Active initiatives
Live programs executing in partnership with industry governance bodies. Industry sets direction; we provide the execution layer. The model is designed to be repeatable.
These are not case studies. These are live initiatives we are running right now in partnership with the organizations that govern them. Each one demonstrates the same underlying architecture: industry-led governance, sovereignty-preserved infrastructure, execution at scale.
We also engage in discovery and framing work — consulting engagements that help organizations define their collaborative challenges before committing to full initiative development. This is often where partnerships begin.
The model we have built across these initiatives is designed to travel. Industry-led governance and sovereignty-preserved infrastructure are not specific to produce. We are actively bringing this architecture to new sectors and new challenges.
Supply Chain of the Future
Supply Chain of the Future is an industry-led effort to build shared infrastructure and standards enabling trust, traceability, and coordination across the global fresh produce value chain. TOTEM serves as the execution layer — translating IFPA's governance and strategic direction into operational programs, technical frameworks, and industry-wide adoption.
Our work
Technology infrastructure and collaborative facilitation
"Share information with anyone without sharing it with everyone."
SADIE is community-owned data sovereignty infrastructure that enables trust-based collaboration without centralizing data control or creating vendor lock-in. Just like a bridge does not need to know what is in the truck to carry the load, SADIE does not need access to proprietary data to generate industry insight.
Data sovereignty as infrastructure — not an optional enhancement. We will always have a place for initiatives that preserve sovereignty rights for the humans who create value.
Event Storms are intensive collaborative sessions that bring together diverse stakeholders — from dozens to hundreds of participants — to rapidly map complex challenges, identify opportunities, and co-create solutions. Unlike traditional workshops, Event Storms use interactive visual facilitation that gets every perspective contributing simultaneously.
Complex challenges cannot be solved by any single stakeholder. We create the conditions for breakthrough insights by making all perspectives visible and moving groups from problem identification to concrete action in compressed timeframes.
All Event Storm engagements include a comprehensive summary report with clear guidance for stakeholders on insights and next steps for action.
Harmonizing sustainability standards across the global fresh produce industry, led by IFPA in partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum. Operational coordination for multi-stakeholder alignment across five pillars: Regenerative Agriculture, Food Loss & Waste, Packaging, Climate, and Social Responsibility.
Where TOTEM builds for what comes next
Totem Labs is TOTEM's proprietary research and development arm. We build platforms the same way we build industry initiatives: sovereignty-first, no vendor lock-in, designed for the participants they serve.
Current focus areas include community-owned data intelligence for agricultural markets and agentic governance frameworks for distributed organizations. These programs are in active development and represent the next layer of TOTEM's IP portfolio.
Our development work is informed by nearly two decades of learning what industry infrastructure actually requires. We understand what shared systems need because we have built them at scale across five continents.
We are glad to discuss governance philosophy and development approach with organizations facing similar architectural questions. Details are shared selectively with aligned partners under appropriate agreements.
Agricultural market intelligence
Community-owned data intelligence for agricultural markets. No central data control. Participant-governed.
Built for cooperatives and producer associations who need market signal without surrendering member data. The intelligence layer is theirs. The aggregation is theirs. Vendor exit means data exit, by design.
Agentic governance frameworks
Sovereignty-first AI operating models for distributed organizations. Human authority remains supreme.
Built for associations and coalitions deploying AI agents across member organizations. The architecture preserves institutional sovereignty, makes member authority enforceable rather than nominal, and produces the auditable decision trails regulators are now beginning to ask for.
IP portfolio
Nearly two decades of learning what industry infrastructure actually requires. Patent portfolio in active development.
More than 35 patent and IP portfolio items spanning supply chain coordination, data escrow architecture, and agentic governance. Details available under NDA to aligned partners considering joint development or licensing.
Governance advisory
Organizations deploying AI need governance designed for what agents actually do. We advise from the architecture we operate.
Most AI governance frameworks describe principles. Ours name decision rights, accountability paths, error-detection mechanisms, and exit conditions. The practitioner's framework Drew wrote sits underneath, with implementation methodology proven across hundreds of collaborating organizations.
Engagements across food, agriculture, and technology
Our work extends beyond flagship initiatives to include consulting, standards development, and strategic engagements across the industry landscape.
Ready to build something that lasts?
Whether you are an industry association exploring collaborative infrastructure or an organization with a complex multi-stakeholder challenge — a discovery call is the right starting point.