Sustainability Policy

This shows the sustainability policy by Family & Child Insight with the key conditions highlighted.

General Sustainability Considerations

1. Family & Child Insight commits to follow the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, ESOMAR and MRS ethical guidelines on involvement of children in research, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), within the company’s influence area, for a social fair and sustainable world.

This sustainability policy by Family & Child Insight highlights the key conditions in focus.

Social Responsibility Conditions (S)

The sustainability policy by Family & Child Insight has a special emphasis on social conditions with a highlight of the following.

2. Family & Child Insight supports and respects the protection of international proclaimed human rights, within the company’s influence area. The company has a special emphasis on children’s rights in the child convention. This includes a special focus on children’s rights to express and share their opinions, and to have these opinions respected in relevant affairs of their life and world. This also includes a special focus on children’s right to be protected.

Family & Child Insight has a special focus on 5 key social responsibility topics related to children (inspired by Crane & Kazmi, 2010):

• a. Respect for children’s perspectives through ethical and active involvement – This implies to invite children to active participation in research activities for sharing their perspectives when relevant for them. It requires that children are motivated and allowed to participate. Legal compliance implies an informed consent of children’s participation from parents/ caregivers with an age limit for children depending on the country (e.g. In DK: when children are below an age of 15 years), cf. EU GDPR and local legislation about processing of personal data. Ethical considerations are key as well, e.g. implies an ethical informed assent from children in recruitment and ethical methods and techniques in active involvement of children in research (e.g. Nairn & Clarke, 2012; Marshall, 2010).
• b. Physical and mental protection of children – This implies to make relevant ethical considerations in the planning and conduction of research activities, so that children safely and securely can participate without any physical or mental harm, e.g. with a focus on location, materials, and social activities. This also implies to make relevant observations and reflections about children’s safety during consumption of products and services, as well as making relevant considerations and develop socially responsible strategic recommendations based on this. Moreover, it includes special considerations on topics which worries children e.g. the climate change situation (e.g. Ojala, 2012; Benoit et al., 2021).
• c. Moral protection of children – This implies to make relevant ethical considerations in the planning and conduction of research activities, so children can participate e.g. without any exposure to inappropriate material and content. This includes to make relevant observations and reflections about children’s reactions to expected appropriate material and content through exposure to campaigns or consumption of products and services. Furthermore, it implies to develop recommendations of socially responsible strategies e.g. about media initiatives with only appropriate content.  
• d. Social and cultural protection of children – This implies to make relevant ethical and socially responsible considerations in both research, insight, and in strategic recommendations. It is key that children can feel social secure during participation in activities, and/ or consume products and services without experiencing negative consequences for their wellbeing and development, as well as self-confidence and exclusion in the society. Moreover, this implies an encouragement to children about a socially responsible behaviour towards other children.  
• e. Encouragement of an open and joint family decision making – This implies to encourage families to have an open communication pattern and dialogue about topics and decisions relevant for children. This can help family members to understand each other’s perspectives more in depth, and it can help parents to support children who worries, by sharing thoughts and actions. Moreover, it can help families to make joint decisions with children’s active participation and influence (e.g. Aleti et al., 2015; Nørgaard et al., 2007).

3. Family & Child Insight ensures that the company does not contribute to violations of the human rights, hereunder incl. children’s rights cf. the UN Convention of Children’s Rights.

This implies to comply with legislation in the countries, which Family & Child Insight operates in, but at the same time to ensure compliance with the human and child rights when these set higher standards than the law.

Also, this implies to only collaborate with partners in the value chain who share this commitment.

This is relevant for Family & Child Insight’s key activities i.e. research, insight, and strategy but also support activities, hereunder ethical and socially responsible considerations as these:

RESEARCH – Active and ethical recruitment and involvement of children

Children have the right to express their opinion and have this respected, to receive information, and to have their interests being taken care of in decisions, when it is relevant for them, cf. the child convention e.g. article 3, 12, and 13. Children also have the right to be protected, incl. their safety and privacy, e.g. article 16 and 19.

