Plastic Bank’s Policy on Advocacy and Communication

Purpose

Our advocacy and communication policy states the company’s commitment, its governance and allocation of responsibilities, review mechanism, and specific scope of application. This is created to ensure that the long term goals and strategies are communicated clearly to all employees and external stakeholders, and to ensure that accountabilities on monitoring and reporting are clear to achieve the goals. 

Scope of the company

All of Plastic Bank’s operating sites, and all employees under Plastic Bank in Canada, and all other countries of operation where the business is registered.

Distribution

Internal: Read and Understood by all employees with document acceptance receipt via DEEL

External: Plastic Bank Website  

Policy statement

Plastic Bank is devoted to conducting advocacy and communication activities in alignment with our commitment to create environmental and social impact. We uphold this commitment to ensure that our messaging and practices contribute positively to our communities and the planet. This policy aims to guide our advocacy, foster responsible actions, and inspire ethical conduct in all communication endeavors.

Strategy

To achieve the long-term commitment outlined in our policy, Plastic Bank will implement the following strategic actions:

1. Compliance with Ethical Standards: Plastic Bank is committed to conducting advocacy and communication activities that are honest, substantiable, and factual. Our practices shall comply with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards. We shall not engage in deceptive, misleading, or unethical practices.

2. Social and Environmental Responsibility: Plastic Bank is dedicated to promoting environmental and social impact. Our communication efforts will authentically emphasize the environmental and social issues, and transparently share the existing and potential outcomes of our work..

3. Respect for Stakeholders: We are committed to respecting the dignity and rights of all stakeholders, including customers, partners, employees, and communities. We shall abstain from discrimination and harassment when highlighting societal and environmental issues.

4. Protection of Privacy: Plastic Bank will respect individual privacy rights in all advocacy and communication efforts. Personal data shall be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

5. Transparency and Accuracy: Ensure all communication materials accurately portray our initiatives, products, and services while not allowing for unsubstantiable claims.

6. Diversity and Inclusion: Ensure that diversity and inclusion are neither compromised nor forcefitted in any communication while reflecting on the global communities and regions we serve. 

7. Real People and Real Stories: Showcase authentic stories of individuals and communities affected by poverty and plastic pollution, and thereafter by the positive impact of our initiatives, demonstrating the real-world results of our efforts.

8. Endorsement Disclosure: Transparently disclose any affiliations between endorsers and Plastic Bank, maintaining authenticity and credibility in all our advocacy and communication.

Procedures

To operationalize our policy commitment, Plastic Bank will implement the following standardized procedures:

1. Socialization: All employees and partners involved in advocacy and communication for and on behalf of Plastic bank shall be oriented to this policy to ensure understanding and compliance.

2. Substantiation of Claims: Any statements or claims made in communication materials will be supported by verifiable evidence and shall adhere to recognized industry standards.

3. Performance-driven Content Creation: A competent and specialized team will be engaged in creating content to ensure correctness, quality and exponentiality of output.

4. Endorsement Disclosure: When using endorsements or testimonials, clear disclosure of any material connections between endorsers and Plastic Bank will be provided.

Governance and Allocation of Responsibilities

This policy and its implementation is governed by the Director of Global Brand Strategy, with support from the Chief Technology Officer, the Chief Marketing Officer, and HR forming the communications governance committee leads.

The policy is authored by the marketing operations and strategy director with support from the creative manager and chief marketing officer, and updates from director global brand strategy for implementation, sustainability compliance for review, and HR for internal distribution to employees covered and records.

Review Mechanism, Monitoring and Reporting

This policy must be reviewed every 3 years under the leadership of the global brand strategy director.