Built on ethics, backed by responsibility
Our comprehensive approach to corporate social responsibility, DEI commitment, and AI innovation ensures you’re partnering with a firm that shares your values. Discover the frameworks and commitments that align us with forward-thinking organizations that demand both results and integrity.
— WHAT WE STAND FOR
Three commitments, written down and held to
Values are easy to claim and harder to publish. These are the policies we operate by, in full, so you can judge them for yourself before you sign anything.
Corporate Responsibility
How we integrate ethical, social, and environmental considerations into our business practices and day-to-day operations.
Our Commitment to DEI
The actions we are taking on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as our land acknowledgment and accessibility standards.
Our Stance on AI
Where AI belongs in our work, where human judgment is non-negotiable, and how we advise Clients on both.
— WHAT WE STAND FOR
Corporate Social Responsbility
We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by integrating ethical, social, and environmental concerns into our business practices. Four sections govern that commitment. A fifth governs who answers for it.
Section I
Ethical Business Practices
The baseline for how we conduct ourselves with clients, employees, partners, and everyone else we do business with.
Highlight: Zero tolerance for bribery, corruption, and unethical business practices.
What we commit to
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- Conduct business with integrity, honesty, and transparency
- Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
- Protect the confidentiality, privacy, and data of clients, employees, and stakeholders
- Foster an inclusive workplace that values different perspectives and backgrounds
Section II
Environmental Responsibility
We are a services firm, so our footprint comes down mostly to office space and hardware. We treat both as choices rather than fixed costs.
Highlight: Refurbished computers and equipment wherever they will do the job.
What we commit to
- Maintain only as much office space as necessary, sharing resources wherever possible
- Reduce waste through recycling and responsible waste management
- Minimize technology waste by choosing refurbished equipment where we can
Section III
Social Responsibility
Being a positive force in the communities where we work, through company action and through what we make room for our people to do.
Highlight: Fair labor practices and respect for human rights across our operations and supply chain.
What we commit to
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- Support local charitable organizations through volunteering and giving
- Promote education and skills development programs that empower individuals
- Ensure fair labor practices across our operations and supply chain
- Encourage employee participation in community service and philanthropy
Section IV
Stakeholder Engagement
Open, transparent communication with employees, clients, partners, and the broader community, including when the news is not flattering.
Highlight: Stakeholder feedback directly shapes how this policy evolves.
What we commit to
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- Engage in regular dialogue to understand stakeholder concerns and expectations
- Provide accurate and timely information about our efforts and performance
- Seek feedback and input to continuously improve our practices
Section V.
Governance and Accountability
Implementation and oversight of this policy sits with the Senior Leadership Team. We review it regularly, adjust strategy as needed, and communicate progress during our annual report-out.
— SOCIAL IMPACT
Our ongoing commitment to DEI
Like many people and businesses, our team has spent significant time reflecting on our role in the world and our responsibilities to others. Those conversations led us to a clearer commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The actions we are taking
Not a statement of intent. A list we can be held to.
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- Continuing team-wide learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Creating real opportunities to practice that learning
- Adapting hiring practices to be more accessible, more inclusive, and to build a more diverse team
- Sharing what we learn and how we apply it, publicly
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Why this sits with our values
A natural extension, not a side initiative
Michelin-Star standards, collective accountability, continuous improvement, and empathy drive everything we do. DEI is where those values get tested.
Pronouns
Asking for and using the pronouns someone uses for themselves is a respectful, inclusive way to make sure they feel comfortable and are not harmed in our spaces. The easiest way to invite someone to share theirs is to share your own first, which is why we do it when we introduce ourselves.
People may use different pronouns in different spaces, with different people, or at different times. Follow their lead and use what they have given you in that space. We share ours because assuming based on a name or appearance can be invalidating, since not everyone’s identity can be seen.
Accessibility
We support accessibility for people with disabilities regardless of disability or accommodation need. That applies to our digital work and to our in-person policies and procedures. We adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act and make additional accommodations where we can. Employees are never penalized for requesting them.
Measures in place
- Accessibility is written into our internal policies
- Continual accessibility training for employees
- Clear accessibility targets and named responsibilities
- Formal accessibility quality assurance methods
Web accessibility
We build to WCAG standards on every site, including our own. Our site is WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessible, partially conformant, as some content does not yet fully conform. Site accessibility relies on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
— LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bde Ota, the homelands of the Dakota people
As a step toward truth and reconciliation, we collectively recognize that Br8kthru’s office is located on the ancestral and contemporary homelands of the Dakota people. We acknowledge the land now known as Minneapolis, originally named Bde Ota, has been cared for and home to the Dakota people since time immemorial.
Our team understands community to be a space of collective support and connection, and home as the place where we feel safest. The essence of home lies in the bond our communities create with the land that supports us. In Bde Ota, the roots of those sentiments run deepest in Dakota communities, which have historically faced colonial atrocities and removal from the land they have long called home.
Br8kthru is committed to honoring the continued resilience of the Dakota people as families, nations, and communities work to reclaim stolen language, culture, and land. We honor and affirm the sovereignty of tribal nations and communities, and we pledge to actively seek avenues of supporting Dakota reclamation and restoration efforts.
— ADAPTABILITY + INNOVATION
Our approach to integrating AI
We take a consultative, strategy-driven approach to everything we do, and AI is no different. Results are table stakes. The real return on our work is long-term relationships of trust, and those cannot be automated.
We are committed to continuous improvement, and that includes staying ahead of industry best practices, trends, and tools so we can incorporate them intentionally rather than reflexively. Our approach is customized to each client, with a unique strategy per project. Where AI is appropriate, it runs through our workflows and across service areas, giving our team more tools to do their jobs well.
As new tools emerge, we keep assessing their real utility, then share what we find with clients, including the risks alongside the rewards. We will always be the subject matter experts, so our clients can focus on growing their businesses.
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AI is a tremendously powerful technology that we need to stay aware of, but it needs to be balanced with human cognition. We’re carefully and effectively incorporating it into multiple workflows and functions to meet Client needs.
Jon Lenz | CEO + Founder
— START A CONVERSATION
Results and integrity, not one or the other
If these commitments line up with how your organization works, we should talk. Tell us what you are trying to grow and we will give you a straight read on whether we are the right partner for it.