Our CSR Policy

Our Team

TruLuv believes that key to building a healthy business is supporting the creation of a healthy and positive working environment for all of our employees. A safe environment is one in which everything we do complies with applicable laws, standards and best practice in workplace health, safety and security.

Equal Opportunity Employment

At TruLuv, employment decisions are made based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. The TruLuv does not make decisions in its employment practices based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

However, TruLuv takes proactive steps in the recruitment and search process, to ensure equal access to employment and promotional opportunities for women.

TruLuv does not discriminate on the basis of gender in compensation or benefits for women and men who work in the same establishment and perform jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and which are performed under similar conditions.

TruLuv practices tolerance in the workplace for the diversity of its staff.

Harassment

TruLuv is committed to a workplace free of any forms of harassment or discrimination. Actions, words, jokes or comments based on an individual’s sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, religion or any legally protected characteristic will not be tolerated. Such conduct is demeaning to another person, and undermines the employment relationship our values.

Safety & Occupational Health

TruLuv strives to provide a safe work place for employees and customers and to meet the federal requirements. The safety and health of employees and customers take precedence over all other activities. No job or project will be attempted until safety has been considered and provided for. Managers must make certain they are familiar with TruLuv safety rules and that the rules are enforced.

TruLuv management will continue to take a proactive approach toward creating safe work environments for all employees and will be accountable for promoting continued safety education and training for all employees, assigning responsibility for all aspects of the program, continuously reviewing the program to identify potential areas of improvement, and ensuring thorough evaluations of all incidents.

Employees of TruLuv are responsible for obeying all safety rules and regulations, and for performing assigned duties in a safe manner, and must report unsafe conditions or acts to their manager, who will take appropriate measures to correct unsafe conditions and make the proper safety reports using required forms.

Drug & Alcohol Policy

To maintain a work environment free from the harmful effects of substance abuse, and for the safety, health, and wellbeing of our employees and customers, TruLuv maintains a drug-free workplace.

Alcohol use by employees while on duty is prohibited. In addition, the use of alcohol, on or off Company property that adversely affects your job performance, work place morale or the public perception of the TruLuv is not acceptable.

Employees who are responsible for the operation of equipment, machinery or vehicles, you must report any use of prescription medication that may affect their performance or safety.

Weapons & Violence

TruLuv considers threats of violence to be an extremely serious action. Any act or threat of violence by or against any employee, customer, supplier, partner or visitor is prohibited and applies to all employees, whether on or off company property. Any use or possession of weapons, whether illegal or not, is prohibited on company property or while on company business, including knives, guns, or any other object that is used as a weapon.

Anti-Corruption

At TruLuv, we do not tolerate any form of corruption, whether direct or indirect, by employees or by business partners who act on our behalf. We do not ever, give, or receive, bribes or other improper advantages for business gain. This prohibition applies to any form of bribe of any value, and is not limited to cash. It is important that we record all transactions fairly and accurately in our accounting and financial records to avoid the risk of inadvertently facilitating an act of bribery.

Training & Development

TruLuv provides opportunities for the growth and development of our women employees through internal and external training opportunities, and those employees motivated to learn a new skill are welcomed to seek TruLuv’s support whether through internal trainings or sponsorship for external trainings.

Wherever possible we seek to promote from within. To this end, all permanent employees currently have development plans to support their growth and ambitions to grow within the business, and receive one-on-one coaching to support these plans.

Additional Employee Benefits

Eligible employees receive a wide range of benefits in addition to their salary. A number of programs prescribed by law, such as social security, cover all employees.

TruLuv supports permanent employees’ educational course costs by covering the tuition in part or full (on a case-by-case basis). Employees may reach out to their managers to learn more and present course costs for approval.

TruLuv employees are entitled to 14 days of paid time off (PTO), with an additional day for every additional year served.

Full-time, permanent employees of the Company are eligible for coverage for healthcare costs annually, including doctor’s visits, medication, and treatments in recognized medical facilities.

Full-time, permanent employees of TruLuv are also eligible for childcare on-site during their working hours.

HR Issues

In our experience, when employees deal openly and directly with management and other employees, the work environment can be excellent, communications clear, and attitudes positive. In most cases, problems occur through communication breakdowns and misunderstandings. Our Employee Handbook outlines clear guidance on how employees may seek assistance in resolving any issues with employees, managers, or our policies.

