Code of Ethics

Our Code of Ethics is the foundation for everything that we do at Porticus. These principles guide our conduct whenever we are representing Porticus and help us to foster a culture that truly represents our values.

Key principles: 

• We treat all our stakeholders and partners with respect, dignity, fairness, equality, courtesy and open-mindedness.
• When we enter into any engagement with a partner, we do so with a high degree of trust, and expect all our stakeholders to uphold this trust to the highest degree.
• We select partners who contribute to our mission, and who share values that are compatible with our own. We perform integrity checks in our due diligence procedures before entering into agreements or partnerships with others.
• We respect local cultures, structures and customs, but we do not tolerate behaviour that violates international human rights or is otherwise considered illegal or unethical.
• We recognise a fundamental duty of care towards children and adults at risk. We uphold a Safeguarding Policy to protect children and vulnerable adults who are affected by our work from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
• We expect our staff to be familiar with the laws of the country where they operate and to avoid behaviour that could compromise the organisation's integrity or professionalism.
• We prohibit all forms of bribery and corruption. Facilitation payments, kickbacks or inappropriate gifts, whether direct or indirect, are not allowed.
• We seek to avoid any potential or perceived conflict of interest.
• We respect the privacy of our stakeholders and partners and protect their personal data in accordance with relevant data protection laws.
• We recognise that the health, safety and well-being of our staff is paramount for our success and the fulfilment of our mission. We encourage staff to observe a healthy and safe working environment.
• We are committed to conserving and reusing natural resources as much as possible. We advocate high standards of environmental responsibility to achieve long-term sustainability.

Whistle-blowing procedure

• Porticus takes all violations of the Porticus Code of Ethics very seriously.
• Any concerns or alleged violations of the Porticus Code of Ethics can be reported anonymously to whistleblower@porticus.com.
• The whistle-blower's identity will also be kept confidential (subject to legal requirements) and the whistle-blower will be protected from retaliation.
• Every whistle-blower report is taken seriously and recorded in an internal incident register. Reports of suspected violations will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct a proper investigation.
• Depending on the nature of the allegation, an independent investigation team may be appointed in accordance with our internal Whistle-Blower Policy.