Code of Ethics

In this Code of Ethics we set out the guidelines that should govern the people who serve in the Foundation Terra Agora, irrespective of their role (e.g. member of a governing body, patron, guardian). It derives from the Foundation’s statutes.

This Code was approved at a Meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in April 2024 and has been in force since that date. It will be reviewed no more than every 5 years — the next review will take place by 2028. All proposals for changes must be sent to the Foundation’s Board of Directors as soon as they arise.

The procedure to amend the Code is:

• The Board of Directors consults all the parties, listens to all the Chairpersons of the Governing Bodies, as well as the Patrons and Guardians, and collates the proposed changes;
• It drafts a new version for approval at a Board meeting, submitting the approved version to the Board of Trustees;
• The Board of Trustees gives its approval after negotiating with the Board of Directors, and the process is mediated by the respective chairpersons;
• The approved version of the Code is sent by the Board of Directors to all interested parties and published on the Foundation’s website.
• The Charter of Principles, the Code of Ethics, the Charter of Principles for Patrons and the Charter of Principles for Guardians are 4 documents that form a unit and should be reviewed together.

1. To act in the knowledge that the Earth belongs to no one is to: (Dignity of the Earth Principle):
   
   1. Know that Planet Earth is the owner of the ‘land’.
   2. Acquire as much “land” as possible, for a fee or free of charge (land is the Foundation’s Strategic Asset, its main area of investment).
   3. Not allow the ‘land’ for which the Foundation is responsible to return to the real estate market and the cycle of buying and selling.
   4. Direct all the action and governance of the Foundation and the Guardians through the guardian projects towards regenerative local development.
   5. Commit to responsible and sustainable management of natural systems, which are common assets for all life on Earth, respecting their recovery and regeneration cycles.
   6. Reduce the consumption and degradation of natural systems and the generation of waste, maximising the efficiency of processes, reuse and recycling.
   7. Promote the continuous improvement of processes, products and services by identifying, monitoring and mitigating the environmental risks associated with its activities, with a view to reducing negative impacts on the climate, air, water, soil, biodiversity, territory and communities.
   8. Promote environmental responsibility, the use of innovative and clean technologies and engagement with stakeholders with a view to adapting to local and global challenges.
   9. Value ecosystem services and the ecosystem functions on which they depend.
      
2. To act in the knowledge that Nature is Life, is to: (Dignity of Life Principle)
   
   1. Respect the natural cycles and promote biodiversity.
   2. Care for all Living Beings, treating them with the same love and concern that we have for the Earth, within the limits of our means and responsibilities.
   3. Promote non-violence against all forms of Life.
   4. Take care of all the conditions necessary for Life on Earth and its natural cycles.
      
3. To act in the knowledge that every human has a Being and a Purpose in Life is to: (Principle of Human Dignity)
   
   1. Human dignity takes place in [5 bodies](Emotional Empowerment, Patrizia Patz, 2022.): physical, emotional, intellectual, energetic and archetypal (purpose).
   2. Care for dignity in 5 bodies by helping each person find meaning and belonging.
   3. Satisfying human needs in the 5 bodies.
   4. Respect and promote Human Rights.
   5. Promote the Inner Development Goals.
   6. Not tolerating and denouncing the violation of human rights, refusing any kind of harassment, discrimination, coercion, abuse, violence or exploitation, in each of the 5 bodies, in their sphere of influence.
   7. Make every effort to ensure that the Foundation’s actions do not infringe on human dignity (5 bodies) and Human Rights.
   8. Protect Labour Rights and Prevention, Health and Safety.
   9. Respect Labour Rights and reject any form of forced or child labour.
   10. Support freedom of association and the recognition of the right to Collective Bargaining.
   11. To provide fair and equitable remuneration, guaranteeing the payment of a decent wage and a balance between professional, family and personal life.
   12. Promote equal opportunities and equal treatment in employment and professional functions for all Human Beings.
   13. Ensure conditions for a working environment free from discrimination, moral or sexual harassment, threats and physical, emotional, energetic or psychological aggression.
   14. Provide knowledge and training to employees, recognise and value the qualifications acquired for the job.
   15. Identify, Control and Prevent risks and take the necessary preventive measures to avoid accidents and occupational diseases.
   16. Encourage behaviour that promotes well-being in the 5 bodies, and the safety of its direct and indirect workers.
   17. Ensure means of protection and provide training in prevention, health and safety for workers.
   18. Ensure that each person is heard.
       
4. To act in the knowledge that we have a social ‘body’ in a place is to: (Social Dignity Principle):
   
   1. Promote the Transformative Social Innovation that creates a sense of belonging, autonomy and competence — social innovation should never be an excuse to dismantle necessary public services.
   2. Be guided by principles of social justice, not limited to gender, race, nationality, creed, age or any other attribute.
   3. Promote the Sustainable Development Goals.
   4. Promote interrelationships and interdependence.
   5. Promote individual and collective well-being.
   6. Include all generations (do not exclude any generation, particularly the most vulnerable, young and old).
   7. Promote Regenerative Local Development and Local Empowerment.
   8. Train Guardians to carry out projects to regenerate Places (Sites).
   9. Care for local, cultural and food traditions, in accordance with the principles of this code.
   10. Promote diverse and alternative economies, including and not limited to volunteering, circular economies, solidarity and gift economies.
   11. Encourage the use of ethical finance and value banking.
   12. Promote conscious, local and ethical consumption.
   13. Promote the common good and economies that respect common resources (e.g. water, soil, air, forests, rural and urban ecosystems, oceans) and are based on multiple capitals (e.g. natural, social, human, knowledge, financial).
   14. Encourage all the systems created to promote regenerative use, i.e. where the consumption of something is a guarantee of its regeneration (e.g. by eating food I must have the guarantee that this act of consumption regenerates the soil and the Earth).
   15. Ensure economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political security .
       
