Environmental, social and governance

Environmental, social
and governance

Environmental, social and corporate governance is at the centre of our sustainability approach.

Siren’s alignment with global standards for responsible business practices helps drive innovation, contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and builds trust with our partners and the communities we serve. A comprehensive framework of 21 policies embeds core ESG principles in all aspects of our operations, programmes, and partnerships.

Annual statement on sustainable development

What sustainable development means to Siren in 2024

Commitments and reporting

Monitoring and evaluation

We set ourselves ambitious ESG goals and rigorously monitor and evaluate our performance. In 2024, we conducted a benchmark ESG report to asses our performance against internationally recognised standards, such as the UN’s Business and Human Rights Guiding Principles and the International Labour Organisation’s principles. The baseline report established a foundation for measuring future progress and identified meaningful and actionable goals to enhance our sustainability efforts. We conduct annual ESG audits to ensure that progress is accurately measured and to identify where we can do more.

Reporting

Aside from producing an annual ESG report, we report on our progress in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through the UN Global Compact. We report on our human rights advocacy in our annual Human Rights Statement. We are committed to building a slavery free supply chain. Each year we report on our progress through a Modern Slavery Statement, and via the Transparency in Supply Chains Platform, which rates us as having ‘above average’ transparency for our sector.

Grounding our work on the Principles for Digital Development

Signing the Principles for Digital Development reflects our dedication to creating solutions that are technologically and ethically sound.

Digital development

Technology has the potential to empower communities and drive sustainable development. It can also reinforce existing social, economic and environmental harms if deployed carelessly. We are a signatory of the Principles for Digital Development - principles we abide by to ensure our projects deliver real-world impact without compromising on integrity, inclusivity or sustainability.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is at the heart of our operations. This means we prioritise the mental and physical wellbeing of our staff, partners and beneficiaries. Guided by international legal frameworks, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and ILO conventions, our safeguarding policies establish a comprehensive strategy to prevent, manage and learn from safeguarding incidents. Our safeguarding policies emphasise the "do no harm” concept, particularly as relates to vulnerable groups, such as children and at-risk adults. Siren is dedicated to fostering a safe, ethical and inclusive work environment, and we enforce robust systems and controls to operationalise this.

The policies cover critical areas such as:

Child protection

Modern slavery

Mental health

Bullying and harassment

Protection against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

Data protection and IT

Siren is committed to maintaining high data protection, privacy and security standards. We embed data privacy and security by design in all our solutions, and guarantee data confidentiality, integrity and availability. Here is our privacy policy, and here is our cookies policy.

Submit data protection request

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion

Siren is an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to fostering equity, diversity and inclusion, and ensuring a just workplace that actively opposes discrimination. Our policy outlines robust mechanisms to address workplace inequality and promote a culture that values diverse perspectives and experiences. By embedding these principles into our programs and operations we recognise that diversity brings value and has the potential to enhance both the sustainability and impact of our operations.

Our commitment is demonstrated through practical initiatives, such as setting ambitious goals for the inclusion of minorities, and achieving gender equality in the workplace. We have clear metrics to track and measure progress as part of our ESG framework. As a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, we view gender equality – both in the workplace and in the communities we serve - as integral to societal prosperity and individual potential. Siren is recognised as a Disability Confident Employer. This reflects our commitment to creating an inclusive environment for people of all abilities.

Siren is an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to fostering equity, diversity and inclusion, and ensuring a just workplace that actively opposes discrimination. Our policy outlines robust mechanisms to address workplace inequality and promote a culture that values diverse perspectives and experiences. By embedding these principles into our programs and operations we recognise that diversity brings value and has the potential to enhance both the sustainability and impact of our operations.

Our commitment is demonstrated through practical initiatives, such as setting ambitious goals for the inclusion of minorities and achieving gender equality in the workplace, with clear metrics to track and measure progress through our ESG framework. As a signatory to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, we view gender equality – both in the workplace and in the communities we serve - as integral to societal prosperity and individual potential. Siren is recognised as a Disability Confident Employer. This reflects our commitment to creating an inclusive environment for people of all abilities.

Fraud and corruption

Siren is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in its business activities. A core responsibility of the organisation is the ethical guardianship of donor funds. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of fraud, corruption, bribery and/or aid diversion. We handle the risk of fraud through comprehensive risk management, control and mitigation measures. Detection and prevention are achieved through a strong counter fraud and corruption culture, and a governance framework that ensures the segregation of functions, thorough due diligence of third parties, proper record keeping and strict payment policies. Furthermore, staff in at-risk positions undergo extensive vetting processes, and potential conflicts of interest are monitored on an ongoing basis.

Siren is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in its business activities. A core responsibility of the organisation is the ethical guardianship of donor funds. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of fraud, corruption, bribery and/or aid diversion. We handle the risk of fraud through comprehensive risk management, control and mitigation measures.

Detection and prevention are achieved through a strong counter fraud and corruption culture and a governance framework that ensures segregation of functions, thorough due diligence of third parties, proper record keeping and strict payment policies. Furthermore, staff in at-risk positions go through extensive vetting processes and potential conflicts of interest are monitored on an ongoing basis.

Complaints and whistleblowing

At Siren, we take responsibility for our actions and invest in people and resilience in ways that are anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Please use the form below if you wish to report a suspicion of misconduct, a complaint or let us know where we could be doing more to protect human and labour rights, counter corruption, protect the environment, and provide a high quality service.

I want to report something

Reports are handled by the Chief Human Resources Officer and can be accessed by the CEOs of Siren Associates and Siren Analytics. We will act efficiently and promptly on any report of misconduct, and initiate an investigation within 48 working hours if the complaint concerns a potential major offence and/or gross misconduct.

Siren has a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation against whistleblowers. We treat whistleblowers who report in good faith in an impartial, consistent, just and rational manner. They will not be dismissed, victimised or made subject to any other detriment. Siren keeps the identity of whistleblowers confidential unless the individual(s) concerned provide their express consent to the disclosure of their identity.