Governance – guidelines we follow
Social responsibility
Through our grants, we actively work to contribute to sustainable societal development. Since 2021, we have reported our social responsibility efforts. You can find more details in our financial statements under Finances and financial statements.
Good foundation governance
We report on and strive to adhere to theRecommendations on foundation governance, similar to commercial foundations. In the table below, you can see how the foundation follows the recommendations. The table was last updated in March 2024.
Here are relevant supplementary details regarding the foundation’s adherence to the Recommendations on foundation governance.
In our communication, we aim to be transparent about our processes and open about our strategies, activities and grants.
The primary goal of VELUX FOUNDATION’s communication activities is to disseminate knowledge about results and initiatives and thus offer inspiration for better solutions to the societal challenges addressed by the foundation strategy. Additionally, we seek to raise awareness about the possibilities for relevant applicants to obtain grants.
VELUX FOUNDATION is happy to participate in interviews and provide comments on strategy and operations, but we prefer that grantees, their projects, agendas and results are the main focus.
We strive to proactively communicate the foundation’s work through relevant channels, and offer timely, responsive service to the media and other stakeholders.
The executive director represents the foundation externally, except regarding the investment portfolio which is managed by the chief investment officer. In special cases, such as those involving unique projects, the chair may also represent the foundation.However, at programme level or in cases where expertise in policies, programmes and projects is crucial, the programme heads typically speak on behalf of the foundation.
The head of communications is the primary contact for matters related to press and communication strategy.
We aim to ensure transparency in our daily work,not least in the area of impartiality and our relationships with applicants, partners, suppliers etc.The foundation board has therefore adopted a set of principles and guidelines to ensure that both board members, management, employees and external experts adhere to common practices regarding impartiality.
In short, the following applies:
- Board members and secretariat staff may not participate in the reviews of cases where they have a conflict of interest.
- Board members and secretariat staff will actively recuse themselves on a case-by-case basis if there is a relationship with an applicant or an external expert. Thus, they do not participate in the processing and decision-making of such cases.
- The board decides which cases should be further processed and approved. Management and senior advisers participate in the application review.
- External experts assisting with the professional assessment of applications are asked each time to clarify whether they are impartial in relation to specific applications.