Both ENDS

Both ENDS is a Dutch non-governmental environmental justice organisation based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Registered as the foundation Stichting Both ENDS, it was founded in 1986 and has worked for more than three decades to strengthen and connect civil society actors globally. Its stated vision is an environmentally just world in which people and ecosystems thrive and all people can live in dignity. The organisation does not operate as a commercial business but as a non-profit advocacy, research and network-building body. It collaborates with more than 500 partner organisations worldwide, amplifying the voices of women, youth, Indigenous peoples and local communities. Its thematic work centres on land and water governance, biodiversity and climate change, and on the systems that profoundly affect them — specifically international trade, finance and extractivism. It also engages with international financial institutions, export credit agencies, climate finance mechanisms and international investment treaties. Both ENDS describes its approach as catalysing systemic change by connecting grassroots movements with global policymaking. It supports partner organisations through research, information provision and network formation, and takes part in international coalitions on environment and development. Its strategy for 2026–2030 is titled "Connecting people for an environmentally just world" and was developed in close collaboration with its partner network. The organisation is small in headcount — its team consists of around 20 people — but operates through a wide international network. It is funded through subsidies, funds and international cooperation programmes, and publishes an annual report including annual accounts. Its office is located at Nobelstraat 4 in Utrecht, and it maintains a public presence through Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Both ENDS was founded in 1986 as a Dutch non-governmental organisation working at the intersection of environment and international development. From its base in the Netherlands, it built a model of working through partner organisations and networks, especially in developing countries, rather than running large field operations of its own. Over more than three decades the organisation developed a distinctive profile as a connector: it links grassroots movements and local communities with global policymaking processes, and it supports partners through research, information provision and network formation. Its thematic scope grew to include water management, biodiversity, land use, climate change, and international trade and investment policy. Both ENDS has been involved in projects and campaigns around export credit insurance, fossil energy projects and international investment treaties — areas where public finance and trade rules intersect with environmental and human rights outcomes. It has also engaged with international financial institutions and climate finance mechanisms, including work related to the Green Climate Fund and direct access for local actors. By the 2020s the organisation described itself as an environmental justice organisation, framing its work around transforming unjust systems of power and tackling the root causes of inequality and environmental degradation. It collaborates with more than 500 partner organisations worldwide and focuses on amplifying the voices of women, youth, Indigenous peoples and local communities. For the period 2026–2030 Both ENDS adopted the strategy "Connecting people for an environmentally just world", developed in close collaboration with its partner network. The organisation continues to publish an annual report with annual accounts and a monthly newsletter, and remains a small team of around 20 people operating from Utrecht with a global network.

• 2026

  Adoption of the 2026–2030 strategy "Connecting people for an environmentally just world".

• 2026

  Publication of Annual Report 2025.

• 1986

  Both ENDS is founded as a Dutch NGO working on environment and international development.

• Organisation builds a partner-network model, working with organisations and networks especially in developing countries.

• Involvement in projects and campaigns on export credit insurance, fossil energy projects and international investment treaties.

Non-profit environmental justice organisation and civil society network-builder, working on systemic change in trade, finance and extractivism.

• Dossier: International trade and investment with respect for people and planet

• Dossier: Amplifying environmentally just practices

• Dossier: Towards a socially and environmentally just energy transition

• Annual Report (including Annual Accounts)

• Monthly newsletter

1. 1Home | Both ENDSbothends.org
2. 2About Both ENDS | Both ENDSbothends.org
3. 3Contact | Both ENDSbothends.org
4. 4Employees | Both ENDSbothends.org
5. 5Both ENDS — Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Both ENDS — Wikipedia (NL)nl.wikipedia.org