18 September 2026
Better data, better decisions: Proforest launches its Digital Ecosystem
Today, it is no longer enough to state that a product is responsibly sourced: it must be possible to demonstrate it. To do so, buying companies and suppliers need reliable data on the origin, practices and risks within their supply chains. However, collecting that information, validating it and turning it into responsible sourcing and production decisions remains one of the main challenges facing the agricultural sector.
To address this need, Proforest — a sustainability organisation with over 25 years of experience in responsible sourcing and supply chains — presents its Digital Ecosystem, a platform bringing together the technological tools the organisation has developed to support data management across the sector.
Data is not enough unless it is structured
Proforest does not merely collect data: it combines it with technical expertise in the field to ensure that the resulting information is structured, comparable and usable. This distinction is by no means insignificant. In a sector where information is often scattered, incomplete or difficult to verify, the real value of the data depends as much on its technical quality as on the expertise required to interpret it in context.
Building on this logic, the offering is organised around three pillars of value: turning scattered supplier data into structured, validated information; backing each tool with technical expertise in methodologies and local context; and providing practical support that reduces duplication of effort, both for companies' internal teams and for the suppliers reporting information.
Traceability challenges begin at the first mile
Much of the data the market now demands originates at the first mile: with producers, first aggregators and intermediaries closest to the point of origin. It is at this first link that information tends to be most fragmented or difficult to verify, and where the requirements of buyers and regulations must be translated into concrete practices and verifiable evidence.
The design of the Digital Ecosystem's tools draws on decades of direct work with producers, suppliers and intermediaries, informed by Proforest's 2025 study Understanding the First Mile, which examined traceability dynamics for cocoa, coffee, rubber and oil palm across 11 countries.
Three products, three levels of access based on need
The Digital Ecosystem is made up of three tools, each aimed at a different stage of the data management process and each with a different access model:
GeoTrace Suite
A set of standalone, free-of-charge tools designed to improve traceability data quality from the outset. It includes an SHP polygon validator for farm mapping and an alphanumeric validator for coordinate traceability. It is positioned as a practical entry point towards better data management, useful even before a company or supplier commits to a paid platform.
SEP (Sustainability Engagement Platform)
Focused on the structured management of supplier engagement. It enables structured data collection, validation and management of traceability information, and includes a per-supplier engagement status dashboard to track each actor's progress along the chain.
Supply Geo-compliance
A private, secure web tool for visualising supplier locations and their level of compliance against mandatory and voluntary market requirements, such as EUDR, NDPE-IRF and RSPO, among others. It includes visualisation of High Conservation Value probability maps (HCV 1, 2 and 3), identification of protected areas and indigenous territories, risk assessment for new suppliers through polygon upload, and customisable indicators tailored to each company's needs.
Technology built into a broader technical offering
The Digital Ecosystem does not operate in isolation: it sits within Proforest's wider range of technical services, which includes responsible sourcing, sustainable production, responsible finance, productive landscapes, and policy and regulation. This integration reinforces the organisation's underlying message: technology alone does not transform supply chains. Its value is realised when combined with technical expertise, local context knowledge and ongoing support throughout the process.
With this approach, Proforest's Digital Ecosystem aims to help first-mile actors respond more easily to market requirements, while enabling buying companies to better focus their resources and technical support where they are genuinely needed.
Explore the tools, speak with the team, or review Proforest's wider range of services at digital.proforestdata.net.
