1. Purpose and Binding Nature of the Code

 

This Ethical and Values Code is a binding document for all projects and teams participating in the Lifbee incubation program.

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Its purpose is to ensure that all solutions:

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● align with Lifbee’s values (courage, ethics, constructiveness, integrity, community),
● respect legal, ethical, and scientific standards,
● do not pose risks to health, safety, the environment, or society,
● preserve the integrity of the scientific and technological process.

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Failure to comply with this Code may result in a warning, corrective measures, suspension of participation, dissolution of the team, or exclusion of the project—particularly if the project refuses to accept feedback or fails to implement corrective actions within a reasonable timeframe.

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2. Commitments of the Participating Team

 

The team commits to:

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1. act in accordance with ethical, scientific, and legislative standards,

2. follow the recommendations of expert mentors and guarantors,

3. transparently communicate the impacts of their solution,

4. constructively accept feedback related to ethical and safety issues.

 

3. Areas of Regulation

3.1 Bioethics and Research Ethics

 

The project must comply with the standards of:

● the Declaration of Helsinki,
● Good Laboratory Practice (GLP),
● Good Clinical Practice (GCP),
● applicable ethical standards and Slovak/EU legislation including GDPR,
● relevant ethics committees and approval processes.

 

The following are prohibited:

● unregulated biological experiments,
● illegal manipulation of human or animal samples,
● bypassing ethical protocols,
● experiments endangering the health, safety, or dignity of humans or animals.

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3.2 3R Principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)

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Projects in biology, biotechnology, and related fields must:

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● replace animal experiments when alternatives are available,
● minimize the number of animals used,
● reduce animal suffering through optimized methodology.

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Projects aimed at intensifying industrial animal farming or worsening animal welfare are not permitted.

 

3.3 Safety of Solutions and Scientific Integrity

 

The project must not:

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● create or promote solutions that endanger users’ health or safety,
● replace medical procedures with unverified interventions,
● claim health effects without scientific evidence.

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Health-related solutions must be based on verifiable scientific facts, not on placebo, esoteric claims, or pseudoscience.

 

3.4 Environmental Integrity and Prohibition of Greenwashing

 

The project must:

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● transparently and truthfully present environmental impacts,
● avoid false or misleading ESG claims,
● consider the broader impact of the solution on ecosystems and future generations.

 

Projects that optimize or support environmentally or ethically problematic sectors (e.g., intensive industrial animal farming or systems violating fundamental animal rights) are not permitted.

 

4. Additional Principles for AI, Data, and Societal Safety

4.1 Artificial Intelligence Ethics

 

If the project uses AI, the team commits to:

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● applying principles of transparency, accountability, and fairness,
● preventing discrimination, biased conclusions, and unfair profiling,
● complying with EU legislation including GDPR and the AI Act,
● not developing solutions with clearly manipulative, surveillance-based, or harmful potential.

 

4.2 Privacy and Data Protection

 

The project must:

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● process personal and sensitive data strictly in accordance with GDPR,
● use only the necessary scope of data,
● implement adequate security measures,
● transparently inform about the purpose of data processing.

 

4.3 Integrity of Societal Impact

 

Lifbee reserves the right to intervene in cases where a project:

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● knowingly or unknowingly creates risks for users, communities, or society,
● implements manipulative, addictive, or harmful mechanisms,
● may significantly undermine public trust in science,
● may be misused for unethical purposes.

 

Such interventions are applied only in exceptional cases and individually assessed.

 

5. Procedure in Case of Identified Violation

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1. Warning: An ethics guarantor or mentor notifies the team of the risk.

2. Corrective measures: The team receives recommendations and a reasonable deadline (e.g., 7–14 days).

3. Decision: If the project refuses corrective action or repeatedly violates the principles, it may be:
   ○ suspended,
   ○ restructured or dissolved,
   ○ excluded from the program.

 

This procedure is strictly bound to the Code to prevent arbitrariness.

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6. Final Provisions

 

By participating in the program, the team commits to complying with this Code. Lifbee reserves the right to update the Code to reflect new knowledge, legislative changes, and developments in science, technology, and societal impact.

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The current version of the Code was published on February 13, 2026.