Trase is a data-driven transparency initiative that revolutionizes our understanding of the international trade and financing of agricultural commodities that drive tropical deforestation, such as soy, palm oil, beef, cocoa and coffee. The Trase team at SEI HQ is part of the global Trase initiative co-founded by SEI in 2016 at the UN Marrakech Climate Change Conference.

Trase’s free online tools and actionable intelligence have been used by governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society organizations to take practical steps to address deforestation. Trase has grown into a partnership with an on-the-ground presence in over 10 countries in China, Europe, Indonesia and Latin America.

The Trase team is motivated by an urgent need for accurate and reliable data and expertise on the dynamics and sustainability of commodity supply chains. Our role is to act as experts and information providers. We believe data and data transparency can accelerate progress towards more sustainable and just models of trade and development, but we do not see a lack of data as an excuse for inaction.

We are focused on being innovative with data that already exists and with identifying how, through greater transparency, it is possible to identify priorities for action and start change processes even when we do not yet fully understand the problems and solutions at hand.