Our commitment.

The people our tools serve are often at risk. This is how we protect them, their data and the trust placed in us.

People: Safeguarding the people our clients serve
Data: Privacy and security
AI: AI drafts, a person decides
Our team: Gender equality and fair work
Integrity: Anti-fraud and speaking up
How we build: Tools for everyone, built to last
Climate: A small footprint

Our vision is helping people in need.

We provide tech tools to international development and the humanitarian world. By closing the technological gap, we aim to make the humanitarian sector work better, faster, easier and cheaper.

The sustainability goals, in every project: As a roadmap to a more peaceful and equal world for everyone, we embed the sustainability goals across all our projects, and within our own team.
A different way of doing business: Our objective is to help shift behaviours towards a more diverse and environmentally responsive business conduct.
A supportive workplace: We promote supportive workplaces and social environments, and the protection of vulnerable groups from bias and discrimination.

Corporate Sustainability Strategy

Why do we need sustainability in the workplace?

To uphold human rights and be inclusive, just and fair
To improve corporate performance
To attract and retain talent
To increase innovation capacity
To diversify the supplier base
To meet the needs and demands of consumers
To end harmful gender-based stereotypes in advertising and outreach
To fully integrate into communities

People: Protecting people.

The organisations we work for serve children, refugees and survivors of violence. We hold ourselves to zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, for the abuse of children and for harm to adults at risk, in any context related to our work.

The rule binds everyone who works for us: staff, consultants, interns, Board members, sub-contractors and suppliers. Partners must meet equivalent standards by contract, and a proven breach ends the contract. Our CEO is the safeguarding focal point, and our COO the alternate receiver of reports.

IASC: aligned with the Six Core Principles on PSEA
Yearly: safeguarding and PSEAH training, for everyone
0: beneficiary records used in tests or demonstrations

What we commit to

Safe recruitment: Professional background verified and references contacted. The policy and our Code of Ethics are signed with every contract. Anyone who may meet beneficiaries declares any prior safeguarding or criminal matter, and we run any check the client requires.
Training every year: Safeguarding, harassment and PSEAH training at onboarding and at least once a year, and a project briefing before any field visit.
Built into our tools: Data minimisation, an impact assessment for any data on children or adults at risk, consent, audit trails and incident flags in case-management systems, and no beneficiary data used for testing or demonstrations.
Survivor-centred response: The safety and dignity of the person come first. Every report is logged and investigated, internally or by an independent professional, and we follow the client’s own reporting lines as well as ours.

Written into 3 policies

Safeguarding Policy (v1.0)
Sexual Harassment Policy (v1.0)
Code of Ethics (On request)

Data: Data about people at risk, kept safe.

The data our clients hold describes people at risk. We apply the GDPR to all of it, as processor for our clients and as controller for our own team, and we keep it in Europe first.

Our Information Security Policy is aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022: multi-factor sign-in, least privilege and dedicated administrator accounts, encryption in transit and at rest, and development, test and production kept apart, with anonymised data outside production. Our Data Protection Officer answers at privacy@reliefapplications.org.

8 h: to bring a service back after an outage, in business hours
24 h: of data lost at most, with restore tests every year
72 h: to tell the CNIL of a breach that puts people at risk

What we commit to

An impact assessment first: A DPIA opens any project with data on children or adults at risk, or with new technology.
A signed agreement before any processing: A GDPR Article 28 Data Processing Agreement with each client, covering sub-processors, transfers, audits and deletion at the end of the service.
Breaches reported fast: To the client within the time its DPA sets, typically 24 to 48 hours, and to the CNIL within 72 hours when people are at risk.
Kept in Europe first: Data stored mainly in the European Economic Area; any transfer outside it uses a GDPR Chapter V safeguard.

