The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard that promotes transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sectors. In 2014, Trafigura became the first independent commodity trading company to publicly support the EITI and to develop a disclosure policy in collaboration with the organisation.

The EITI Standard requires the disclosure of information along the extractive industry value chain from the point of extraction, to how revenues make their way through the government, and how they benefit the public. By doing so, the EITI seeks to strengthen public and corporate governance, promote understanding of natural resource management, and provide data to inform reforms for greater transparency and accountability in the extractives sector.

In each of over 50 implementing countries, the EITI is supported by a coalition of government, companies and civil society.  Company-level disclosures support transparency efforts by the state and their State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) complementing information on receipts published at the country level. Disclosures on purchases from governments allows buying companies to demonstrate their financial contribution to the economies of the countries from which they purchase.

Improved transparency not only builds trust with producer governments and civil society – it also helps facilitate access to capital from financial institutions. For Trafigura, our commitment to transparency also yields an important competitive edge.

Over recent years, Trafigura has taken a number of important steps to advance commodity trading transparency. Beyond our participation in the International Board of the EITI, as well as the Working Group on Transparency in Commodity Trading, we frequently engage with our existing as well as prospective commercial counterparts on such matters.