Legal action is a crucial tool in the fight against large-scale deforestation. To hold corporations accountable, we need reliable, data-driven evidence.
That’s where Trase comes in, a transparency tool developed by Global Canopy, one of the charities we support at the Global Returns Project (GRP).
Co-founded with the Stockholm Environment Institute, Trase uncovers links between global agricultural commodities and deforestation in key biodiversity regions.
Ten years on, Trase is helping expose environmental and social impacts of whole supply chains, at scale. Trase has enabled 150+ corporates and 200+ financial institutions to better track deforestation and improve ESG reporting.
ClientEarth, another charity we support, have used Trase’s database to:
- 2023: take legal action against American agricultural giant Cargill, for failure to monitor soy-linked deforestation in Brazil;
- 2024: expose due diligence failures by major German meat producers, linking them to deforestation and human rights violations in the Amazon;
- 2025: Commission a report with Trase examining the use of available geospatial data to help companies meet EU deforestation regulations.
“Trase data has been immensely helpful for [ClientEarth’s] legal work”.
-Kaja Blumtritt, Law and Policy Advisor, Value Chains, Trade & Investment, ClientEarth
We are proud to support Trase through our partnership with Global Canopy – whose work thus complements that of ClientEarth. This month, our team attended events by both charities:
Global Canopy’s event explored indigenous ancestry in the Amazon and featured Kate Raworth, renowned economist and author of Doughnut Economics.
ClientEarth’s event spotlighted climate resilience in Uganda with conversations between Laura Clarke OBE, ClientEarth CEO, and Samantha Atukunda Kakuru Mwesigwa, Greenwatch Executive Director.
These stories show the strength of our approach at GRP: our portfolio holds charities who are powerful alone, and stronger together. This month is a clear example of how strategic giving can create systemic impact for our planet – which is what GRP is all about.