Environmental and social screening and assessment with in-house GIS tool

Trafigura has strengthened its environmental and social due diligence by developing an in-house Geographic Information System (GIS) tool that enables the assessment of environmental and social sensitivities across its global operations and value chain.

The tool integrates more than 25 global datasets from organisations such as the European Space Agency, World Resources Institute, World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, and the UN Environment Programme. Using Uber’s H-3 geospatial indexing system, these datasets are organised into 11 thematic indicator layers covering areas such as water resources, air quality, biodiversity, climate change, shoreline sensitivity, and Indigenous lands. This system enables faster and more targeted screening by highlighting environmental risks—such as Key Biodiversity Areas or regions exceeding EU air quality limits—allowing the company to focus due diligence activities and resources on the most material risks.

The GIS tool also generates global sensitivity and vulnerability ratings for terrestrial, marine, and shoreline areas, helping tailor management practices to local environmental conditions and regulations. It supports climate risk assessments using future climate projections for 2050 and has been applied to evaluate issues such as water quality vulnerability at operational sites in the Americas and shoreline sensitivity for bunkering and ship-to-ship operations.

In addition, the company has enhanced biodiversity risk assessments by introducing operation-specific zones of influence and monitoring land-use changes using satellite data. A new social screening layer has also been developed to map Indigenous and community lands and governance indicators, strengthening community engagement and enabling more effective due diligence across supply chains, mergers and acquisitions, and responsible sourcing activities.