Code of Conduct
Compassion, Commitment, Curiosity and Creativity
Luke Wilde founded twentyfifty in 2004. Previously, he had worked with the United Nations, developing management practices which all companies are now expected to meet. Touched by the UN’s prediction at the time that the world’s population would reach nine billion by the year 2050 and foreseeing the immensity of the human and ecological challenges ahead, Luke realised that “what business does today will shape the world in 2050”. Thus, twentyfifty came into existence.
This Code of Conduct defines how we, as individuals and as a system, are expected to act in the world. Since 2004, our business has been informed by our Values: Compassion, Commitment, Curiosity and Creativity. Only by placing these at the heart of our work can we continue to inspire business and society to work better for people, and thereby for other animals and the environment.
We require you to fully understand the principles by which we operate and the standards of behaviour you are required to meet and it is for this reason we ask staff to read and sign this document.
Our Vision
A world in which sustainable and responsible businesses thrive; and where everyone, everywhere, can live in dignity and flourish.
Our Mission
We help leading companies transform their social & environmental performance by embedding best-practice, high-impact human rights due diligence (HRDD) into their strategy and operations in an ongoing way.
Our Primary Objective
To be a world-leading business consultancy, specializing in human rights & positive impact, partnering global companies in both strategy and implementation over the long-term, delivering exemplary products & services across major geographies, while continuously exploring how to be a more ‘sustainable & responsible business’ ourselves.
Our Values
Our values seek to capture the essence of who we are. They are aspirational, things we need to pay attention to, practice and continue to develop, and also what we judge ourselves against – we may never have enough integrity, but we can see when it’s absent! We are committed to living our values, with each other and with our clients. These values are regularly reviewed based on:
- the input of our employees, associates, and other stakeholders
- the feedback we seek from our clients and
- our commitment to ongoing change and continuous improvement.
Compassion
We treat all people - rightsholders, employees, clients, associates - with respect.
We work collaboratively, with our clients and each other, building trusted relationships over time.
Commitment
We strive for our work to have tangible, positive impact, delivered with integrity and care.
We are determined to become a world-leading, responsible & sustainable business ourselves
Curiosity
We actively inquire, learn and develop - and enjoy building our clients’ capability as we do so.
We engage rightsholders’ perspectives with humility and support our clients to respond with openness & pragmatism.
Creativity
We inspire courageous leadership which serves human dignity & flourishing.
We innovate to deliver transformed businesses, optimising the balance between financial return and positive social and environmental impact.
Human Flourishing
We attract and develop truly exceptional people and hope to retain them by providing a safe, healthy work environment that is committed to inclusion and equality and free from harassment and intimidation. Because we want all twentyfifty people to thrive in all aspects of their lives, we truly value work/life balance, pay fairly and invest in the professional development of all our people. Client Impact
twentyfifty has a strong record of leading change within multinational organisations, and we know that the quality of our consulting services determines the impact our clients can make in the world. We only undertake work where we are confident that the objectives can lead to lasting positive impact on people and on the planet. We work with clients to define intended impacts and scope a long-term framework of activities that can effectively contribute to achieving those impacts. We expect our leaders to oversee our work, ensure that the conditions for impact are in place and hold our leaders accountable for the impact they contribute to creating in the world.
Ethics
We take our commitment to people and the planet seriously. We conduct our own services honestly and honourably and expect our clients and suppliers to do the same. Our advice, strategic assistance and the methods imparted through our training take proper account of ethical considerations.
Confidentiality
We are committed to maintaining the highest degree of integrity in all our dealings with potential, current and past clients, both in terms of normal commercial confidentiality and the protection of all personal information received while providing the business services concerned. We extend the same standards to all our customers, suppliers and associates.
We protect clients’ confidential information and only use it for proper business purposes. We respect the confidentiality of personal information and only use it for the purposes for which it was obtained.
Duty of Care
Our actions and advice will always conform to relevant law and we believe that all businesses and organisations, including this consultancy, should avoid causing any adverse effect on the human rights of people in the organisations we deal with, the local and wider environments or the wellbeing of society at large.
Conflict of Interest
Due to the sensitive nature of our human rights consultancy, we do not provide services to direct competitors of a client, and we generally try to avoid any dealings with competitor companies even after the cessation of services to a client.
Contracts
Our contract will usually be in the form of a detailed proposal, including aims, activities, costs, timescales and deliverables. The quality of our service and the value of our support provide the only true basis for continuity. We always try to meet our clients' contractual requirements and particularly for situations where an external funding provider requires more official parameters and controls.
Fees
Our fees are always competitive for the work we provide, which is a high quality, tailored, specialised service. As such we do not generally offer arbitrary discounts; generally, a reduction in price is only enabled by reducing the level or extent of services to be delivered. That said, we always try to propose solutions which accommodate our clients' available budgets and timescales. Wherever possible we agree our fees and basis of charges clearly in advance, so that we and our clients can plan reliably for what lies ahead, and how it is to be achieved and financially justified.
Payment
We aim to be as flexible as possible in the way that our services our charged. Some clients prefer fixed project fees; others are happier with retainers and we try to fit in with what will be best for the client. We make no attempt to charge interest on late payments, so we expect payments to be made when agreed. Our terms are generally met monthly in arrears.
Intellectual Property and Moral Rights
We retain the moral rights in, and ownership of, all intellectual property that we create unless agreed otherwise in advance with our clients. In return we respect the moral and intellectual copyright vested in our clients' intellectual property.
Quality Assurance
We maintain the quality of what we do through constant ongoing review with our clients, of all aims, activities, outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of every activity. We encourage regular review meetings and provide regular progress reports. This consultancy has been accredited under a number of quality assurance schemes. Further details are available on request.
Professional Conduct
We conduct all of our activities professionally and with integrity. We take great care to be completely objective in our judgement and any recommendations that we give, so that issues are never influenced by anything other than the best and proper interests of our clients.
Equality and Discrimination
We always strive to be fair and objective in our advice and actions, and we are never influenced in our decisions, actions or recommendations by issues of race, culture, religion or other belief systems, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability.
Speaking Up
Whilst we understand that raising concerns can be tricky, we encourage our people to raise them as soon as possible to prevent them from reoccurring. We want all our staff to be able to speak up in a safe environment about conduct that you believe to be unfair, illegal or discriminatory. We fully support anyone who raises a genuine concern. Anyone who feels they have experienced retaliation should inform the Head of HR emma.boyce@twentyfifty.co.uk or a member of the Stewardship Group.
Violating Our Code
This undermines the trust that others have in us and the work we do. Failure to follow the twentyfifty Code of Conduct may impact the performance and reputation of the company and may result in disciplinary action.
