If we receive a grievance from you, we will follow a standardized procedure to address it:

1. Reception and recording
The grievance is sent to our Grievance Officers, namely our Head of Carbon Development and their team. The online grievances forms are linked to an Excel tracker that updates automatically, to ensure that all filed grievances are saved and recorded.

2. Screening
The grievance is screened and, depending on the level of severity, categorized into one of the 3 stages:
Stage 1: Internal attempt of resolution: an answer to the grievance can be provided internally by the Grievance Officer, without the need of external consultation. The Grievance Officer will send a written response to the person who filed the grievance, unless this grievance was filed anonymously.
Stage 2: Mediation by a neutral third party: A third-party mediation is necessary to solve the conflict. If needed, a legal advisor will be involved in the mediation process, collecting all necessary documentation from The Green Branch to present to the mediator and communicating the preferred solution for the grievance case. This stage will involve the person who filed the grievance, who will be contacted by the third-party advisor, unless the grievance was filed anonymously.
Stage 3: Arbitration or Court: In casethe grievance is not resolved through mediation, the grievance case will be taken to court. Again, a legal counsel will represent the interests of The Green Branch. This stage can only be carried out for grievances that are not filed anonymously.

3. Acknowledgement
Unless the grievance is anonymous, the Grievance Officer will contact the stakeholder who filed it within 30 business days after receiving the grievance by providing a formal acknowledgement, a summary of the case as well as an outline of the process, including an expected timeline. Contact will preferably be established by email, if that is not possible the stakeholder will be reached out to via phone.

4. Investigation and act
The Grievance Officer is responsible for extensive investigation of the grievance, including consulting involved employees and/or external stakeholders, site visits and other potentially necessary actions to gain holistic understanding of the case. A detailed record of activities is essential to allow for in-depth analysis and subsequent planning of steps to resolve the case. The Grievance Officer is responsible for transparently communicating the developed plan to all affected parties, when possible, monitoring the actions taken, and meeting deadlines. When all steps have been completed and a resolution has been reached that is satisfactory to both the grievance filing person/organization and The Green Branch, the case will be closed with written documentation of the resolution signed by both parties, unless the grievance was anonymous. Possible outcomes of step 4 are the successful resolution of the grievance or an appeal (following another round of investigation).

5. Follow-up and close out
When possible, the Grievance Officer will contact the parties involved 3-6 weeks after the case has been closed and ask for feedback on the process, which will be reflected upon internally by the Grievance Officer to improve future handling of grievance procedures. All documentation of the grievance case will be stored for at least 3 years.