AI + Forest Monitoring: How Coolx Supports EUDR Compliance
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), has been introduced to combat global deforestation. It requires companies placing products like coffee, soy, palm oil, wood, and rubber on the EU market to ensure they are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation.
However, ensuring compliance with EUDR is no small task, especially as supply chains become increasingly complex and global.
This is where technologies like those developed by Cool X come into play. We caught up with the team to learn how they’re leveraging modern forest monitoring technologies and AI so companies can ensure compliance with EUDR and maintain deforestation-free supply chains.
Tell us more about the problems and impact associated with deforestation
Deforestation of primary forests generates 11% of CO2 emissions worldwide. This translates into the loss of 7.3M hectares of forest every year, which is equivalent to the area of Portugal.
To combat deforestation the European Commission has approved in 2023 the regulation of deforestation free products (EUDR)*.
The EUDR* obliges companies to demonstrate that products sold in the European Union have not caused deforestation.
With our solution, we are delivering the following outcomes:
1. Deforestation events associated with commodities (imported into the European market) are reduced.
2. Increase the import of more deforestation-free products to the European market.
3. Deforestation-free products imported into the European market ensures a fair price for producers (at risk of poverty).
4. Increase the resilience of companies, preparing them for future environmental regulations.
Q: What are the key barriers to taking action and ensuring our forests are protected?
The EUDR* obliges companies to demonstrate that products sold in the European Union have not caused deforestation.
Lack of knowledge of EUDR and how to meet its requirements is still a very common problem that importers, exporters and traders are facing. Also as there has been a delay of the law coming into force from the end of 2024 to 2025 some companies are uncertain over the eventual application of this legislation.
Finally there are cost implications (who pays?) and technical challenges (how do you demonstrate no deforestation and compliance with laws at the country of origin?) and practical considerations such as opacity of supply chains.
All in all, we see it as quite reasonable that the enforcement of EUDR has been postponed until the end of 2025 as companies have a lot more work to do to get ready.
Q: Tell us a little about Coolx: What does your company do and how are you doing it?
Coolx is a software that combines forest monitoring technologies with artificial intelligence so that companies importing and exporting EUDR affected commodities (primarily: coffee, cacao, soy, palm oil and others) can convert their supply chains to be deforestation-free.
We built our product jointly with EUDR affected companies, we are based out of Spain and working internationally. We also support our clients in Spanish which can be very important with the country of origin of commodities in LATAM - in order to engage effectively we have also developed a process to carry out work and educate stakeholders about the impact & application of EUDR.
Our solution uses AI in two ways:
1. For remote sensing in land cover analysis.
2. In reviewing documentation related to the production (e.g. land usage rights, labour/employment contracts etc.) required by EUDR. Our platform gathers all of this in order to compile documentation together.
Q: What’s the story behind Coolx? How did it all start?
Our 4 founders met at an entrepreneurship program they participated in while working full-time jobs. They had the goal of having a start-up with social and environmental impact. The initial idea was around carbon markets and more rigorous measurement with remote sensing hence the name Coolx with the nod to CO2 and its two oxygens. However the company soon pivoted to its current incarnation to support protecting forests/ stop deforestation.
Q: Tell us how Coolx helped Caravela Coffee ensure a sustainable supply chain
Caravela Coffee, a leading exporter of specialty coffee from Latin America, faces the challenge of complying with the EUDR, which requires companies to be able to demonstrate that their products are not linked to deforestation or illegal practices.
To this end, Caravela was looking for a solution that would enable it to efficiently manage its supply chain, especially in terms of the sustainability of its supplier farms and access to key information for the European market.
What happened?
Coolx became Caravela Coffee’s strategic partner. We used advanced satellite analysis technology and due diligence software to analyze more than 150 smallholder farms to identify deforestation-free production areas.
This process also included the use of satellite imagery to assess land use, cross-referencing geographic data with legal and environmental records.
Coolx also facilitated the organization and validation of documentation required by EUDR regulations, such as land registers, invoices and geolocation of plots.
The result
Cool X enabled Caravela to generate accurate and comprehensive reports that ensure regulatory compliance and reinforce its commitment to sustainability. As a result, Caravela Coffee not only achieved compliance with legal requirements, but also strengthened its reputation as a responsible and sustainable company.
This case is a clear example of how collaboration between technology, sustainability and compliance can transform challenges into competitive advantages, benefiting both exporters and small producers who depend on fair and sustainable trade.
On the Nature Tech Landscape
Q: Given the recent COP16 biodiversity summit, how do you see the direction of travel in terms of the area you operate in? Is awareness growing?
COP16 has strengthened the relevance of integrating biodiversity into business and national strategies, which is aligned with our mission at Coolx. In particular, the EUDR vertical is advancing and we perceive much more awareness on the part of companies (European and external ones) of the relevance of the regulation.
Although we are optimistic for 2025, we have seen a lot of reticence and passivity on the part of companies to get down to work, despite the potential penalties. As we start the new year, this seems to be improving and more and more companies are becoming aware of the positive environmental and social impact they can have through compliance with the EUDR. But compliance with the EUDR and the positive impact it can have is a long way away.
Q: Where does Coolx sit within the broader category of nature tech? What led you to the Nature Tech Collective?
We see Coolx as very much part of the Nature Tech category and within the environmental regulation sector, we are also adjacent to several areas of nature tech which are also expanding such as Agritech or Traceability solutions. These different adjacent technologies are signs of industry moving in the right direction and expanding initiatives to deliver solutions to protect and restore nature.
We were highly recommended to join the Nature Tech Collective, by a current member, as a key community in the Climatech space. We think that a key benefit for us of being part of a community of interrelated nature tech topics is that we can keep abreast of key themes in our space. Also Coolx can share back on key stages, hiring, fundraising, new product developments and trends that are shaping our company - which can benefit others also.
Q: How can others support the work you do?
We are very happy to connect with any company/ person in the Nature Tech Collective that thinks there is relevant conversation to be had and some of this is already happening.
Additionally we see that often EUDR affected companies need expert support + tools to manage compliance processes.
At Coolx we’re focused on providing a tool and so there is room for additional/ complementary support which partners can provide.
Specifically partnerships which we are looking to develop further are with:
Consultancies (environmental, or sustainability departments)
Verification/Certification companies
Tech solutions (agritech/supply chain, traceability)
Trade associations for any/all these EUDR crops ( cocoa, coffee, rubber, timber, soy, palm oil, cattle)
Learn more about Coolx here and follow their news on LinkedIn channel here.
About the Nature Tech Collective
The Nature Tech Collective (NTC) is a global community of nature tech stakeholders, united by a shared commitment to transform human systems which harm nature, and enhance the conservation and regeneration of our natural world. Our community is composed of representatives from the public and private sector, academia and field-level science, project developers and frontline communities, as well as inventors that build and develop nature tech solutions. Our industry alliance models collaborative intelligence for greater impact.
