COMMITMENT TO INTEGRITY AND GOOD CONDUCT

WWF commits to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethics in our workplace and in our activities. This commitment is fundamental to creating effective, lasting, and equitable solutions to today’s environmental challenges. Recognizing that WWF is only one of many actors, we expect our grantees, contractual partners, and other parties with whom we work to commit to the following:

  1. Respect human rights, promote social inclusion, and implement social safeguards for vulnerable, local, and Indigenous communities, including:
    • Ensure accountability towards affected rights-holders such as Indigenous or other vulnerable people or groups who may be impacted by our work together;
    • Respect people’s rights in accordance with customary, national, and international human rights laws;
    • Promote equality and equity including but not limited to gender equality and equity, within the scope of projects, programs, and policies;
    • Make efforts to assure equitable distribution of costs and benefits of activities, taking into account the needs and rights of local communities including Indigenous peoples, and vulnerable people;
    • Protect children and children’s rights and safeguard vulnerable groups from harm through efforts to prevent and respond to harm or abuse (physical, mental, psychological including but not limited to sexual) in all activities and places of work, including but not limited to conservation actions, product merchandising, social media engagement, and staff interactions with children and other vulnerable people; and
    • Provide affected parties with a method for raising concerns.
  2. Comply with, and provide active support to WWF to ensure reasonable compliance with, all applicable laws including but not limited to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1987 and similar laws in applicable jurisdictions.
  3. Respect integrity in the use of funds and assets which may be provided by WWF, including taking appropriate measures to prevent, detect and respond to concerns of misappropriation or other illegal activity; this includes implementing appropriate policies and procedures, and ensuring that employees, sub-contractors or third parties respect the same.
  4. Respect and safeguard employees to prevent and respond to discrimination, harassment, abuse of power, gender inequity, and sexual exploitation and abuse in the workplace.
  5. Respect the legal rights of the labor force to health, safety, fair wages, benefits, working hours, freedom of association, collective bargaining, no discrimination or harsh treatment, no forced labor, and respect labor restrictions related to children pursuant to applicable local laws and/or ILO Labor Standards, whichever is the higher standard.
  6. Respect applicable standards and agreements around confidentiality, including but not limited to the sharing of business sensitive information and personal data as protected by applicable law.
  7. Never offer, give or agree to give to any person an inducement or reward (or anything which may reasonably be considered an inducement or reward) in connection with carrying out work with WWF. Represent and ensure there is no conflict of interest involving WWF related to any contractual commitments and promptly disclose in writing to WWF any conflicts of interest that arise during the contract term.
  8. Require sub-contractors engaged to work with WWF on these issues to abide by these same commitments.
  9. Commit to disclose to WWF any claims or allegations that arise in the context of our work together regarding the respect of human rights and the safeguarding of vulnerable, local, and Indigenous communities.

This document may be updated by WWF from time to time.