About us
Profundo is an independent research organisation with a clear mission: with profound and fact-based research and advice, we aim to make a practical contribution to a sustainable world and social justice. Quality comes first, aiming to meet the needs of our clients. With our multi-disciplinary team we aim to dig deeper and look further, to help you most effectively in realising your sustainable ambitions.
We analyse international commodity chains, the financial sector, policy developments and the impacts of businesses and financiers on all sustainability aspects: from human rights to deforestation, from climate change to tax and from armed conflicts to water scarcity. We work for clients from more than 25 countries: civil society organisations (NGOs), trade unions, government departments and agencies, research institutes, philantropic foundations and media. We help our clients to understand financial and trade relations and to identify opportunities and obstructions for a sustainable transition.
To identify the facts and understand the relevant relationships and mechanisms, we use a broad array of research techniques, ranging from desk research and financial modelling to interviews with experts and stakeholders as well as field research. Our findings and conclusions are presented in reports and brochures, both for internal use and as publications targeting broader public. Also, we provide strategic advice to our clients, give trainings, organise workshops and facilitate stakeholder consultation processes.
Profundo operates as one organisation consisting of two separate legal entities, both based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Profundo B.V. is a social enterprise established and owned in 2000 by its director, Jan Willem van Gelder. To complement the activities of Profundo B.V., in 2019 the Profundo Research Foundation was established.