Stakeholder Grievance & Remediation

At Butternut Box, we value open and honest communication, which is why we invite anyone with serious concerns regarding people safety, labour (discrimination, bullying, and harassment cases) and human rights, environmental impact, or ethical misconduct to report them through internal routes, such as a Butternut contact, a manager, or the People Team. If preferred, reports can be made anonymously via our external whistleblowing provider, Spot. If a submission does not meet our criteria—for example, if it is a routine customer service enquiry—we will provide a clear written explanation as to why it was not accepted as a formal grievance and redirect you to the appropriate support channel.

Our reporting system is designed to be fair, accessible, and transparent, aligning with international standards to ensure every voice in our pack is heard. The People, Procurement, and Compliance & Sustainability teams are responsible for monitoring these channels and investigating reports. Upon receiving a concern, these teams assess the severity and nature of the issue and aim to investigate then decide on the necessary steps to prevent or fix the problem. If it is safe to do so, we will speak directly with affected individuals to understand the impact. Any issues deemed severe or likely to cause significant harm are immediately escalated to the Executive Team to ensure senior leadership oversight.

Throughout the investigation, we provide regular updates at every major step of the process and only consider a matter closed once the outcome has been clearly confirmed with the stakeholder. We strive to investigate and resolve grievances within 45 days of when they are first raised. Remediation may include apologies, financial compensation, or corrective actions to restore the affected person's position as much as possible. If the harm is linked to one of our business partners, we will use our influence to ensure the victim can access justice or an independent fix.

We recognise that speaking up can be daunting, therefore we maintain confidentiality and ensure that no reprisal or retaliatory action is taken against anyone who raises a grievance in good faith. To ensure the process remains impartial, our decisions are structured to avoid conflicts of interest; for example, no individual who is the subject of a grievance, or who has a direct reporting line to those involved, is permitted to participate in the investigation or the final decision-making.

To ensure these protections are known by all, we actively notify our main stakeholders of our grievance procedures through employee inductions, employee handbook and via our Supplier Code of Conduct.

We are committed to accountability and will regularly report on our grievance statistics publicly. Data will be aggregated to include:

• Internal Cases: Total number of discrimination, bullying, and harassment cases.

• Within our Supply Chain: Total number of serious social and human rights incidents within the workforce of our direct suppliers.

In 2025, six internal investigations involving bullying and harassment were completed; the outcomes resulted in four disciplinary actions, and two instances where no action was taken. The average duration of the process from report to resolution was 27.8 days. We received no grievances within our supply chain.

If you have a concern or query which isn’t a grievance, you can still contact us through https://butternutbox.com/contact.

Board Member Approval: this statement was approved on 1st July 2026 by our Board of Directors, who review and update annually.