Projects

: Supply chain and market research

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.

The objective of this research project is to identify the markets and customers of the Spanish tuna fishing company Albacora Group and its subsidiaries. This research is conducted by analyzing annual reports of Albacora and its subsidiaries, articles in trade media, customs databases, databases on vessel movement and other sources.

This study aimed to determine supply links between palm oil producer KLK and palm oil purchasers as Cargill, Kellogs, Unilever and others

This brief research assignment aimed to identify additional leads on links between Thai shrimp producers and selected European seafood traders and retailers, namely in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

This brief research assignment aimed to identify additional leads on links between Bangladesh tanneries and especially European brands. Previous findings from FoE research are not included in this summary once more; only additional information which may be useful in closing the supply chain is given.

The growing demand for renewable energy in Europe is stimulating the United States wood pellet industries to expand their production of wood pellets explicitly for export to the European Union. Enviva is one of the largest manufacturers of processed biomass fuel in the form of wood pellets in the United States. This report focuses on the financial institutions involved in financing Enviva and two of its main customers.

The objective of this report is to make a quick scan of possible controversial activities of the Indonesian TMT Group. Controversial activities are defined as activities which potentially damage the environment, biodiversity, human rights and/or labour rights. The report focuses on TMT’s subsidiary PT ABM Investama and its subsidiaries, which are involved in coal mining.

This report describes the French companies Euronor and Armement Dhellemmes, which engage in deep sea fishing. Both companies are owned by Dutch members of the Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA). Euronor is 50% owned by Parlevliet en Van der Plas and Armement Dhellemmes is 91.5% owned by Cornelis Vrolijk/Jaczon.