Suppliers, Customers & Partners

The first principle of dealing with third party business is the adoption of a fair and ethical approach to all of our dealings. As individual employees, our people have the responsibility of protecting and promoting the good name and reputation of TruLuv. TruLuv’s aim is to have the reputation of an organization that third parties want to conduct business with and  which they feel comfortable working with.

We seek to do business with partners who share our values. We encourage all our business partners to adopt clear commitments on ethical business. At a minimum, we expect our partners to:

• Comply with all relevant and applicable laws, regulations and industry standards
• Conduct ethical business in an honest and trustworthy manner
• Respect human rights and core labor standards
• Value diversity and demonstrate a commitment to a fair working environment
• Maintain a safe and healthy working environment
• Have zero tolerance of bribery and corruption in any form, including extortion or any other improper payments
• Avoid situations where a conflict of interest may occur, and always disclose where one potentially exists
• Take a zero-tolerance approach to the evasion of taxes wherever they operate, and to the facilitation of another’s tax evasion
• Proactively safeguard confidential and personal information and respect individuals’ data privacy rights.

TruLuv strives to ensure that everyone with external trading and other relationships understand the standards of business engagement expected of them, that they feel responsible for the reputation of TruLuv and present themselves with the highest degree of integrity at all times.

TruLuv will ensure that these objectives are delivered by:

• Recruitment, training and development of staff with the highest level of integrity;
• Communications through regular team meetings, guidance and supervision.

Our Customers

TruLuv aims to ensure that we engage with our customers and respond to their needs by providing a range of products, services and information to maximize their own commercial (B2B) and/or health and nutrition (B2C) aspirations sustainably.

TruLuv is aware that there is an increasing customer awareness of environmental and social issues, which places an expectation on TruLuv to offer information, products and services to help them create more sustainable lives.

TruLuv will ensure that these objectives are delivered by:

• communicating with our customers in order to understand and respond to their needs for information, products and services;
• offering customers honest information, responsible marketing and useful data and in doing so inspire trust in our brands and products.

We also have a standard operating procedure in place to seek out and collect customer feedback from both our business customers and our end users, and ensure we address any concerns or questions our customers have. 

In order to always ensure safe and healthy products for our customers, TruLuv enforces stringent standards of cleanliness and sanitation at all times.

We are always available by phone (during business hours), our social media channels, and email to respond to customer questions, concerns, and feedback.

Our Suppliers and Other Partners

TruLuv’s aim is to ensure that there is a mutual benefit in dealing with TruLuv, and that our suppliers and other partners have confidence in the value of doing business with us.

TruLuv has a direct impact on the environment and lives of people in Ethiopia (and in the future, beyond), and we are committed to doing business in a way which ensures that everyone in our supply chain benefits from working with us.

TruLuv believes that protection of the environment, high workplace standards, good health and safety and fair pay and employment conditions are all elements of a successful, professionally run business and contribute to its efficiency and productivity.

TruLuv will ensure that these objectives are delivered by:

• full knowledge and engagement with every Supplier we deal with and through due diligence on their standing;
• working with Suppliers who share our aims and values and can demonstrate that they meet the minimum workplace and environmental standards that TruLuv sets.

Wherever possible, TruLuv seeks to source locally (within Ethiopia), and source its main agricultural inputs from smallholder farmers, doing so with an efficient, transparent and inclusive supply chain in which all will have a fair share of the value that is created.  Sourcing closer to source and working jointly with the farmers to improve their production in terms of yields and quality and obtain the organic certification for their products will create substantial value for TruLuv as well as the smallholder farmers.

Protecting the Environment

TruLuv takes its environmental responsibility seriously and is committed to developing our business towards ecological, social and economic sustainability.

