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Whistleblowing policy

At Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF), we encourage the highest standards of transparency and accountability among our network of trustees, employees, partners, grantees and other stakeholders, so that we can all operate in an ethical and lawful manner and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

QCF’s partners, grantees, subgrantees, consultants, contractors, suppliers or other stakeholders and their directors, trustees, officers, employees and/or agents are actively encouraged to report any activity that has resulted or might result in the misuse of QCF’s charitable funds or that relates to projects funded by QCF and is or may be illegal or unethical.

Our whistleblowing policy aims to help and support you in raising any serious concerns you might have about QCF, the organisations or projects we fund and/or any connected individual(s). You should be able to do this with confidence and without having to worry about being discriminated against or disadvantaged in any way as a result. We are committed to dealing with all disclosures consistently and fairly.

What concerns should I raise under the Whistleblowing Policy?

This policy is intended to cover serious or sensitive concerns about any wrongdoing, such as:

  • criminal activity;
  • failure to comply with laws or regulations;
  • unethical behaviour / improper conduct;
  • safeguarding concerns;
  • financial malpractice / impropriety / fraud;
  • health and safety risks;
  • failure to protect the environment;
  • any attempts to carry out or conceal any of the above.

If you have concerns that aren’t covered above, we encourage you to discuss these with your contact at Quadrature Climate Foundation in a more informal way or get in touch via legal@qc.foundation.

How do I raise a concern?

Any instance of illegal activity should be reported directly to the relevant authorities in the first instance.

All other whistleblowing concerns at QCF should be sent through our whistleblowing hotline, SpeakUp, here.

You may also download the SpeakUp app by scanning this QR code:

While you are free to make your disclosures through SpeakUp anonymously, you should be aware that anonymous disclosures are more difficult for us to investigate. Where you feel comfortable doing so, we encourage you to identify yourself in your disclosure. We will seek to treat any disclosures in a confidential and sensitive manner, and we are committed to taking all reasonable steps to maintain your anonymity when requested, unless we are legally required to identify you.

We are committed to taking appropriate action to protect any individual that raises a concern from any harassment, victimisation or bullying.

We will only ever use your personal data in accordance with our privacy notice.

What if I’m not happy with the outcome?

If you feel we have not satisfactorily dealt with your concern, you can raise it with the appropriate national regulator, depending on the nature of the concern (e.g. the Environment Agency or the Charity Commission). The full list of relevant regulators can be found online by searching for “Public Interest (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014”.

You can also find out more about whistleblowing at Protect – an independent charity aiming to make whistleblowing work for individuals, organisations and society.

 

Last updated: September 2024