Security, in detail

Standard: Information Security Policy aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022, shared with clients on request
Access: Multi-factor sign-in, least privilege and dedicated administrator accounts
Encryption: In transit and at rest on every system we operate
Recovery: Back within 8 business hours, with at most 24 hours of data lost, or as set in each client agreement
Testing: Restore tests and a business continuity exercise every year; penetration tests as set in each contract
Environments: Development, test and production kept apart, with anonymised data outside production

Written into 4 policies

Data Protection and Privacy Policy (v1.0)
Data Processing Agreement (v1.0)
Information Security Policy (v1.2)
Business Continuity Plan (v1.0)

AI: AI may read and draft. A person decides.

We use AI because it makes our work better, on one condition: it never puts the data of our clients, or of the people they serve, at risk.

Our public statement on the responsible use of AI sets the eight rules below. Everyone who works for us, sub-contractors included, signs them again every year, and a breach is a breach of contract.

EU: models by default: Mistral AI, a French company
0: personal data about beneficiaries or staff in AI tools
0: AI tools or agents with access to production

The eight rules of our public statement

European models by default: Mistral AI, a French company, handles most of our processing. Every tool runs on a paid plan, with training on our content switched off.
Code and data kept apart: AI coding tools, including US-based ones, see code only. Client data goes only to European providers hosted in the EU, never to a US AI service, because of the US CLOUD Act.
No personal data in AI tools: No names, contacts, locations, photos, case notes, health or protection data about beneficiaries, even pseudonymised, and no HR or banking data about our staff.
No AI in production: No AI tool or agent reaches a production environment, database, backup or log store, unless a client enables AI in its own platform, with its own keys, in writing.
A person stays accountable: AI may read and draft; a person sends, shares, publishes or deletes. A named person reviews every AI-assisted deliverable, code included. No AI decides about people for us (GDPR Article 22).
Open about it: We never deny using AI. We disclose it when a client, contract or tender asks, and label deliverables that are substantially AI-generated.
Used where it adds value: AI has a real environmental footprint. When people can do a task well without it, they do, and we use the smallest model that does the job.
Signed again every year: Everyone who works for us, sub-contractors included, signs the policy each year. A breach is a breach of contract.

Written into one policy

Responsible Use of AI Policy (v1.1)

Our team: Fair to the people who do the work.

We have endorsed the Women’s Empowerment Principles of UN Women and the UN Global Compact. Our Gender Equality Policy commits us to equal opportunity, gender balance and pay equity.

Our CSR Policy carries the same care into our projects: women, young people, ethnic and social minorities and persons with disabilities are included in the work, and no one is discriminated against on race, gender, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation. Recruitment, selection and promotion are fair and unbiased.

WEP: the Women’s Empowerment Principles, endorsed
15: countries our team works from, under one code of conduct

Our Gender Equality Policy commits us to

Awareness raising and diversity training
An inclusive workplace culture
Stronger gender balance and pay equity
Access to technical and engineering careers for women
Regular monitoring and evaluation of our practice

Written into 2 policies

Gender Equality Policy (v1.0)
Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (On request)

Integrity: Careful with public and donor money.

Our clients’ budgets come from public and donor funds. Anti-fraud, anti-corruption, counter-terrorism and supplier checks protect them, so the money reaches the work it pays for.

Our CEO reports to the Board every year on safeguarding, whistleblowing and counter-terrorism. We hold professional liability insurance, with the certificate on request. And anyone can report a concern to us, by name or anonymously.

5: sanctions regimes screened: UN, EU, France, UK and US
3: tiers of supplier checks, by value and risk
2: signatures for any large bank transfer

What we commit to

Zero tolerance for fraud and corruption: Bribery, facilitation payments, conflicts of interest and money laundering are prohibited, reported and investigated under our Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy.
Sanctions and counter-terrorism screening: Partners and suppliers are screened against UN, EU, French, UK and US sanctions lists. Every contract carries counter-terrorism clauses, and records are kept for ten years.
Suppliers checked by risk: Three tiers of due diligence: light under €5,000, standard up to €50,000 and enhanced above, with identity checks, sanctions screening and integrity warranties.
Controls on spending: Segregation of duties, authorisation thresholds, two signatures for large bank transfers and monthly financial reporting.
A signed ethics declaration in every contract: Under our Ethical Code of Business Conduct, with partners screened against UN and US databases.