TruLuv seeks to make our offices, operations and supply chains as sustainable as possible, by engaging these three core strategies:

1. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
2. Purchase environmentally friendly products
3. Conserve energy, water and natural resources

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

• Increase waste diversion by recycling all paper, bottles and jars AND when it is practical composting all food.
• Reduce the waste generated by donating reusable office items (furniture, stationary) to charitable organizations.
• Train staff to reduce to wasted food products and packaging.
• Recycle our paper waste with a partner who transforms paper waste into pulp for local manufacturers to use to make paper products. 
• Develop recycling and composting policies to further systematize and implement in office and production facilities.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

TruLuv will, whenever possible, purchase/use –

• Packaging that uses less plastic and recycled paper inputs
• Energy saving light bulbs
• Energy efficient equipment

Conserve resources

We shall educate employees on resource conservation and pollution prevention through – training programs to educate employees on proper recycling practices, resource conservation ideas. We will inform employees of environmental issues in staff meeting discussions and training materials.

Overall we aim to reduce waste, save energy and water through recycling, which is all contributing to creating a sustainable and circular production system. The fact that our production process is semi-automated rather than fully automated lowers our energy usage. In the long-term we aim to return waste water from our operations to the environment safely.

At TruLuv, supporting the further adoption of plant-based diets in Ethiopia to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and preserve water resources is a key part of our mission.

All of this work is underpinned by a focus on continuous improvement through performance management.

Community Engagement

TruLuv aims to create a positive impact in society and improve people’s lives wherever possible. We support local communities because we know that vibrant communities are essential to our success.

Charitable Giving

TruLuv acts with integrity when giving to charitable causes, ensuring all our contributions are transparent, made in accordance with applicable laws, and are never given in an attempt to obtain an unfair business advantage. We only give to genuine charities and we ensure that our contributions are used solely for charitable purposes.

TruLuv’s support for charitable activity can come in many forms, which could include money, donations of our products, or other in-kind donations such as clothing and time volunteering

TruLuv encourages our employees to become involved in their local communities through occasional organization of team volunteer days.

TruLuv encourages charitable giving but to protect the business from unscrupulous appeals and possible misappropriation of funds, TruLuv does not support the following causes:

• Personal appeals on behalf of individual people, including overseas trips
• Advertising or goodwill messages
• Political parties
• Religious bodies, except where the project provides non-denominational, non- sectarian support for the benefit of a project

Community Involvement

TruLuv recognizes that it has an impact on the community in which we operate. This imposes a responsibility on us to consider the impact of our business carefully. The positive impact is in terms of employment and business growth.

Our operations have the potential to cause disturbance to local residents, through machinery noise. In order to mitigate against negative impacts, our decision for any new premises will always have a plan to prevent community disturbance.

Education

As a major employer in the burgeoning startup sector, and within the local community, TruLuv recognizes that it has a role in engaging new talent.  TruLuv has the skill and knowledge to offer guidance and mentoring and such opportunities should be encouraged, both internally and externally.

TruLuv will ensure that these objectives are delivered by:

• Attending local career fairs and university career events
• Encouraging and developing work experience and Internship placements

Health & Wellbeing

TruLuv aims to demonstrate support of local events and activities which promote healthy living and wellbeing, and to encourage healthy living for our employees by:

• Actively encouraging employees to participate in local events;
• Occupational health and intervention;

TruLuv also aims to provide nutritional products and raise overall healthy lifestyle awareness to its consumers, and the broader community. It does this through informative content shared on social media, hosting workshops, and most importantly, by developing nutritious food products and using related awareness campaigns to improve knowledge of nutrition.

In particular our work supports furthering a plant-based diet in by encouraging plant-based protein and nutrition options, which offers numerous health benefits, including reduced inflammation, lowered risk of diabetes and heart disease, decreased risk of dementia, improved gut health and reduced risk of certain cancers.

Communications

TruLuv aims to provide honest, clear and helpful information at appropriate levels of details to all employees, customers, suppliers, the public and other stakeholders.

TruLuv ensures that these objectives are delivered by:

• regularly updating our social media channels with relevant news or information as regards the business or our products;
• regular notices posted in our offices, use of group messaging channels, weekly workplace meetings and team briefings;
• periodic group meetings, seminars or conferences;
• testing through feedback surveys;
• regular meetings with groups of stakeholders;

Measurement

As part of TruLuv’s annual planning process, we will review, adjust and set goals to measure the impact of our CSR activities. Some of the current measures in place include employment generation, overall and for women specifically, employee coaching time, employee training value, smallholder farmer partner numbers, amount of ingredients sourced from smallholder farmers, percentage of paper waste recycled, and the number of consumers we reach with healthy snacks.