Trase was founded in 2015 by SEI and Global Canopy as a platform to revolutionise the transparency of global trade in agricultural commodities linked to deforestation.
We have demonstrated that action to curb commodity–driven deforestation is both necessary and possible – enabling initiatives across governments, businesses and civil society.
In 2025, Trase enters a new five-year strategic period with the goal that its data and intelligence will drive supply chain interventions that successfully protect forests, other natural ecosystems, human rights and livelihoods by 2030.
5,280 subnational regions of production linked to individual trading companies and consumer markets.
16,038 companies trading in forest-risk commodities connected to regions of production.
Learn more about the journey and impact from the past ten years.
> 200 civil society campaigns, media investigations and enforcement agency initiatives.
> 150 company initiatives to tackle deforestation linked to supply chains.
> 200 actions by financial institutions on due diligence, portfolio screening, ESG reporting and analysis.
Graphic: Mia Shu, Ylva Rylander and Yani Wang
Trase data has been immensely helpful for our legal work: From identifying deforestation risks in certain production areas to ascertaining the likelihood that companies here in Europe are connected to ecosystem destruction in the Amazon or the Brazilian Cerrado – Trase data has been indispensable to justify our argument that some companies are not doing enough to keep deforestation off our supermarket shelves and that they breach their legal obligations.
Kaja Blumtritt, Law and Policy Advisor, Value Chains, Trade & Investment, ClientEarth
Working with Trase was a key part of our success in strengthening the anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR). Their data and analysis were not only robust and compelling, but they were also essential in demonstrating the environmental risks of excluding ecosystems like the Cerrado and the Gran Chaco. Thanks to this collaboration, we convinced the whole European Parliament of the importance of using this definition for the regulation.
Marie Toussaint, member of European Parliament and shadow rapporteur for the EUDR for the Greens/EFA group of the EU Parliament
Commodity production, driven by demand from unsustainable consumption, is the single biggest driver of habitat and biodiversity loss globally. The GEIC indicator is therefore a crucial piece of evidence to tackle the nature crisis. We rely on this indicator to improve understanding of the impacts associated with consumption, and the action that could be taken to address this issue.
Maddie Harris, Senior Evidence Specialist, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
Trase is a global supply chain transparency initiative co-founded by SEI and Global Canopy in 2015. The Trase team includes more than 35 researchers and communications experts across nine countries, based at Global Canopy, SEI Headquarters and SEI York.
This change story, Trase at ten, highlights key achievements, global impact and quotes from key stakeholders that has engaged with Trase during the past ten years.
Perspective / Trase outlines its recommendations to make the best use of the one-year delay in the implementation of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR).
Feature / Rates of deforestation and conversion linked to the expansion of soy production in Brazil increased according to the latest Trase data for 2021–2022.
Feature / Deforestation associated with the palm oil sector in Indonesia increased slightly in 2022 after falling for nearly a decade, according to the latest Trase data.