Written into 7 policies

Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy (On request)
Whistleblowing Policy (v1.0)
Counter-Terrorism Policy (v1.0)
Supplier Due Diligence Procedure (v1.0)
Governance and Internal Controls Policy (v1.0)
Ethical Code of Business Conduct (v1.0)
Risk Management Policy Framework (v1.0)

How we build: Tools for everyone, built to last.

The people who use our tools work on any phone and any connection, often in a second language. We build for them, test at every level, and hand over so the tools keep working after we leave.

We apply the nine Principles for Digital Development to every project, from designing with the user to reusing and improving what exists. Our Quality Assurance Policy sets testing at every level and client feedback on each release.

9: Principles for Digital Development, applied to every project
AA: WCAG 2.1 contrast and keyboard checks
4: levels of testing, from unit to user acceptance

The nine Principles for Digital Development

Design with the User: User-centred design starts with getting to know the people you are designing for through conversation, observation and co-creation.
Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation: Programs can maximise their resources (and ultimately their impact) through open standards, open data, open source technologies and open innovation.
Understand the Existing Ecosystem: Well-designed initiatives and digital tools consider the particular structures and needs that exist in each country, region and community.
Reuse and Improve: Reusing and improving is about taking the work of the global development community further than any organisation or programme can do alone.
Address Privacy & Security: Addressing privacy and security in digital development involves careful consideration of which data are collected and how data are acquired, used, stored and shared.
Be Collaborative: Being collaborative means sharing information, insights, strategies and resources across projects, organisations and sectors, leading to increased efficiency and impact.
Build for Sustainability: Building sustainable programs, platforms and digital tools is essential to maintain user and stakeholder support, as well as to maximise long-term impact.
Design for Scale: Achieving scale requires adoption beyond an initiatives pilot population and often necessitates securing funding or partners that take the initiative to new communities or regions.
Be Data Driven: When an initiative is data driven, quality information is available to the right people when they need it, and they are using those data to take action.

What we check on every screen

Readable contrast and type: Colours tested against WCAG 2.1 AA, and text that can grow without breaking the page.
Keyboard and screen readers: Every action reachable without a mouse, with labels a screen reader can announce.
The users’ languages: Interfaces in the languages of the people who use them.
Weak or no connection: Light pages, and offline modes where the field needs them.
Plain words: Short sentences and familiar terms, for people reading in a second language.

Written into one policy

Quality Assurance Policy (v1.0)

Climate: A small footprint, kept small.

Developing, hosting and maintaining software uses energy. We keep our own footprint small: a remote-first team with no office premises, energy-efficient infrastructure and paperless operations.

Our environmental commitments are written into policy and reviewed like the rest.

What we commit to

Efficient infrastructure: Energy-efficient practice in data centres and in a remote-first team with no office premises.
Sustainable procurement: Procurement, waste management and paperless operations.
Knowledge transfer: With the Climate Technology Centre & Network, on environmentally sound technology.
Reasoned use of AI: AI only where it adds value, with the smallest model that does the job.

Written into 2 policies

Climate Change and Environmental Commitment Policy (v1.0)
Corporate Environmental Policy (On request)

Our projects, and the 17 UN goals.

Each public project in our portfolio is tagged with the Sustainable Development Goals it works for.

