Traceability and Transparency

FACT strengthens sustainable commodity trade by helping countries build credible, traceable, and inclusive supply chains – from smallholder farms to global markets.

Through the Traceability and Transparency theme, FACT brings together producer and consumer countries to:

Support reliable traceability of commodities across supply chains.;
Promote transparency of sustainability policies, practices, and commitments.;
Enable certification schemes and assurance of origin.;
Strengthen national systems to meet international regulations and standards.

Why Traceability and Transparency Matters

Traceability and transparency (T&T) are critical to achieving FACT’s goals:

Traceability:

links products to their history of locations, owners, and transformations in the supply chain.

Transparency:

makes this information accessible, from internal sharing to public reporting.

Impact:

strong T&T systems help governments, companies, and civil society follow supply chains, strengthen accountability, protect forests, and support sustainable production.

Application:

underpins certification schemes, investor confidence, and measures to reduce forest loss.

How FACT Supports Progress

FACT facilitates dialogue, learning, and technical guidance to strengthen T&T systems by:

Identifying gaps in existing T&T systems and critical data needs.
Ensuring alignment with sustainability and trade regulations.

Co-developing guidelines with member countries for data management and sharing.
Promoting compliance with national laws and ecosystem protection.
Supporting continuous improvement and raising ambition over time.
Protecting vulnerable people while enabling sustainable participation

Promoting interoperability across T&T systems and digital platforms.

National approaches to T&T for coffee and cocoa in Côote d’Ivoire and Ghana demonstrate progress in implementing new systems and responding to emerging regulations.

Promising Approaches by Governments

FACT member countries encourage governments to adopt approaches that strengthen inclusive and effective T&T systems:

What This Means for Your Country, Communities and Markets

Clear T&T requirements help smallholders participate and access markets

Coherent T&T systems strengthen credibility and market access.

Harmonized approaches reduce duplication, fragmentation, and administrative burden

Transparent systems showcase country-led sustainability efforts internationally.

As traceability and transparency systems evolve, FACT helps countries navigate these changes collaboratively, ensuring sustainable trade, compliance with global expectations, and inclusion of vulnerable producers.