Our purpose
Our mission is to crawl into the inner workings of a business and straighten out any wrinkles so they can do their best work. We build technology to solve challenges, connect the dots, and redirect energy to growth.
The impact we intend: small and medium businesses and community organisations in Aotearoa, starting in Taranaki, spend less time and money fighting their technology and more on the people they serve. Better-run local businesses mean more local jobs and stronger communities.
We have done this since 2007, first in La Plata, Argentina, and now from New Plymouth, Taranaki.
How it fits our business
Our purpose is our business. Clients whose technology works grow, come back and send others our way; a shortcut that fails costs us the relationship. So the purpose shapes how we price, what we hand over and how we work:
- Pricing: volunteer-based non-profits and charities get 25% off any service.
- Ownership: clients always have full access to their accounts and all their data.
- People: everyone who works with us has fair terms and a say in how we work.
What we track, and report once a year:
- Non-profit and charity projects delivered, and the value of the discount given.
- Share of active clients with full admin access to their own accounts and data (target: 100%).
- Our emissions, against the transition plan.
Our values
- Shortcuts is a swear word. Good enough isn't good enough. If we build it, we're proud of it.
- Treat the root cause. We don't treat the symptoms. We create a jumping board for clients to go to the next level.
- 100% human. Every project is built for real life by real people. We listen, we understand, we design. This is technology as a tool, not a takeover.
- In the trenches. We're in the tech jungle with our clients, exploring the good, the bad, and the unknown. Our solutions are born from experience and an obsession with solving problems, not guesswork.
Who we answer to
We weigh every decision against the people it affects, not only the owner:
- Clients: software they understand and full access to their accounts and all their data.
- The people who work with us: fair pay, fair terms and a say in how we work, wherever they live.
- Our community: Taranaki first, and volunteer-based non-profits and charities, who get 25% off any service.
- The environment: we measure the footprint of our work and plan to reduce it.
How we hold ourselves to it
- This statement goes into our constitution, so it binds the company, not just the founder.
- Once a year we review these policies and publish what changed.
Grievance procedure
Anyone affected by what we do can raise a concern: clients, the people who work with us, suppliers and our community.
How to raise one
What we accept
We accept any concern that something XAVER did, or failed to do, harmed you or treated you unfairly. That includes the quality of our work, how we treated you, pay or working terms, privacy and data, our impact on the community or the environment, and any breach of our own policies.
We don't treat everyday enquiries or support requests as grievances; we handle those as normal work. If we don't accept a concern, we tell you why.
Steps and deadlines
- We acknowledge your concern within 2 working days.
- Within 10 working days we tell you whether we accept it and, if not, why.
- We look at the facts, talk it through with you and agree how to put it right, aiming to resolve it within 30 working days.
- We confirm the outcome with you in writing and close it.
How we reach a resolution
The director handles every concern personally. We talk it through by call, meeting or email, whichever you prefer, and agree a remedy: correcting the work, a partial refund or credit, an apology, or a change in how we work. If the concern is about the director, or we can't agree, we offer mediation by an independent mediator accredited by the Resolution Institute, New Zealand's professional body for mediators.
Protection from retaliation
- You can raise a concern anonymously.
- We never share who raised a concern without their consent.
- Raising a concern never affects a client's service, the work, pay or terms of someone who works with us, or a supplier's business with us. Retaliation is itself a breach of this procedure.
Who is responsible
Xavier Perera, our director, is responsible for managing grievances: acknowledging each one, deciding whether to accept it, agreeing and delivering the resolution within the deadlines above, recording every step, and preparing the annual summary.
Tracking and annual summary
Every concern and every step taken on it is recorded in our own systems, with its status and subject. Each year we prepare a summary of the concerns raised, by status and by subject, and review it with our other policies to check the procedure is working.
Keeping you informed
If you leave an email, we write to you at every step (received, accepted or not, resolved) with the outcome, and confirm when your concern is closed. Every step is recorded.
Responsible marketing
These principles apply to everything we publish about XAVER: the website, social media, ads, newsletters, case studies, proposals and anything said on our behalf by the people and agencies who market us.
Claims we can back up
- Every claim about our impact, social or environmental, is precise and backed by data we can show: our own records, client figures they agreed we could share, or a named, reliable source.
- We don't overstate our size, reach or results. We are a small studio and we say so.
- We don't call ourselves a B Corp, carbon neutral or anything similar until it is independently verified.
Honest about our impact
- We report our impact as it is, the negative with the positive: our emissions alongside what we do to reduce them, and concerns raised alongside how we resolved them.
- If we get a claim wrong, we correct it where it was published.
Ethical channels and practices
- Clients and results: we name clients, show their logos and quote them only with their permission, and testimonials are real and unedited in meaning.
- AI-generated content: we never present AI-generated people, images or words as real clients, staff, events or results.
- Email: we email people who asked to hear from us or have a business relationship with us, and every marketing email has a working unsubscribe.
- Data and tracking: we collect and use data as our privacy policy says, and never sell it.
- Paid and partner content: sponsored posts, paid partnerships and referral arrangements are disclosed.
- Respect: no fear-based selling, no targeting people in vulnerable situations, and no content that demeans people or competitors.
Who these principles reach
Everyone who creates marketing for XAVER, staff, contractors and agencies, gets these principles when they start working with us. They are in the brand guidelines in our marketing workspace and public on our website. The director is responsible for them and reviews them once a year.