Thus, according to Family & Child Insight, children should be invited to participate in research activities and to influence decisions about their participation based on an informed foundation in child height, when relevant for them. Children and their safety and privacy should be protected in recruitment and participation.

ESOMAR and MRS have developed guiding principles, e.g. based on family and child research, for ethical responsible recruitment and involvement of children in research.

Family & Child Insight has with inspiration from the above developed Ethical principles and standards for the company’s recruitment of families and children in research, hereunder to ensure children’s own motivation for participation:

1. Step 1: Families are always contacted through parents/ caregivers, e.g. from an existing panel or a new recruitment. Children will never be contacted directly without an a priori accept from an adult guardian.
2. Step 2: Families’ motivations are impacted through information and a recruitment questionnaire with an encouragement to having an open dialogue and a joint decision in the family about participation, so both children and adults are informed about conditions and based on this are motivated to participate.
3. Step 3: Parents/ caregivers give their legal informed consent and children give their ethical informed assent to participate. Children’s ethical informed assent is applied to draw attention to the meaning of and active attempts to ensure children’s motivation for participation and influence on the decision.

In situations, where recruitment takes place in collaboration with an external partner, Family & Child Insight ensures that this partner follows the same principles and standards. Family & Child Insight will protect children’s personal data by a Data Protection Policy.

Family & Child Insight has likewise with inspiration in the above developed Ethical Principles and Standards for the company’s active involvement of families and children in research, e.g.:

1. Perspectives from various persons to triangulate the understanding, i.e. always children when relevant for them and when they are motivated, as well as other people around them such as the family and/or peers.
2. Relevant topics for children, i.e. current feelings, thoughts, and behaviours in relation to a specific topic, creative ideas for new initiatives, and reactions on initiatives with a focus on consequences in short and long term.
3. Methods and techniques which are child centric based on considerations to development, situation, and context.
4. Safeguarding by e.g. physical safety and mental wellbeing during participation in research activities through planning and observation.

INSIGHT – Respect for and acknowledgement of children’s perspectives

Children’s perspectives are just as important as adults’ in affairs relevant for them. Family & Child Insight applies ethical principles and standards for transformation of research into responsible actionable insights on the area, hereunder:

1. Equality in children’s and adults’ perspectives. Results about perspectives are compared in analyses and highlighted in the insights.
2. Respectful analyses of children’s perspectives by ensuring that the topic is being considered with children’s views and not being disturbed by adult prejudices and pre-understandings. Children will have the opportunity to see and approve the insight before applying and sharing it.
3. It is highly recommended to respect children’s perspectives and not only adults’.
4. A highlight of the insights, which support and respect the child convention, e.g. a focus on advancing children’s health, safety, and wellbeing.
5. A robust interpretation basis, which combines and compares the actual research with previous research among families and children.

STRATEGY – Social and environmental impact on families and children

Socially and environmentally considerations about strategic direction and initiatives with a focus on a responsible impact on families and children are key, hereunder e.g. children’s right to health, safety, and wellbeing, as well as development, cf. the child convention and SDG.

Thus, Family & Child Insight develops strategic recommendations to customers with an emphasis on a balance between economic and socially responsible value, hereunder:

1. It is recommended to base strategic decisions on children’s perspectives and thereby a respect of these, instead of just listening to adults.
2. It is recommended to develop and implement socially responsible strategies with a focus on ensuring a responsible impact on families and children, incl. their health, safety, wellbeing, and development, in short and long term.
3. It is recommended to develop and implement environmentally responsible strategies with a focus on a responsible production among customers and an impact on a responsible consumption among families and children, cf. SDG 12.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN SUPPORT ACTIVITIES – e.g. responsible branding and communication

Family & Child Insight’s socially responsible considerations also include other activities in the company such as branding and communication, hereunder:

1. Branding and communication will have the purpose to spread a message about the meaning of listening to, understanding, and respecting children’s perspectives, and to inspire to create strategic direction and initiatives with a responsible impact.
2. All activities are targeted to families through adults and thereby also children.
3. Only appropriate content and media are applied to reach families.
4. Personal data is protected.
5. Photos of families and children in research activities, will only be applied for communication in situations with a priori informed marketing consent and assent, and when children and their guardians have approved the material.

