Best Practice

Child Safeguarding Statement

Friends of the Earth is committed to the safeguarding of the young people that we work with. We recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children and young people, we are committed to ensuring their safety and well-being and will work in partnership with parents/ guardians to do this.

All Friends of the Earth staff who have contact with young people have a responsibility to safeguard children through promoting their welfare, health, and development in a safe and caring environment that supports their best interests and prevents abuse.

Our full Child Safeguarding Statement can be found here

COVID19 Safety Protocol

Friends of the Earth is committed to keeping our staff, supporters and those who participate in our activities safe during the COVID19 pandemic.

We have outlined thorough safety protocol, following government and HSE guidelines, which we are advising all who participate in our activities to comply with.

Our full COVID19 Safety Protocol can be found here

Privacy Statement 

Friends of the Earth is committed to keeping your data safe.

We will only store and process your personal data in accordance with the relevant Irish and EU data protection legislation (including the General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR - you may have heard of recently).

You can opt-out of any communications you are getting from us at any time.

Our full Data Protection Policy can be found here

You can make a request about your data at any time using this form.

• Download Subject Access Request Policy Here
• Download Subject Access Request Form Here

Dóchas Code on Images and Messages

Friends of the Earth is a signatory of the Dóchas Code on Images and Messages and is committed to complying with the code's principals across the organisation's values, activity and communications.

The Code of Conduct’s guiding principles stipulate that choices of images and messages will be made based on the paramount principles of:

• Respect for the dignity of the people concerned;

• Belief in the equality of all people;

• Acceptance of the need to promote fairness, solidarity and justice.

For more info visit the Dóchas website here at this link

Volunteer Policy

Friends of the Earth believes that it cannot achieve its mission without the active involvement of the wider community of those committed to being part of creating positive change. We are therefore striving to formalize our approach to working with volunteers and strengthening our commitment to provide them with opportunities for leadership development and meaningful contribution to the organisation.

When individuals and groups are nurtured to engage in a process of critically informing themselves as well as being supported to learn-by-doing, they are more likely to take effective collective action to bring about changes in their own communities and as part of a mass political movement.

Friends of the Earth seeks to:

• Enable volunteers to contribute to all areas of our work
• Find opportunities to match skills with meaningful opportunities for contribution
• Develop the leadership capacity of volunteers

You can read our Volunteer Policy in full here at this link

Garda Vetting Policy

Friends of the Earth Ireland is committed to the protection and welfare of our members, supporters, volunteers and all those we engage through our work and activities. 

As part of this commitment and in line with recommended best practice in recruitment and selection procedures, Friends of the Earth Ireland complies with the The National Vetting Bureau (Children & Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 - 2016 commenced on 29th April 2016.

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that all persons who undertake ‘relevant work’ with children have been vetted including: employees, contractors and volunteers.

Vetting services for Friends of the Earth Ireland are currently overseen by the Dublin City Volunteer Centre.
For any vetting related queries, please contact gardavetting@foe.ie.

You can read our Garda Vetting Policy in full here at this link

Risk Management Policy

Friends of the Earth (“FoE”) is committed to having the robust governance and effective management systems, and the appropriate financial resources, to maximise its impact and to cultivate a positive working environment.As part of this commitment, we will comply with relevant legislation and recommended best practice in risk management with a clear policy and process that is appropriate to its size and complexity.

You can read our Risk Management Policy in full here at this link

Social Media Community Guidelines Policy

Friends of the Earth’s Social Media Community Guidelines Policy sets out how we expect all users to engage, interact and communicate on Friends of the Earth’s social media channels.

To help create a safe, constructive environment on our social media channels we have set out some guidelines which apply to any engagement with us or other members of the Friends of the Earth community on any of our social media channels. You can read these guidelines here.

You can read our Social Media Community Guidelines Policy here at this link