5. To act in the knowledge that reality is multidimensional is to: (Principle of the Integral Perspective)
   1. Embrace a systemic way of thinking — of complex systems, living systems, holonic (all parts), evolutionary.
   2. Adopt an integral perspective that cultivates the interconnection of subjects (multidisciplinary) and perspectives/viewpoints of how to see the world (e.g. spiritual, cultural, scientific, artistic, philosophical).
   3. Promote a holographic understanding in which each ‘part’ contains the ‘whole’ (complex thinking) and that the ‘whole’ is more than the sum of the parts (emergence).
   4. Embrace paradoxes as the key to transformative social innovation.
   5. Identify with the ‘whole’ (whole system view — drop identities).
   6. Care for and develop people, groups/teams, and the whole system (Me, Us, World).
      
6. To act in the knowledge that everything evolves is to: (Principle of Evolutionary Perspective)
   
   1. Prioritise the very long term, i.e. 7 to 12 generations (175 to 300 years).
   2. Create safe spaces for learning and experimentation — where it is safe to make mistakes.
   3. Recognise the potential of the frontiers/boundaries of modern knowledge and culture.
   4. Design for emergence (new, creativity) and diversity.
   5. Support the evolution of all parts of the systems.
   6. Experiment with alternative forms of social relations and relational values.
   7. Recognise that all changes are interconnected and that it is not possible to change collectives without changing individuals, and cultures without changing ways of thinking.
   8. Recognise that transformative evolution requires collaboration between all parts of the system.
   9. Recognise that evolution encompasses human, social and technological innovation (and not just one of these).
   10. Promote the decolonisation of thought.
       
7. To act in the knowledge that responsibility is individual and action is collective, is to: (Principle of the Governance Perspective)
   
   1. Know that the Foundation and the Guardians’ Projects have limits to their growth.
   2. Be aware that the growth of the Foundation is limited to 5% of the national territory; in that event, the procedure is to promote the creation of another foundation of the same nature with more local governance (e.g. Northern Region, Lisbon District, Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, Beira Interior Landscape Unit) — the Landscape Unit should be the primary criterion for such local governance.
   3. Disseminate the knowledge that the Foundation and the Guardians are carrying out in a free and open way, so that it is available to all.
   4. Promote the circle and dialogical governance in the Foundation, Guardians, partners and the entire ecosystem.
   5. Design for collective intelligence.
   6. Promote teamwork, based on individual and collective awareness.
   7. Promote transparent and inclusive decision-making.
   8. Promote creative collaboration.
   9. Promote alternative and diverse narratives.
   10. Promote servant-leadership — the Foundation as a leader in the service of the Planet and of Life on Planet Earth.
   11. Promote a design for the end, for when the life cycle ends.
   12. Encourage ethical communication and high or radical transparency.
   13. Honour commitments.
   14. Promote collaboration between all the Foundation’s bodies, Patrons and Guardians.
   15. Encourage involvement with stakeholders through consultation and dialogue.
   16. Regularly and transparently communicate the performance in sustainability, namely relevant information on the economic, environmental, social, ethical and management performance of the Foundation and the Guardians.
   17. Continuously improve management processes and practices, adopting measures to comply with the guidelines herein set out.
   18. Encourage the value chain to respect and promote principles equivalent to those of this Code.
   19. As soon as there is a legal framework in the Portuguese Republic that protects the Earth, i.e. that does not allow any human being (or other form of Life) to own the Earth (an Earth that belongs only to itself), the Foundation shall place all its strategic assets under this legal framework and be dissolved.
       
8. To act in the knowledge that every action has an impact is to: (Principle of Ethical Perspective)
   
   1. Know that to act is to Move, Think, Feel, Imagine / Idealise and Intend.
   2. Respect the 10 Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
   3. Recognise that identifying a need for action creates a responsibility to ensure that action is taken — not necessarily to execute it oneself, but to ensure that someone does.
   4. To apply to oneself what will work for others; to lead by example; to go first; to be the one showing others how it can be done.
   5. Respect the contracts with the Patrons and the agreed intentions.
   6. Develop all measures to protect the Strategic Assets. In the event of expropriation by the State, resort to all possible legal means and if this is not possible, negotiate another property with the State so as to continue the function.
   7. Inform the Foundation of any conflict of interest or events that may have a negative impact on the Foundation and the Guardians.
   8. Consider that a person who is part of a Guardian may not be part of the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board or Technical Advisory Council (and vice versa). They may sit on the Board of Trustees, in one of the topologies defined, provided that, while they have the right to vote, they may not exercise it in matters relating to themselves or to legal persons of which they are a member or to which an immediate family member is a member, be they a spouse, child, parent or sibling, regardless of their nature (e.g. owner or employee).
   9. Any person who is a member of the Governing Bodies, the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board or Technical Advisory Council may not be hired, for a fee or free of charge, in any form (e.g. consultancy, coaching, mentoring, training), by a Guardian to assist in the process of submitting a Guardianship Project and in its execution.
   10. Act in compliance with the laws and regulations that govern the activity at national and international level, adopting the principle of being more demanding in the event of a choice between national legislation and international standards.
   11. Not tolerate direct or indirect participation in any form of corruption, fraud, money laundering, bribery or extortion.
   12. Respect the rules of fair competition and provide reliable and transparent information to all partners.
   13. Define procedures to identify and address conflicts of interest that could adversely affect institutional relations.
   14. Respect and enforce intellectual property rights.
   15. Protect, not use and not make available unauthorised third-party data.
   16. Comply with and encourage compliance with practices of ethical conduct.