Trase - Intelligence For Sustainable Trade

What Trase - Intelligence For Sustainable Trade does

Trase is a not-for-profit initiative founded in 2015 by the Stockholm Environment Institute and Global Canopy that provides open-access data, tools, and analysis on agricultural commodity supply chains and their links to deforestation. The platform traces commodities such as soy, beef, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, and wood pulp from subnational production regions through trading companies to consumer markets, covering over 50% of global trade in forest-risk commodities across 10 producer countries including Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, Paraguay, Côte d'Ivoire, and Colombia. Trase maps 16,038 trading companies, 5,280 subnational regions of production, and provides 1,859 company profiles with deforestation exposure data.

The platform is built on Trase's proprietary SEI-PCS (Spatially Explicit Information on Production to Consumption Systems) methodology, which combines official government data on production, tax, and shipping with supply chain logistics data to systematically link supply chain actors to subnational production regions. Recent technical work has incorporated AI foundation models adapted for Earth observation to map thousands of soy processing and storage facilities in Brazil from satellite imagery. Core products include the Trase Supply Chains interactive mapping platform, Trase Insights (expert analysis and policy briefs), the Open Data Portal (190 downloadable datasets under Creative Commons BY 4.0), Company Profiles for deforestation exposure analysis, an Impact Indicators Map for geospatial visualization, and Country Factsheets. The platform has been used in legal cases against Cargill and Bunge, regulatory preparation for the EU Deforestation Regulation, and BBC documentary production.

Trase operates on a grant-funded non-profit model with no commercial revenue; all data and tools are provided free of charge. The organization serves four primary customer segments: governments (national and regional agencies addressing imported deforestation), the finance sector (banks, investors, and asset managers conducting portfolio screening and ESG due diligence), companies (commodity traders, manufacturers, and retailers meeting sustainability commitments), and civil society (NGOs, advocacy organizations, and media for accountability campaigns). Major funders include Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Quadrature Climate Foundation. The organization is led by co-directors Chris West and Helen Bellfield, with a global team of 50+ experts across 9 countries, and released a 2025-2030 strategy focused on systemic change in commodity markets following its tenth anniversary.

Name

Trase - Intelligence For Sustainable Trade

Legal name

Trase

Website

https://trase.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trase is a not-for-profit initiative founded in 2015 by Stockholm Environment Institute and Global Canopy that provides free open-access data and analysis on agricultural commodity supply chains and deforestation, serving governments, financial institutions, companies, and civil society in over 10 producer countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Supply Chain Sustainability Analytics

NAICS

Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42491), Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (4245)

SIC

Forestry (800), Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

Keywords

• Supply chain transparency
• Deforestation exposure data
• Commodity trade analytics
• Sustainability data platform
• Subnational supply chain mapping

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Trase operates as a not-for-profit initiative funded by grants from governments, foundations, and international organizations. Major funders include Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Quadrature Climate Foundation.
2. Open Data Access: Trase provides free open-access data to support transparency and independent analysis. All supply chain data and sustainability indicators are available for free download.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Trase provides free, open-access data, tools, and analysis on agricultural commodity supply chains and their links to deforestation. The platform maps trade flows from subnational production regions through traders to consumer markets, with metrics on deforestation exposure and emissions, covering commodities such as soy, beef, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, and others across 10+ producer countries.

Product overview

Trase is a not-for-profit transparency platform founded in 2015 by the Stockholm Environment Institute and Global Canopy, offering two core product lines: Trase Supply Chains for interactive mapping of commodity supply chains at subnational resolution, and Trase Insights for expert analysis on sustainability risks. The platform provides free access to open data through its Open Data Portal with 190+ downloadable datasets, supplemented by analytical tools including Company Profiles for deforestation exposure analysis, an Impact Indicators Map for geospatial visualization, and Country Factsheets for national-level assessments. The portfolio is accessible through a unified search interface and Supply Chain Flows Explorer, collectively covering forest-risk commodities across 9 producer countries and tracking deforestation exposure linked to trade flows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trase Supply Chains An interactive mapping platform that traces commodity supply chains at subnational resolution, linking consumer markets via trading companies to regions of production, with sustainability indicators such as deforestation exposure and emissions.
• Trase Insights Expert analysis and intelligence on sustainability of commodity trade and financing, providing policy analysis, sector reports, and commentary on deforestation risks and supply chain sustainability.
• Open Data Portal Free-to-download datasets on commodity supply chains and sustainability indicators supporting transparency and independent analysis, covering 190 datasets across multiple countries and commodities from 1997-2025.
• Company Profiles Company-level deforestation exposure analysis enabling users to explore commodity exports and associated deforestation and emissions by company, country, and commodity.
• Impact Indicators Map Interactive geospatial map displaying deforestation exposure indicators by commodity and country, allowing users to explore spatial patterns of commodity-driven deforestation.
• Country Factsheets Summary factsheets assessing country-level exposure to deforestation from imports of agricultural commodities, providing direct trade and re-export adjusted deforestation metrics.
• Supply Chain Flows Explorer Interactive tool for exploring supply chain flows showing commodity movements from production regions through traders to destination countries, with metrics on volume, deforestation, and emissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 68% of tropical deforestation driven by key forest-risk commodities is linked to commodity trade
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered founding, strategic and project.

