RCF Trace

RCF Trace
Accounting for Low Carbon Soy in Global Supply Chains

About RCF Trace

The Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) Trace – Accounting for Low Carbon Soy in Global Supply Chains project, will demonstrate a scalable, credible model for accounting for deforestation-free (DCF) and low-carbon soy from Brazil to European markets. As global regulations and public expectations tighten, retailers, manufacturers and fast-food companies, require dependable ways to trace soy to farm origin and account for the carbon benefits of sourcing from production landscapes which they have invested in. This project provides that demonstration, linking farm-level data to physical soy transactions across three major international supply chains.

project delivery partners

The Challenge

Current soy supply chains are highly optimised and rely on commodity trading models, making farm-level traceability extremely difficult. Mandated segregation under EUDR could sharply increase costs, create logistical inefficiencies, and even raise global carbon emissions. There is also a risk that ‘clean’ soy is simply diverted to compliant markets while ‘high-risk’ soy moves elsewhere, undermining deforestation-reduction goals. Buyers demand verified DCF soy; whilst traders warn that the economics of full segregation are unsustainable. This creates a market deadlock.

Demonstrating an alternative & complementary model

This project contributes to the resolution of this deadlock by showing how traceability, carbon accounting, and investment flows can align whilst discussions on the economics of segregation continue. Using FoodChain ID’s Traceability Certificates of Compliance (TCCs), the project tracks soy and its sustainability attributes across three Chains of Custody (Brazil → UK; Brazil → Spain → UK; and Brazil → Thailand → UK). Every commercial transaction, from farms and traders to processors, manufacturers, and UK retailers, is documented, verified, and linked to its deforestation-free and carbon data.

Core Innovations

Farm-Level Verification

Produzindo Certo collects deforestation, land-use, and carbon data and pilots regenerative agriculture and pasture restoration financing models that reduce emissions while improving resilience.

Chain-of-Custody Assurance

FoodChain ID validates TCCs, analyses transaction documents, performs sample audits, and ensures traceability integrity.

Carbon MRV System

3Keel develops a Monitoring, Reporting & Verification framework aligned with the GHG Protocol’s new Land Sector & Removals Standard, enabling carbon reporting by RCF investors.

 

Expected Outcomes (by late 2026)

  • End-to-end, third-party-verified traceability of RCF soy from Brazil to UK retailers.
  • Demonstrated carbon intensity of RCF soy and a credible methodology for emissions reduction claims.
  • Evidence that collaborative traceability and landscape investment can contribute to soy sustainability and make regulations more impactful
  • A replicable model for transforming soy supply chains and supporting long-term deforestation-free production in Brazil.

Eligibility Criteria for Cerrado Programme 1

The following eligibility criteria are required for participation in the Responsible Commodities Facility for Cerrado Programme 1 (see full description here):

Land use

The area of cultivation must not have had any deforestation and conversion of native vegetation since 1 Jan 2020*. Preference will be given to areas converted from abandoned pasture land to soy cultivation after 2008.

Forest Code Compliance

Farm land must be registered with the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR). The farm must contain and maintain areas of native vegetation equivalent to those required for Legal Reserve and Areas of Permanent Protection (APPs) determined by the Forest code or have formally adhered to a Programme of Environmental Regularization (PRA) established by the state environmental agency**. The farm area must not overlap with public protected areas, indigenous lands and other traditional people and community lands (including ‘quilombolas territories’).

Land title

Farmers must have unquestionable rights to use the land, be it as a land title or land lease agreement.

Legal Compliance

Farmers must demonstrate that they and their farms do not contravene any environmental or legal requirements, such as embargoes, environmental irregularities, contraventions of the labour legislation (including slave and child labour), and internationally-accepted rules for the use of agrochemicals.

*Farmers occasionally request the conversion of small areas of native vegetation to conduct farm improvements (building storage areas, water reservoirs, etc.). Provided that these areas are small and not for the purpose of expansion of the agricultural area, RCF analyses and considers them eligible. In order to do so, RCF uses the concept of Minimal Level (of deforestation or conversion) as defined by the Accountability Framework Initiative Terms and Definitions, which states “To be considered consistent with no-deforestation or no-conversion commitments, minimal levels must generally meet the following conditions: Not exceed cumulative thresholds that are small both in absolute terms (e.g., no more than a few hectares) and relative to the area in question (e.g., no more than a small proportion of the site).”

**The RCF analyses Forest Code compliance by looking at single farms (defined as the area covered by a CAR) or bundles of individual CARs that, in combination, result in the desired area of native vegetation put under the protective status of the RCF.  This bundling should not be understood as a means of compliance with the Forest Code requirements and is not intended to release the farmer of the regularization process committed under the Forest Code rules (enrolment in the CAR, engagement in a PRA, etc.). In order to differentiate its metrics from those of the Forest Code, the RCF refers to areas of Excess Native Vegetation (ENV) as opposed to Excess Legal Reserve, to avoid confusion with areas legally categorised under the Forest Code.