The Clean Energy Safety and Training Council Member’s Code of Conduct
The Clean Energy Safety and Training Council (“CESAT”) works to
- To provide general awareness and operational safety training for first responders and frontline workers in the green energy sector
- To broaden safety training knowledge to frontline workers and employers, first responders, government and the general public.
- To provide available solutions and encourage fact-based reviews of the best available safety products for first responders
- To carry on research into clean energy safety solutions, problems, training, new products or services and new hazards.
- To speak for safety and training for frontline workers and first responders
In furtherance of this objective, CESAT and its employees strive to maintain the highest standards of conduct and rely on our Members as part of the Council to similarly promote business practices of:
- Conducting ourselves ethically and without conflicts of interest,
- Safeguarding privacy and confidentiality,
- Support CESAT’s Mandate in the areas of advocacy, generic promotion, education and information in order to ensure a safe, well-trained industry in Canada and internationally.
The Member Code of Conduct outlines the standards that Members of the CESAT, including their employees, third-party contractors, partners and representatives (“Members”), are required to abide by, both in letter and in spirit, when interacting with:
- The Public – including potential and actual customers;
- The Industry – including customers, companies and organizations involved in the fire, battery production, hydrogen, EVs, wind energy, solar energy, and energy storage sectors;
- The Association – including employees, directors, partners, and representatives of the Association.
Although the Member Code of Conduct lays out the fundamental principles of ethical and legal conduct, it cannot anticipate every ethical dilemma or situation we may encounter as we perform our jobs. It provides a framework to:
- To maintain trust and confidence in the integrity of the Council and its Members; and
- Outline the process to disclose issues of wrong-doing related to the Member Code of Conduct appropriately and expeditiously.
- By providing clear standards and principles to which they can refer, the Council aims to ensure that Members, the Public and the Industry are informed of the benefits of working with the Council and/or a member company.
- Members of the CESAT are required to review, and signal their willingness to adhere to, the CESAT Member Code of Conduct on an annual basis in conjunction with obtaining or renewing a membership in the Council.
The Code of Conduct includes the elements outlined below.
1. Professionalism
Members have a duty to adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour.
- To uphold the Council’s core values as critical to how we work;
- To conduct themselves and undertake business activities and dealings in a manner that inspires confidence, respect and trust with the Public, the Industry and the Council; and
- To treat the Public, Members and Industry stakeholders with fairness, respect and courtesy and to refrain from actions that detract from the professional image of the Council and its Members.
- Our leadership in the sector is informed by listening deeply to the needs of frontline nonprofits and seeking insights from many perspectives. Keeping our hearts and minds open is vital to being bold and nimble advocates for nonprofits and the people they serve.
Members of CESAT shall act in a manner that is free of discrimination and harassment.
Harassment includes without limitation:
a) Personal Harassment is any unwelcome behaviour, conduct or communication, or display of pictures or materials directed at an individual that is offensive to the individual or group on any prohibited grounds of discrimination under provincial and federal human rights legislation which includes, but not limited to, race, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, colour, ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, handicap etc.
b) Sexual Harassment is engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a person because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the recipient person and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome. It includes, but is not limited to, any unwelcome sexual advances (oral, written or physical), requests for sexual favours, sexual and sexist jokes, racial, homophobic, sexist or ethnic slurs; written or verbal abuse or threats; unwelcome remarks, jokes, taunts, or suggestions about a person’s body, a person’s physical or mental disabilities, attire, or on other prohibited grounds of discrimination; unnecessary physical contact such as patting, touching, pinching or hitting; displays of degrading, offensive or derogatory material such as graffiti or pictures; Sexual harassment is by definition coercive, it is one-sided and all genders can be victims.
c) Over and above behaviours targeted at an individual, creating a poisoned environment is not supported. Behaviours need not refer specifically to an individual but creates a hostile, intimidating or offensive environment that is known to be unwelcome. For example: graffiti, sexual insults, racial slurs, sexual or racial jokes, display of offensive materials, gossip or excessive swearing, use of foul language or aggressive behaviour.
3. Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises whenever we allow, or appear to allow, personal interests or relationships to impair our judgment and commitment to make decisions with integrity and honesty, and in so doing, we may act in a way that is damaging, or potentially damaging to the Association and the reputation of the Council. All Members are required to abide by the following in relation to the Public, the Industry and the Association:
- Demonstrate the highest ethical standards and behave in good faith and with objectivity;
- Protect the confidentiality and privacy of non-public information;
- Not to engage in any practice which is in violation of local, Provincial or Federal laws and regulations or is considered illegal or unethical
- Uphold principles of trust, honesty, mutual respect and fairness supporting diversity and prohibiting discrimination and harassment;
- Not disparaging of the Council, the Industry or the Public.
4. Privacy and Confidential Information
Members of CESAT shall respect and protect the privacy of others and the confidentiality of confidential information acquired in the course of their work. The Council’s Privacy Policy provides the framework for expectation of Members including:
- Members shall hold in strict confidence customer information obtained in the conduct of a Member’s activities, except where legally compelled to divulge such information;
- Under no circumstances will Members sell, distribute, or otherwise disclose personal information or contact lists to third parties;
- Members shall make reasonable commercial effort to design and manage procedures and systems to protect confidential information from error, loss and unauthorized access; and
- Members shall comply with privacy legislation.
5. Fair Dealings
Members of the CESAT should seek to further mutual respect and enhance the public’s trust with the Council.
6. Representing CESAT
Members of the CESAT shall not speak on behalf of the CESAT, in any forum, unless authorized in writing to do so by a Board Member of CESAT.
7. Compliance with the Law and Best Practices
Members of the CESAT shall act in full compliance with all Federal, Provincial and Municipal laws, including laws pertaining to contracts, consumer protection, truth in advertising, antispam legislation, privacy and other relevant regulations.
8. Complaint Resolution and Disciplinary Process
The CESAT created the Complaint Resolution and Disciplinary Process (“Process”) to provide Complainants (as defined in the Process) with an avenue to raise issues and concerns about Members of the CESAT related to their adherence to the Member Code of Conduct. Furthermore, the Process is intended to provide Members with an opportunity to respond to and, if applicable, work through such issues and concerns to the mutual satisfaction of both the Complainant and the Member. The Process also sets forth a transparent process to be followed by the CESAT to address Member and Complainant issues and concerns.
Members of the CESAT who violate this Member Code of Conduct may be disciplined by the Association. Per Section 3.3 of the CESAT Bylaws, the Council Board may expel, suspend or reprimand a Member for engaging in activities that violate any provision of the articles, bylaws, or written policies of the Council; or any conduct which may be detrimental to the Council as determined by the Board in its sole discretion.
For more information visit the CESAT website at www.cleanenergysafety.org or email info@cleanenergysafety.org