodities such as coffee, cocoa, and palm oil. She is particularly interested in policy implementation and its implications for effectively advancing environmentally and socially sustainable production practices, while improving smallholder inclusion and equitable value distribution in global value chains.
Daria Scharnhorst
Graduate researcher
Daria Scharnhorst is a graduate researcher with an MSc. in Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam, with a background in the coffee industry. Since almost a decade she has been working as a barista in and around Europe. In the last 2 years she has been merging her professional experience with her academic interest. Her academic work focuses on coffee, value-making and capitalism. For her Masters Thesis, she spent 4 months in Colombia researching the European Regulation for Deforestation-free Product (EUDR) in relation to coffee production.
Lucia Casalegno
Doctoral Researcher, University of Basel
Lucia Casalegno is a doctoral researcher and field investigator at the University of Basel, working within the EXPECT-AGRI project across the coffee, cocoa and palm oil value chains in Colombia. She spends several months each year in the departments of Meta, Huila and Santander, on the ground with producers, exporters and intermediaries, as well as in Bogotá engaging with institutional actors, examining how the push for formalised, traceable supply chains interacts with the realities of informality across Colombia's coffee, cocoa and palm oil sectors. Her current work focuses on how European mandatory sustainability legislation translates into the realities of Colombian supply chains.
Dr. Charline Depoorter, Researcher, University of Basel
Dr. Charline Depoorter is a researcher in the Sustainability Research Group at University of Basel (Switzerland) and a Research Fellow at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at KU Leuven (Belgium). A political scientist by training, she currently investigates (public and private) regulatory instruments for sustainable global value chains, with an empirical focus on the tropical agrifood sector using qualitative and mixed methods. More broadly, her research interests include transnational sustainability governance, global value chains, political economy, international relations, and global environmental politics.
Dr. Alexandra Bögner (University of Basel), who analyzed EUDR-related lobbying on legislative interpretations and delays in Brussels using document analysis and interviews.
Lesly Nassila (University of Basel), who assessed EUDR preparations in the coffee sector of Côte d’Ivoire.