WWF recognises that respect for rights is at the heart of sustainable development. Guided by our organizational values of courage, integrity, respect and collaboration, the Statements of Principles encapsulate our commitments to respect and promote human rights, foster  gender equality and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework (ESSF), which includes nine Safeguards, supports the Principles by helping us to live up to our social and human rights commitments in relation to our place-based work.

The Statements of Principles (SoP) apply to all of WWF’s work. For situations where WWF engages in on-the-ground conservation, including activities implemented through partners, the Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework (ESSF) is applied.

Learn more about how we work, our Principles and our Safeguards on the following pages. The complete SoP and ESSF package is also available to download here.