4. Family & Child Insight is a one-person consultancy company but commits to ensure and influence that employment conditions in the company and value chain are responsible, e.g.:

• a. Maintains the right to organisation and acknowledge rights to collective negotiations.
• b. Supports elimination of all kinds of forced labour.
• c. Supports elimination of child labour.
• d. Eliminates discrimination in work and employment conditions.

Environmental Conditions (E)

The sustainability policy by Family & Child Insight has an emphasis on the following selected environmental conditions.

5. Family & Child Insight supports a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, e.g.:

• a. To minimise resource consumption, e.g. light, heat, paper, and transport.
• b. To advance durability and recycling in the company operations.
• c. To search influence on suppliers and collaboration partners.

6. Family & Child Insight contributes to advance bigger environmental responsibility, hereunder with a focus on SDG 12 about responsible consumption and production:

• a. To contribute to projects and initiatives, which involve families’ and children’s environmental perspectives and behaviour.
• b. To impact families and children to a sustainable change by recommending strategical direction and initiatives based on their perspectives to customers.

7. Family & Child Insight contributes to encourage development and implementation of environmental technologies.

Governance Conditions (G)

The sustainability policy by Family & Child Insight has an emphasis on the following selected governance conditions.

8. Family & Child Insight is aware of complying with applicable legislation in the countries Family & Child Insight operates in, and works with ethical and responsibility principles and standards in the company’s key and support activities. In research with children, inspiration from ethical standards from ESOMAR and MRS are followed. When ethical standards are higher than the legal, then Family & Child Insight ensures to comply with also the ethical.

9. Family & Child Insight works with risc management through an overview and action plan, which will be followed up continuously.

10. Family & Child Insight works against all kinds of corruption, hereunder extortion and bribery, across the value chain.

REFERENCES AS INSPIRATION

Aleti, T., Brennan, L. and Parker, L. (2015). Family communication for the modern era: a typology. Young Consumers 16 (4), pp. 367-384.

Benoit, L., Thomas, I., and Martin, A. (2021). Review: Ecological awareness, anxiety, and actions among youth and their parents – a qualitative study of newspaper narratives. Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Oct.).

Brik, A.B., Rettab, B., and Mellahi, K. (2010). Market orientation, Corporate social responsibility, and business performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 8 (Oct).

Caroll, A.B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organisational stakeholders. Business Horizons, July-August, pp. 39-48.

Crane, A., and Kazmi, B.A. (2010). Business and children: Mapping impacts, managing responsibilities. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, pp. 567-586.

Marshall, D. (2010). Understanding children as consumers. Advanced Marketing Series, London: SAGE.

Nairn, A., and Clarke, B. (2012). Researching children: are we getting it right? A discussion of ethics. International Journal of Market Research 54 (2), pp. 1-22. The Market Research Society (MRS).

Nørgaard, M.K., Mikkelsen, M.R., Christensen, P.H., and Brunsø K. (2007). Children’s influence on and participation in the family decision process during food buying. Young Consumers, 8 (3), pp. 197-216.

Ojala, M. (2012). How do children cope with global climate change? Coping strategies, engagement, and wellbeing. Journal of Environmental Psychology 32 (3), pp. 225-233.

Porter, M.E., and Kramer, M.R. (2006). Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84 (12), pp. 78-92.

ESOMAR Guiding principles and standards for ethical involvement of children in research

MRS (Market Research Society) Guiding principles and standards for ethical involvement of children in research

Further: UN Children’s Rights Guiding principles and standards, Global Compact Guiding principles and standards, and Human Rights Guiding principles and standards.