Projects

: Supply chain and market research

As part of Oxfam Novib's Behind the Barcodes project, new case studies have been conducted into abuses in the production chains of tea from Assam in India and tropical fruit from Brazil. Profundo has found links between supermarkets from 6 countries and the plantations where abuses took place.

This report presents a benchmark for Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS) which comply with the FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines. These are guidelines drafted by the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation as minimum criteria for the sourcing of soy, to avoid illegal deforestation and other sustainability risks.

Don't Bank on the Bomb provides a detailed overview of the worldwide investments in production, maintenance and modernisation of nuclear weapons.

This report provides insights on the use of certified and deforestation-free soy in the EU-28 member states, Norway and Switzerland (EU+). As the second largest importer of soy, Europe has a responsibility to solve the sustainability issues connected to its soy consumption.

Profundo researchers participated in the Belgian #EUarms bootcamp, organised by Lighthouse Reports and Bellingcat. In cooperation with Belgian journalists from Knack, Le Soir and VRT, the bootcamp investigated the sales of Belgian arms across the world, including to Saudi Arabia. The team used open-source intelligence to trace the arms in the conflict in Yemen.

Cencosud is a multi-brand retailer in South America, headquartered in Chile. The company is the fourth largest supermarket chain in Brazil, after Carrefour, GPA (Pão de Açúcar) and Walmart. Cencosud’s position in the beef supply chain may expose it to deforestation risks through the beef it sources from slaughterhouses, as cattle is a major driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

Cattle ranching in Brazil, home to the world’s second largest herd, remains a major cause of deforestation. This trend continues despite meatpackers and retailers having made commitments to deforestation-free supply chains in the last ten years. This report describes the economic role of the cattle sector in Brazil, key supply chain actors, their role in deforestation, and potential solutions to improve sustainability performance. The supply chain relationships of the top five retailers and meatpackers with Amazon plants expose the Brazilian retail sector to material risk from sourcing unsustainable beef.

The research analysed the top 5 Dutch retailers (Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Lidl, Aldi, Plus) based on a set of hypotheses regarding their power, policies, trading practices and the environment they operate in. In addition, supply chain links between Southeast Asian seafood producers and Dutch, German and UK retailers have been researched.

This study was commissioned by the Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP) seeks to show how Fairtrade enables producer organizations in Asia and the Pacific to contribute towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in their region.

This report analyzes the power and influence of Dutch retailers in their value chains, focusing especially on seafood, fruit and vegetables

This report investigates the local supply chain of palm oil companies in the Aceh and Bulungan ecoregions in Indonesia

This report provides a supply chain analysis of natural rubber producers, particularly in Cambodia, and their links to six of the largest global tire manufacturers.

This report analyzes which key commodity imports are contributing to the Dutch carbon footprint

This project researched the palm oil supply chains between plantations where labour issues were found and large consumer brands. Most of the plantations are suppliers of Wilmar International.

Scoping study for a European Public Private Partnership on responsible mineral sourcing (tin,tungsten,tantalum and gold)