Exclusion List

1. Animal abuse

With global population projected to grow to some 9.7 billion people in 2050, Planoven encourages innovations and advancements across the entire global food chain, however, Planoven does NOT provide capital to the food industry that can in any way be connected with animal abuse or endangered species, regardless of whether or not applicable laws and regulations allow for it (some exceptions exist, for example harvesting insects for protein).

2. Environmental abuse

Environmental abuse is an unparalleled challenge for our world. Planoven recognizes the need for transition and the importance of supporting innovation and new technologies toward all forms of lower environmental impact economies (including all forms of climate abuse).

2.1. “Dirty” Energy

Planoven supports the generation and distribution of clean energy and energy efficiency.

We do not support “dirty” energy production. Examples include traditional coal (no-one has yet figured out how to economically remove the toxic heavy metals released from burning coal), and nuclear energy (no one has figured out what to do with the extremely long-lasting toxic waste).

3. Corruption

Corruption comes in many forms. It is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the money lost and the sector where it occurs. Corruption exists when there is a lack of democratic transparency. It means hiding shady deals, get rich-schemes, weak enforcement of rules and other illicit practices that undermine good governments, ethical businesses, and society at large.

Corruption corrodes the fabric of society. It undermines people’s trust in political and economic systems, institutions and leaders. It can cost people their freedom, health, money — and sometimes their lives.

Planoven does NOT support corruption in any form. We also report and such requests to relevant federal agencies worldwide.

4. Counterfeit/unauthorized products and replicas

Planoven does not support the design, manufacture, or distribution of counterfeit items, replicas, or unauthorized copies and does not provide capital for these purposes.

5. Counterfeit/unauthorized products and replicas

Every day, billions of people leave trails of personal information simply by engaging online. These trails, which constitute our digital identities, have become essential to our participation in the modern world. But without safeguards and privacy protections, we are vulnerable to exclusion, surveillance and control.

Planoven is a strong advocate for data privacy and data security — which we believe fundamental to democracy.

Data abuse comes in many forms. Like corruption, it is the abuse of entrusted data and metadata for private gain. It is the underlying business model of Google, Facebook, Amazon and many other companies claiming to be technology-focused (where the technology primary focus is to manipulate human rights and freedoms instead of moving humanity efficiently forward). It abuses the democratic system through inappropriate manipulation of publicly elected officials (as was done by Facebook who directly supported Cambridge Analytica, even though it has since attempted to distance itself from managing that partnership with false claims that it was somehow taken advantage of).

Data abuse exists when there is a lack of responsibility for the privacy, security, and ownership of any data collected. It means hiding shady methods of data gathering, cross-referencing the data with other data to obtain pin-point precision of all user data — as appears to be the primary goal of Google via cross-referencing data and metadata from Google Search, Gmail, Android, Google Voice, Google Analytics, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Nest, Youtube, and more. Facebook cross- references data and metadata from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, the Facebook “Like” system, and the more than one thousand Facebook-owned sites — according to experts Facebook collects more than 52,000 data points on every Facebook user and more than 1,500 unique data points on non-Facebook users¹. Amazon too spends significant effort unfairly destroying competitors with data/metadata harvested through abusive data gathering practices. These are not singularly unique - this type of data abuse is common among tech companies.

Planoven believes these practices not only insidiously destroy democracy, but undermine good governments, ethical businesses, and society at large.

Planoven does NOT provide capital where we have any doubt whatsoever that a Project or Business is in any way engaged with data abuse. Planoven does NOT support data abuse in any form. We also report and such requests to relevant federal agencies worldwide.

5.1. General Data Collection Devices/Services

Planoven does not support the use of internet-connected listening and/or recording devices/products/services in places of business where the public, users, prospects, customers, and patients (in the case of healthcare- related facilities) are present. Internet-connected listening devices include (but are not limited to) Google Voice, Nest 2 devices, Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and other Internet-connected devices that collect data/metadata from unsuspecting people.

Planoven does NOT provide capital where we have any doubt whatsoever that a Projector Business is using any Internet-connected data/metadata listening/monitoring/recording devices.

6. Weapons/Defense industry

The Weapons/Defense industry has historically been known to contribute to great suffering. It has been used to subjugate local and foreign powers — many with democratically elected representatives — often supporting private interests that then further divide people and cultures and create economic barriers to democracy.

Planoven strives to balance the need for defense equipment with justice for all. As such, our desire to not harm, and advance the welfare of civilians takes precedence. Planoven does NOT provide capital for the manufacture, trading, buying or selling of weapons of any kind — or any components/parts thereof (including goods that can be used for either military or civilian purposes (“dual-use”) and extensively screens companies requesting funding in this industry. We also report all such requests to relevant federal agencies worldwide.