1. No poverty: Aid that reaches the households who need it. Beneficiary management for People in Need, the warehouses that French Red Cross platforms run in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean, and anticipatory action tools for the Danish Refugee Council and PIROI. The UN goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. 20 public projects.
2. Zero hunger: Food assistance runs on stock, cash and good data. Relief stock tracked from the warehouse to the distribution, a map of food assistance in French Guiana for the French Red Cross, cash and voucher training for WFP and IFRC teams, and cold storage advice for farmers with BASE. The UN goal: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. 19 public projects.
3. Good health and well-being: Health data that holds up in an emergency. WHO’s health emergencies management suite and a mobile client for it that works offline; malaria survey data for Tropical Health, checked while the survey runs; and apps for patients and young mothers with Médicos del Mundo, MediCal and HIAS. The UN goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. 30 public projects.
4. Quality education: Learning tools for children, and for the people who train them. War Child’s Can’t Wait To Learn platform, an offline gamified platform for Alliance Française, a science reporting navigator for The Open Notebook, and training curricula and handbooks for PIROI and NRC. The UN goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. 12 public projects.
5. Gender equality: Equal chances, in our team and in our projects. Avatars that girls unlock by logging their cycles in Oky, UNICEF’s period tracker app; an app for young refugee mothers with HIAS; and, with Expertise France, the MEAL data system of a programme in Tunisia. The UN goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. 6 public projects.
6. Clean water and sanitation: Water and sanitation, counted with the rest of the response. Information management standards and a handbook for NRC, a MEAL toolbox for the Danish Refugee Council, and needs assessment training for IFRC and PIROI, where water and sanitation sit next to shelter and food. The UN goal: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 9 public projects.
7. Affordable and clean energy: Wind and solar, planned around World Heritage. For UNESCO, we turned the World Heritage guidance on renewable energy into a bilingual site that works on a phone, for the people who plan wind and solar projects near protected places. The UN goal: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. 2 public projects.
8. Decent work and economic growth: Working conditions you can check. Most of this work is with the ILO: the Better Work transparency portal on garment factories, the LIFT platform for labour inspection, chatbots for migrant workers and for working conditions surveys. Outside the ILO, a jobseeker app for Cáritas Española. The UN goal: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. 19 public projects.
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure: Digital infrastructure other teams build on. WHO’s health emergencies suite, the systemic risk tools of ASRA, an AI platform for cold storage with BASE, and OpenBoxes, the open source supply chain software of Partners in Health. The UN goal: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. 10 public projects.
10. Reduced inequalities: Services for people at risk of being left out. Children’s rights systems with UNICEF Mexico, a recruitment advisor for migrant workers with the ILO, warehouses that keep relief close to island communities, and AI governance for the Centre for Disaster Protection. The UN goal: Reduce inequality within and among countries. 21 public projects.
11. Sustainable cities and communities: Ready before the next disaster. Needs assessment and planning in Madagascar with PIROI, rapid response and anticipatory action with Première Urgence Internationale, surge training for the Indian Ocean, and data platforms for UNESCO. The UN goal: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 13 public projects.
12. Responsible consumption and production: A closer look at supply chains. Three projects with the ILO: a review of supply chain management systems, innovation advice for Better Work, and a recruitment advisor for workers who migrate for jobs. The UN goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. 4 public projects.
13. Climate action: Acting on the forecast, before the cyclone lands. Anticipatory action training with PIROI and Première Urgence Internationale, AI governance for disaster risk financing with the Centre for Disaster Protection, systemic risk tools for ASRA, and UNESCO guidance on renewable energy. The UN goal: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. 10 public projects.
14. Life below water: Not in our portfolio yet. None of our published projects serves this goal so far. It stays on the wheel because the goals depend on each other: the health of the ocean shapes food, climate and the coastal communities we work with. The UN goal: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. 1 public project.
15. Life on land: World Heritage, online. One project so far: measuring how people use UNESCO’s websites, the World Heritage sites among them. Many of those sites are forests, wetlands and wildlife reserves. The UN goal: Protect, restore and sustainably use terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 2 public projects.
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions: Trustworthy information and accountable institutions. The Journalism Trust Initiative with Reporters Without Borders, GovStack with GIZ, a data protection directive for child protection case management with Terre des hommes, and security cooperation analysis with the Peaceful Change Initiative. The UN goal: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. 20 public projects.
17. Partnerships for the goals: Tools that whole networks share. The World Press Freedom Index with Reporters Without Borders, a review of emergency deployment systems across the IFRC, WHO’s emergencies suite, and anticipatory action learning shared by the PIROI network. The UN goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. 12 public projects.

All of it, in writing.

20 policies in force.

The path forward.

