Our Social and Environmental Commitment

Our Social and Environmental Commitment

STEM Minds treats our social and environmental impact as a primary measure of success for our business. We prioritize these impacts even in cases where it may not drive profitability. STEM Minds social and environmental policies and performances are integrated into job descriptions, employee training, and decision making throughout the organization.

Our Governance and Ethics

STEM Minds is committed to doing the right thing in all circumstances, even when it may negatively impact profitability.

For the purposes of structure and governance, we have taken the following steps:

• We have a formal organizational chart outlining the management and reporting structure of the company
• We have written job descriptions for all employees outlining responsibilities and decision-making authority
• We have regular management team meetings to plan strategy and make operational decisions

For the purposes of behaviour and ethics, all staff are expected to serve as role models to our clients. We have taken the following steps to ensure these values are maintained:

• Aligned with our Mission Statement, the STEM Minds management team and employees will demonstrate honesty, integrity and high ethical standards to their colleagues and clients as per their employee agreement.
• Staff will measure and monitor practices on a regular basis, through solicited customer feedback and program experience surveys
• We have developed and trained all staff on our whistleblower policy. This policy is intended to encourage STEM Minds employees (paid and volunteer) and others to report suspected or actual occurrence(s) of illegal, unethical or inappropriate events without retribution.

For the purposes of financial ethics, we have taken the following steps:

• We have engaged an independent company to review our financial statements.
• We share our financial ownership publicly through our website.
• We share our financial performance results with staff through staff meetings on a monthly/quarterly basis.
• We educate our staff on what financial performance means for them and our clients.

Our Code of Ethics

Aligned with our Mission Statement, the STEM Minds management team and employees will demonstrate honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards to their colleagues and clients. The goal is to provide exceptional customer experiences for everyone who engages with our programs and services.

Equity & Diversity

STEM Minds:

• Is majority-owned by a woman,
• Includes a statement in all our job postings with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,
• Offers training for all employees on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion,
• Reviews our pay structure by gender, race/ethnicity, or other demographic factors and, if necessary, implements equal compensation improvement plans or policies,
• Tracks diversity of ownership among our suppliers,
• Practices a policy to give preferences to suppliers with ownership from underrepresented populations.

Corporate Citizenship Policies

STEM Minds is a community-focused organization committed to investing and supporting our local community. As part of this commitment, STEM Minds has undertaken the following endeavours:

• Financial or in-kind donations (excluding political causes),
• Community investments,
• Community or pro-bono service,
• Advocacy for adopting improved social or environmental policies or performance,
• Partnerships with charitable organizations or membership with community organizations,
• Discounted products or services to qualified underserved populations/individuals,
• Free use of company facilities to host community events,
• Organizes/hosts company service days,
• Compensates up to 24 hours of community service undertaken by employees,
• Monitoring and recording total volunteer hours completed by employees.
• We will only use customer information for intended use in marketing

Ethical Sales & Marketing Practices

At STEM Minds, we are committed to responsible, ethical and client-focused sales and marketing practices. Our sales and marketing efforts will provide accurate and full disclosure information about our programs and services so parents can make appropriate choices. Our Code of Ethics guides all STEM Minds employees to put the needs and well-being of children first, and to act justly, ethically and with integrity. We strive to operate with the highest standards of business conduct and transparency through all communications with parents, youth and community partners.

Our sales and marketing practices are governed by the STEM Minds “Code of Conduct” and relevant laws, regulations, and industry guidelines.

As outlined in the STEM Minds “Code of Conduct”, we aspire to bring the highest standards and level of integrity to our sales and marketing activities by following all laws and regulations regarding the promotion, marketing and sales of our products, including ensuring that what we say is truthful, not misleading for our products. All promotional materials used must be consistent with our marketing media guidelines. Our approach to ethical sales and marketing extends to third parties as well with who we work.

STEM Minds provides training to all staff on client interactions. Our website is the authorized source of our programs and services.

Managing Customer Stewardship and Privacy

STEM Minds is dedicated to providing the best possible service to our clients. This includes actions such as:

• Offering a money-back guarantee for our programming up to and including the first class,
• Formal quality control mechanisms to ensure high standards in our programming,
• Clearly stated customer feedback or complaint mechanisms outlined in all our client communications,
• Monitoring customer satisfaction through the use of regular experience surveys. This information is then shared with team members to guide program improvements,
• Formal processes to incorporate customer feedback into our programming,
• Managing the privacy and security of client data,
• A formal and publicly available data and privacy policy on our website making all users aware of all information collected, length of time it is preserved, how it’s used, and whether or how it is shared with other entities (public or private),
• GDPR compliant email lists and email marketing strategies,
• All personal information, both digital and physical, have protections and policies in place to maintain security and respond in the event of a data breach,
• All clients are required to acknowledge privacy and data policies upon registration and are informed in writing of any changes made to these policies.

Environmental Policies

STEM Minds is committed to supporting environmentally friendly practices wherever possible. In our leased facility, we have invested in the following to support these endeavours:

• Equipment: Energy Star appliances, automatic sleep modes, after-hour timers, etc.
• Lighting: use of natural light, CF bulbs, occupancy sensors, daylight dimmers, task lighting etc.
• HVAC: programmable thermostat, timers, occupancy sensors, shade sun-exposed walls, double-paned windows, etc.
• Recycling of paper, cardboard, and MDF wood
• Low flow faucets
• Proper disposal of e-waste

Commitment to Local Communities

STEM Minds is committed to purchasing core products from independent suppliers local to where the company operates.

We also commit to hiring locally from within our community.

Physical Safety of Clients

STEM Minds is committed to the safety and well-being of its employees and clients. To support safety, we have taken the following actions:

• Employees in contact with children are subject to Police Vulnerable Sector Screening and must have up to date First Aid/CPR Training as part of the hiring process,
• Maintaining an advisory board that includes members who have extensive experience in the fields of nursing, education, and similar industries,
• Employees undergo regular safety training,
• Maintaining a formal health & safety committee.