Ethical Policy
This ethical policy serves as a guideline for all of our business practices. Decisions on whether an organisation meets our ethical standards are taken on an individual basis and based on information from recognised sources and input from our current clients.
Choosing who we work with
We actively seek to work with and support organisations in the charity and not-for-profit sector that we believe benefit society. These include businesses and organizations which promote:
Society and Government:
- social inclusion, anti-discrimination and community tolerance
- education and personal development
- support music and the arts
- overseas development
- freedom of information and open government
- health and welfare
Corporate and business ethics:
- fair trade
- labour rights both in their own operations and in other organizations
- co-operatives
- credit unions
- community finance initiatives
The environment:
- recycling and sustainable waste management
- renewable energy and energy efficiency
- the use and production of sustainable products and services
- research and the pursuit of ecological sustainability
- the development of alternatives to animal experimentation
- farming methods which promote animal welfare
We will not provide support or work with organizations we consider to have a unethical approach. Examples of these include:
Society and Government:
- businesses or organisations which fail to uphold basic human rights within their sphere of influence
- businesses or organisations with links to an oppressive regime
Corporate and labour:
Businesses or organisations involved in:
- the manufacture or transfer of armaments
- the manufacture of equipment that is used in the violation of human rights
- irresponsible marketing practices including inappropriate marketing to children
- tobacco product manufacture
- currency speculation or inappropriate financial trading methods
- promoting technologies with negative impacts on developing countries
- unethical patenting - in particular, of indigenous knowledge
Ecological Impact
Businesses or organisations involved in:
- global climate change, through the extraction or production of fossil fuels
- the manufacture of chemicals which are persistent in the environment and linked to long term health concerns
- the unsustainable harvest of natural resources
- animal testing of cosmetic or household products or ingredients
- intensive farming methods
- blood sports
- the fur trade
Modern Slavery Statement
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
millipedia has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery, and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.
We are committed to ensuring there is transparency in our business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains, consistent with our disclosure obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Choosing suppliers
- We do not work with suppliers outside of Tier 1 countries according to the US Department of State 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report unless they are part of a specific charity focused project (for example working with African development agencies).
- We do not use suppliers with a presence in, or products produced in any provinces of the ZinJiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China according to the advisory 'Risks and Considerations for Business Supply Chaini Exposure to Entities Engaged in Forced Labour and other Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang (July 2020)
- We do not work with suppliers working in sectors indenified in the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Report (IOM 2017)
- We actively choose suppliers with ethical policies focussed on development and human rights
Addressing the Climate Emergency
We have been involved in providing services to organisations focus on environmental concerns since the very start of our company and we strive to ensure our impact on the environment is as small as possible.
This includes
- using hosting providers powered by 100% renewable electricity
- using 100% renewable electricity within our workspace
- performing environmental audits of all websites we produce
- investing in efficient hardware and ensuring it is used effectively
- minimising travel
All of us at millipedia are encouraged to be green and we also encourage our clients to adopt a greener approach to technology.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
A major focus of the work we do is on equality and inclusion. We work with leading organisations in the space of race relations and LGBT+ inclusivity.
We commit to ensuring that all of the websites and apps we produce are as accessible as possible. All of the sites we produce are tested to ensure they meet and exceed the minimum accessibility requirements.
Last revised 18th July 2023