We follow international labour and human rights standards. We are convinced that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and a green commitment. So we wrote a Corporate Sustainability Strategy, which we keep reviewing and adapting.

We aim to become a vehicle for corporate delivery on the gender and environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We will keep working in multi-stakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women and reduce environmental impact. As part of our management responsibility, particular emphasis is put on equal gender recruitment and on anchoring diversity goals.

Frameworks we follow.

The standards and networks our policies are built on.

Women’s Empowerment Principles: Endorsed. UN Women and the UN Global Compact.
Principles for Digital Development: Applied to every project. From designing with the user to reusing what exists.
Six Core Principles on PSEA: Aligned. Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
EU Regulation 2016/679: Applied to all data. As processor for our clients, as controller for our team.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022: As reference. Our Information Security Policy is aligned with it.
Climate Technology Centre & Network: Knowledge transfer. On environmentally sound technology.
Catalyst 2030: Network. Collaborating to achieve the UN goals.

Need a document for a tender or a due diligence?

People and conduct (5)

How we treat each other, and the people our clients serve.

Safeguarding Policy: Zero tolerance for SEAH, safe recruitment, yearly training, digital safeguarding. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Sexual Harassment Policy: Zero tolerance, prevention référents, reporting and protection from retaliation. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Gender Equality Policy: Equal opportunity, gender balance and pay equity, under the Women’s Empowerment Principles. Version 1.0, adopted 25 Apr 2026, next review 2 Nov 2028.
Code of Ethics: Human dignity, integrity, humanitarian principles, responsible technology.
Corporate Social Responsibility Policy: Inclusion, well-being, protection of vulnerable groups.

Data and security (5)

How we protect the data entrusted to us, and keep our services running.

Data Protection and Privacy Policy: GDPR, impact assessments, vulnerable populations, breach response. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Data Processing Agreement (GDPR Article 28): Our obligations as processor for each client. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 31 Dec 2027.
Information Security Policy: Measures aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022, incident response. Version 1.2, adopted 2 Nov 2026, next review 23 Sep 2028.
Business Continuity Plan: Recovery objectives, roles with deputies, yearly tests. Version 1.0, adopted 2 Nov 2026, next review 2 Nov 2028.
Responsible Use of AI Policy: Approved tools, data classification, human review; public statement on request. Version 1.1, adopted 6 Nov 2026, next review 6 Nov 2027.

Integrity and governance (8)

How we keep money, partners and decisions clean, and how anyone can report a concern.

Whistleblowing Policy: Reporting channels open to anyone, confidentiality, no retaliation. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy: Prevention, detection, investigation and sanctions.
Counter-Terrorism Policy: Sanctions screening, contract clauses, ten-year records. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026.
Supplier Due Diligence Procedure: Three tiers of screening by value and risk. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Ethical Code of Business Conduct: Integrity, value for money, signed ethics declarations. Version 1.0, adopted 25 Apr 2026, next review 2 Nov 2028.
Governance and Internal Controls Policy: Segregation of duties, authorisation thresholds, controls. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Risk Management Policy Framework: A risk register across nine categories, quarterly reviews. Version 1.0, adopted 24 Apr 2026, next review 24 Apr 2028.
Quality Assurance Policy: Testing at every level and client feedback on each release. Version 1.0, adopted 25 Apr 2026, next review 2 Nov 2028.

Environment (2)

How we keep our footprint small.

Climate Change and Environmental Commitment Policy: Efficient infrastructure, sustainable procurement, reasoned use of AI. Version 1.0, adopted 25 Apr 2026, next review 2 Nov 2028.
Corporate Environmental Policy: Carbon footprint, renewable energy, waste, yearly evaluation.

Whistleblowing Policy, in plain words

Open to anyone: Our staff, consultants, suppliers, partners, clients and donors, and the people our clients serve. By name or anonymously.
ethics@reliefapplications.org: Read only by our CEO and COO.
7 working days: To acknowledge your report in writing.
3 months at most: To tell you what was done, 6 for a complex case.
Protected, whatever the outcome: Retaliation against anyone who reports in good faith is itself a serious breach.

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