Trase

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 Headquarters 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 globally. Our role is to act as experts and information providers. We believe that 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.

Container ship transporting goods globally.

Photo: General_4530 / Getty Images.

Helen Bellfield, Chris West and Toby Gardner sit at a table indoors, smiling at the camera, with a laptop and notebook on the table and a large window behind them.

Trase appoints Chris West as new co-director

Feature / SEI York’s Chris West is stepping into the role of Trase co-director, taking over from Toby Gardner.

24 February 2026 / About Forests, Public policy, Supply chains and Water resources

Cows drinking water in Pantanal, South America.

EU and China at risk from water scarcity via imports of Brazil beef and soy

Feature / Trase research reveals the colossal amount of water used to produce soy and beef in Brazil, and recommends ways to address water scarcity.

26 August 2025 / About Forests, Land use, Supply chains and Water resources

Beautiful view over Mata Atlantica in Brazil.

Tackling deforestation linked to commodity trade via Trase

Feature / Over the past 10 years, Trase has become a globally recognized source of data and intelligence for addressing deforestation in global supply chains.

11 April 2025 / About Forests, Public policy and Supply chains

EU flags are mounted on tall flagpoles and are fluttering in the wind in front of the European Comission's large, modern headquarters. The building’s facade is composed of numerous horizontal and vertical lines, creating a grid-like pattern in the background.

Five ways Trase can and cannot support the EU deforestation regulation

Perspective / Trase’s co-directors write about the benefits and limitations of Trase data in assisting companies and governments in their efforts to implement the EUDR.

10 July 2024 / About Finance, Supply chains and Sustainable lifestyles

Trase: Brazilian beef exports and deforestation

Feature / Trase data brings unprecedented transparency to the supply chains and impacts of Brazilian cattle and beef production.

21 November 2023 / About Food and agriculture, Forests, Supply chains and Sustainable lifestyles

Aerial view of oil palm tree plantation area

Disentangling the numbers behind agriculture-driven tropical deforestation

Journal article / This review points to three key areas where a stronger evidence base would advance global efforts to curb agriculture-driven deforestation.

8 September 2022 / About Food and agriculture, Forests and Land use

Aerial view of clear-cut forest area, Sangre Grande, Trinidad and Tobago

Addressing indirect sourcing in zero deforestation commodity supply chains

Journal article / This article examines indirect sourcing in sectors with high rates of commodity-driven deforestation – a major blind spot for sustainable sourcing.

11 May 2022 / About Food and agriculture, Forests, Land use and Supply chains

Carbon exchange in rainfed and irrigated cropland in the Brazilian Cerrado

Journal article / This study measures the carbon exchange of two fields in the Brazilian Cerrado (irrigated and rainfed) with rotations from different cultures.

8 March 2022 / About Ecosystems, Food and agriculture and Land use

Green trees on lake with reflection of clouds, Amazon, Brazil

Quo vadis, Brazil? Environmental malgovernance under Bolsonaro and the ambiguous role of the Sustainable Development Goals

Journal article / This paper examines the Bolsonaro administration in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, revealing malgovernance and deliberate transgressions

14 February 2022 / About Land use and Sustainable Development Goals

Trase

Tool / Trase enables governments, companies and others to address the environmental impacts of supply chains.

About Forests and Supply chains

Cargo boats outside Panama City, Panama.

Trase

Tool / Trase permite a los gobiernos, empresas y otros abordar los impactos ambientales de las cadenas de suministro.

About Climate policy, Forests and Supply chains

Aerial view of cattle near body of water in Lindoeste, Pará State, Brazil

TraseH2O

Project / Exploring trade-offs between water use, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions linked to soy and beef production and exports from Brazil.

2021 - 2025 / About Ecosystems, Food and agriculture, Land use, Public policy, Supply chains and Water resources

Funders

The work of Trase today is made possible through the generous funding of three major donors: Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF), together with additional support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the European Union and UK aid from the UK Government.

The grant from NICFI, managed by Norad (Pb. 1303 Vika, NO-0112 OSLO, Norway) includes funds for the main grantee SEI and for sub-grantee Global Canopy (3 Frewin Chambers, Frewin Court, Oxford, OX1 3HZ, UK), Université Catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348 Belgium), Auriga (Bukit Cimanggu City, Blok HH-17 No.16, Indonesia), as well as the significant sub-contractor Neural Alpha (Lambeth, London, SE11 5DP, UK). Please read the full Norad donor agreement for details.