Our commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion
XAVER is committed to treating everyone fairly, removing barriers to opportunity, and making sure the people we work with and for can take part fully, whatever their background, identity, age, disability, language or where they live.
It matters to us because of where we come from. XAVER started in La Plata, Argentina, and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand; we know what it is to be the newcomer, working across countries, languages and time zones.
Where it applies
- In how we work: written, fair terms and pay for everyone who works with us, wherever they live; the same standards for contractors abroad as at home; and everyone free to speak and write in their own way.
- With our clients: plain language instead of jargon, so no one needs a technical background to work with us; websites and software built with accessibility in mind, from colour contrast to clear, well-structured pages; a way to raise a concern that anyone can use, anonymously if they prefer.
- In our community: 25% off any service for volunteer-based non-profits and charities, so the organisations that serve Taranaki can afford good technology.
Who is accountable
The director is accountable for this commitment, and reviews it and the actions we take on it at our annual impact review, and we report progress publicly.
What we are doing about it this year
- Making this commitment public.
- Writing and using a content guide for everything XAVER publishes: our words, how we represent people, and how we use AI to make content.
We update this plan, and report what we did, once a year.
Our commitment to human rights
XAVER commits to respecting human rights in everything we do: in how we treat the people who work with us, in the suppliers we choose, and in the work we do for our clients. Specifically, we commit to respecting:
- the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
- the International Bill of Human Rights, including the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
- the International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, no forced or compulsory labour, no child labour, no discrimination in work, and a safe and healthy working environment.
How we put it into practice
- The people who work with us: written, signed terms, fair pay in full and on time, a yearly review, and freedom to join any association they choose.
- Our suppliers: we review our main suppliers once a year, including how they treat people, and move away from any that we find abuse human rights.
- Our clients' work: we don't build software meant to discriminate against people, surveil them unlawfully or deceive them.
- Raising a concern: anyone affected by what we do can raise a concern through our grievance procedure, anonymously if they prefer, without retaliation.
Who is accountable
The director is accountable for this commitment and reviews it once a year at our annual impact review.
How we measure our footprint
Once a year, for the last financial year, we estimate our greenhouse gas emissions with the Climate Action Toolbox, the free calculator from business.govt.nz and the Sustainable Business Network. It applies New Zealand emission factors, so we supply the activity data and spend; it does the conversion to tonnes of CO2e.
| Scope |
What it covers for us |
Where the data comes from |
| Scope 1: fuel we burn |
None today: we have no company vehicle. When we buy one, it will be a hybrid. |
Fuel expenses, once we have a vehicle |
| Scope 2: electricity |
The New Plymouth office, including the machine that runs our local AI model around the clock |
Power bills (kWh) |
| Scope 3: business travel |
Flights and trips to clients |
Bookings and expenses |
| Scope 3: purchased services |
Hosting, cloud storage, AI APIs, email delivery and other software subscriptions |
Annual spend in NZD, from our accounts |
| Scope 3: equipment |
Laptops, computers and monitors bought in the year |
Purchase records |
| Scope 3: remote work |
People who work with us from home, in New Zealand or abroad |
Estimated from hours worked |
Method
- Purchased services are estimated from spend. Where a provider publishes its own emissions data for our account, we use that instead.
- The result is an estimate, not a verified inventory. We keep the inputs with each year's result so the next estimate is comparable.
- The director reviews and approves the result each year, and we publish it alongside our transition plan.
Our climate action plan
Our commitment
XAVER supports the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C. We are measuring our footprint for the first time; once we have that baseline, we will set reduction targets for 2030 and 2050 in line with that goal and publish them here.
Our targets
| Target | By when | How we measure it |
|---|
| Estimate our first full footprint, for our last financial year, as the baseline for every other target | 31 December 2026 | The Climate Action Toolbox result, kept with its inputs |
| Set and publish reduction targets for 2030 and 2050, in line with 1.5°C, from the baseline | 31 March 2027 | The targets published in this plan |
| Recycle all hardware at the end of its life, through the manufacturer or a certified recycler | From now, checked yearly | Disposal records |
| Our first company vehicle is a hybrid or electric | When we buy one | Purchase record |
| Video calls by default; fly only when meeting in person really matters | From now, checked yearly | Flights and their emissions, reported each year |
Resources
- The director is responsible for this plan, and sets aside time each year to measure our footprint and review progress at the annual impact review.
- When a lower-emission option costs about the same, in hardware, hosting, software or travel, we choose it.
Working with our stakeholders
- Clients: we build lean, efficient websites and software, and recommend efficient hosting.
- The people who work with us: remote work and video calls first, and their ideas for cutting emissions at their yearly review.
- The public: we publish our footprint and progress against these targets each year.
Keeping it current
We report progress every year and fully update this plan at least every 36 months.
Lobbying and political activity
XAVER does not engage in lobbying. We don't try to influence laws, regulations or government decisions, directly or through anyone acting for us, and we make no donations, financial or in kind, to political parties, candidates or campaigns.
We never offer, pay or accept bribes or improper payments, in New Zealand or anywhere else.
If that ever changes, we will adopt and publish a responsible lobbying policy before we start. Anyone with a concern about how we do business can raise it through our grievance procedure.
XAVI Services Limited, trading as XAVER.