• Stockholm Environment InstitutefoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Founding partner that established Trase in 2015. SEI provides research infrastructure and expertise in environmental economics and sustainability analysis.
• Global CanopyfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Founding partner and operational host for Trase. Global Canopy leads day-to-day management, operations, and strategy implementation.
• AurigastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing expertise and collaboration on Trase initiatives.
• University of Santa BarbarastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner contributing academic research expertise to Trase methodology and analysis.
• Catholic University of LouvainstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing research collaboration and academic expertise.
• ImaflorastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner contributing expertise on Brazilian forest and land use issues.
• University of YorkstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing academic research collaboration.
• Chalmers UniversitystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner contributing technical and research expertise.
• European Forest InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner collaborating on forest-related research and policy analysis.
• Do pasto ao pratostrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for Brazilian beef supply chain transparency initiatives, engaging citizens in increasing transparency in meat production chain.
• Global Forest Watch ProprojectTechnology or IntegrationProject partner providing geospatial data integration and forest monitoring capabilities.
• AdAstraprojectTechnology or IntegrationProject partner for sustainability consulting collaboration on carbon emissions from land conversion.
• Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV)projectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner contributing expertise on environmental issues in Brazil.
• Woods & Wayside InternationalprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner providing expertise on forest and land use issues.
• Forest IQstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTrase data powers Forest IQ platform for financial institutions to assess deforestation exposure in portfolios.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Satelligence: Satelligence is a commercial supplier of satellite-based deforestation and land-use risk analytics for commodities (palm oil, soy, cocoa, cattle, timber). It directly competes with Trase on forest-risk commodity supply chain intelligence, serving similar companies and financial institutions with subscription products.
• Source Intelligence: Source Intelligence provides supply chain transparency, supplier risk, and regulatory compliance software (including deforestation and EUDR-related modules) for enterprise buyers. It competes with Trase for company customers needing commodity supply chain visibility and EUDR due diligence.
• IntegrityNext: IntegrityNext is a SaaS platform for supply chain sustainability monitoring, risk assessment, and ESG compliance across human rights, environment, and deforestation. It competes with Trase for company customers needing continuous supply chain intelligence and supplier engagement workflows.
• Global Forest Watch: Global Forest Watch, run by the World Resources Institute, is the closest direct peer — a free, open-access platform mapping forests and deforestation globally using satellite data. It overlaps with Trase on forest monitoring, jurisdictional risk, and serving NGOs, governments, and companies with sustainability data.
• Forest IQ: Forest IQ is a deforestation risk platform for banks and investors, powered by Trase's own data. It is a direct peer in that it offers financial-sector-facing supply chain deforestation intelligence, sitting on top of Trase's open dataset and competing for the same institutional finance users.

Others

• Global Canopy: Global Canopy is Trase's founding partner and operational host, producing related deforestation research (e.g., the Forest 500 benchmark) and policy work. It is a thematically adjacent organization that co-produces the transparency agenda Trase serves, rather than a direct platform competitor.
• Stockholm Environment Institute: Stockholm Environment Institute is Trase's other founding partner, contributing research infrastructure and environmental economics expertise. It is an adjacent research institution publishing supply chain and natural capital work that overlaps thematically with Trase's mission.
• FAIRR Initiative: FAIRR is a collaborative investor network focused on ESG risks in the animal protein supply chain, including deforestation exposure. It is an adjacent ecosystem actor that channels institutional investor attention toward commodity sustainability — overlapping thematically with Trase's finance-sector work.

Emerging players

• Chainpoint: Chainpoint offers supply chain traceability and transparency technology using blockchain and other tooling for commodities and consumer goods. It overlaps with Trase on supply chain transparency for ethical sourcing and sustainability verification, though its commercial focus is broader than deforestation.
• Aidenvironment: Aidenvironment is a research and consultancy organization that produces deforestation and commodity supply chain analysis (e.g., the Tomorrow Landscapes tool). It is an emerging peer producing comparable jurisdictional and commodity intelligence for similar NGO and government audiences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC93E-xtN57YDX_XyezYa1uQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trase-intelligence-for-sustainable-trade
• Instagraminstagram.com/trase.earth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trase - Intelligence For Sustainable Trade