The purpose of our code of ethics is to act as a guide for our team to operate in an ethical manner, in congruence with our company values. It recognises our responsibilities to act ethically, and sustainably within the organisation and provides a reminder for how we connect with our clients, partners, colleagues, and the world at large.
Our mission is to build software that is the right answer to the right problem whilst using the impact our business has to benefit people and planet. We do this by working with clients that are trying to solve genuine social and environmental problems, big and small, and by being honest in our assessment of where technology can be effective.
Our values are placed prominently on our website and underpin how we all work together.
We Make Waves is the collective impact of those who come to work with us and we strive to ensure everyone is represented, supported and allowed to maximise their talents. Our values reflect the honesty, trust and collectivism necessary to achieve this.
We recognise that trust and openness go hand in hand. We strive to make all information about the company, (such as revenue, salaries, budgets) transparent and accessible so that our team can make the best decisions for themselves and the company. We equally rely on openness from employees, clients and our partners.
As we grow, we will strive to increase our diversity because we recognise that companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective are demonstrably more creative, innovative, and successful. As individuals, we are all responsible for creating an environment of inclusion where everyone, from any background, can do their best work.
It's vitally important to us to take into account the working conditions and health and wellbeing of all our Wave Makers. Being remote first, we are aware that working from home has its own challenges. We accept that our Wave Makers are the best people to choose their working arrangements and will financially support them in doing so by providing a ‘remote working’ allowance.
We create digital products and services which are used by a broad selection of people. As well as complying with all accessibility laws and guidelines, we take due care to address any other factors that would result in the work we do becoming difficult to access or hard to use.
We pay particular attention to how people's data is secured and privacy is advocated for and designed into what we build.
Our best work is done in collaboration with many people, across numerous areas of expertise. We listen to others, contribute constructively and provide support to those who need it.
We actively seek to work with clients that are trying to solve genuine social and environmental problems and we expect our clients to recognise our values and act in the same spirit.
Our clients place their trust in us to spend their money wisely. We will be honest about how best to spend their money in respect to providing value for money in return for our expertise and time.
We will always strive to be honest about any issues that arise and take ownership of mistakes whilst we would expect our clients to do likewise.
We rely on our suppliers to provide services, such as hosting, invoicing, software, energy and connectivity and we aim, wherever possible, to choose vendors that align with our values.
We understand how important it is to pay our suppliers on time and will proactively engage in the resolution of any disputes.
Being distributed means we’re able to have a positive impact across a wider reach by supporting each Wave Maker within their own community, on local challenges which are important to them. Additionally, we provide support for anyone wishing to engage in creating digital communities, something which has significantly grown since the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Whilst we’re a remote-first company, we don’t have to be remote only. We’ll ensure we create opportunities for those Wave Makers that want to come together and enjoy each other's company, we are a fun bunch afterall.
As a software company, we passionately embrace Open Source and recognise the immeasurable value it brings to our company. We like to give back to the community and anyone actively participating in open source projects that align with our values will be supported and where possible sponsored for doing so.
We acknowledge that we are temporary custodians of a beautiful, and fragile planet which is currently in the thralls of a man-made climate emergency. We are committed to having a positive impact on the environment and have enshrined our commitment within our organisational governance by amending the company’s constitutional documents. In practice, this means all decision making must not only take into account our members as a whole (such as shareholders) but also have a material positive impact on society and the environment.
We aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2022 and to take further, positive actions beyond that. We recognise our collective behaviour directly impacts the environment and we intend to do what we can as an organisation and as individuals to behave in such a way that supports a sustainable future.
We are always learning how to improve and this document is a reflection of the best version of ourselves. To that end, it is reviewed annually and published for everyone to see.
Talk is cheap, as they say, it’s what you do that matters. As individuals, we have a responsibility to uphold and improve these ethics and speak out when we fall short.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for [the] good to do nothing”.
We Make WavesWeWork, 41 Corsham StreetLondon, N1 6DR
2021 © We Make Waves® All rights reserved.Registered company: 04023284. VAT no: 766525795.Code of ethicsCookiesPrivacy statement