Forest Carbon Works, PBC (“FCW”), provides multiple culturally appropriate methods for submitting a grievance using a form accessible on its stakeholders’ page (https://forestcarbonworks.org/stakeholders): self-identified, confidential, and anonymous. Through the public consultation process, FCW ensures that all stakeholders are made aware of the procedure in advance of project implementation. Additionally, FCW will accept grievances submitted by mail to their office, the address of which is publicly available, and will designate a central point of contact to compile all the letters received. All grievances received will be made publicly available on the project proponent’s website after submission and the complainant will receive confirmation of receipt if contact information is available. Where complaints are filed as confidential or anonymous, the stakeholders’ contact information will be withheld from public disclosure.
The grievance will be screened and evaluated for eligibility to see if it has standing with the project proponent. The grievance will be deemed ineligible if it is not project-related, the complainant has no standing to file, or is not a local stakeholder. If another company or community procedures are more appropriate to address the issue, the complainant will be referred as appropriate. FCW will classify the grievance as minor or major and one-time or repetitive to inform the approach to resolution.
Following classification and evaluation, FCW will formulate a response and select the most appropriate local resolution approach. There are several different local approaches that can be implemented to resolve the grievance (CAO 2008):
- Internal decision-making process: The project proponent develops and proposes a solution in response to the grievance and allows an appeals process.
- Joint problem solving: The project proponent and complainant work together to develop a solution acceptable to both parties.
- Third-party decision making: If a resolution cannot be reached between the parties, a third-party mediator can be brought in to develop a solution.
Once FCW and the complainant agree to a proposed solution, the project proponent will implement the approach in a timely manner and periodically check in with the complainant to ensure satisfaction. FCW will also develop performance metrics (when applicable) to track progress and will review feedback and refine the solution.
Post-implementation, FCW will review resolution metrics to see if targets are being met. FCW will also communicate the results of the metrics with the complainant and general public via email and the project proponent’s website. To evaluate success, FCW will ask the following questions (CAO 2008):
- How well is the solution accomplishing its purpose and goals?
- Is the system making a difference?
- What actions would increase effectiveness?
If the grievance is resolved, FCW will post the resolution and results on their website to be publicly accessible and reflect on how to avoid receiving a similar grievance in the future. If the grievance is not yet resolved, FCW will make modifications to the proposed solution or develop and implement a new solution based on the several local approaches.
If all grievance redress procedures have been exhausted, including the use of a third party mediator, grievances will be referred either to a) arbitration, to the extent allowed by the laws of the relevant jurisdiction or b) courts in the relevant jurisdiction.
Forest Carbon Works, PBC, reserves the right to amend or update this procedure without notice.
Last Updates: 9 May 2023