6.1. Local Police

Planoven recognizes and honors the complexity and importance of law enforcement within any duly and democratically governed jurisdiction. With few exceptions, where we do provide AGC for law enforcement, it is only provided in special cases and then only in jurisdictions where there are enforced (working) gun controls.

7. Deforestation / Biodiversity abuse

Forests cover ~30% of the Earth, but that coverage is steadily declining through urbanization, fires, logging, and leveling for the production of industrial meat and mono-culture agriculture products. There is a clear tension between the challenge of feeding the world and the desire and need to protect the planet’s remaining biodiversity.

The production of industrial meat and the growing, harvesting, milling, refining and processing of mono-culture commodity foods (e.g. coffee, tea, cocoa, corn, bananas, cotton, soy, and palm oil) requires large amounts of land, freshwater, and specific climatic conditions – meaning that these commodities are grown in various parts of the world, with varying levels of regulatory protection and enforcement.

Risks include soil erosion, land degradation, natural stock depletion and the loss of biodiversity/ endangered species, rampant disease in farmed animals requiring excessive amounts of antibiotics which then further modify and destroy the ecosystem. Other risks include harmful and malodorous air emissions, human rights abuses and disputes over land tenure and land use.

Planoven does NOT provide capital to Projects/Businesses involved in illegal deforestation and/or the removal of High Conservation Value (HCV) or primary forest and/or disregard for biodiversity.

8. Extractives industry abuse

8.1. Gas extraction

Natural gas is a relatively clean fossil fuel. However, there are serious concerns about the hydraulic fracturing of shale. Due to enhanced due-diligence requirements specific to groundwater ecosystem damage, Planoven does NOT provide capital for shale gas projects.

8.2. Oil exploration in wilderness areas

We recognize the ecological sensitivities of oil exploration in wilderness areas. Pipelines, shipping and drilling activities linked to the exploration of new wilderness areas may disturb wildlife. An oil spill could have serious consequences for vulnerable ecosystems (on and off-shore), and there is a general concern that additional oil from wilderness areas that must first be cleared could further impact the climate.

Planoven provides capital to the oil and gas industry, including equipment suppliers to the oil and gas industry, but generally does NOT provide capital for oil exploration/extraction that exploit wilderness areas.

8.3. Oil sands

Oil sands, also known as tar sands or bituminous sands, are composed of a tar-like substance that is processed into oil — an energy-intensive process known to produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, lower local water tables, contaminate water and impact land through its substantial surface mining activities. This is in addition to potential social impacts, such as on the indigenous people of the land.

Planoven does NOT provide capital for the mining, exploration, transportation, and processing of oil sands that exploit new wilderness areas, including new wilderness corridors that may be required for new pipelines.

9. Fisheries abuse

Fish is an important source of food and livelihood for many people around the world. With the global population projected to hit 9.7 billion people by 2050, it is important to make sure fishing is done sustainably so that it can still be done in the future.

Planoven does NOT provide capital to the fishing industry except in rare cases. When we do, we require strict adherence to rules and regulations regarding sustainable fishing, overfishing, and trading (with accurate documentation of catch, by-catch, chain-of-custody standards, and related practices used).

Planoven does NOT provide capital to any fishing practices that use non-discriminatory nets, oversize nets, shark fishing/shark finning, commercial whaling, activities that may negatively affect protected areas in any way, or where dynamite or poison is used related to catching marine species and shellfish in the wild.

10. Food speculation

Food speculation is when investors ‘bet’ on fluctuations in prices of land and food. This can lead to excessive food prices and serious social problems, as poorer groups with limited household budgets may not be able to afford to buy the food they need.

Planoven does NOT provide capital where food speculation is part of the supply chain. Planoven DOES, however, provide capital to projects that promote farm-to-table objectives — including providing capital to projects that can accelerate farm-to-table projects (for example local health- food stores that specialize in giving farmers more direct access to consumers — typically through the aggregation of farm-to-table providers.

11. Human rights abuse

The world faces major social challenges around human development and human rights. These issues require global efforts to secure a truly sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Human rights are universal. This means that every person around the world deserves to be treated with dignity and have their interests considered impartially and equally within the law. While governments must protect individuals against human rights abuses, businesses are increasingly recognizing their own moral, legal, and commercial responsibility. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights form the basis for what businesses should adhere to.

On the one hand, businesses and government can hinder human rights, as evidenced by reports around the world of unsafe working conditions, unfair/excessive capitalism (e.g., pay to low to live on), migrant worker exploitation, child abuse, sex abuse, racial abuse, gender abuse, hate crimes, religious abuses, bigotry, and violence through other prejudices not previously included here. On the other hand, good projects/businesses can help advance human rights by offering access to decent work, creating higher living standards, protecting children’s rights and responsible procurement of goods.

Planoven does NOT provide capital where we have any doubt whatsoever that a Project or Business is in any way engaged with human rights abuse. Planoven does NOT support human rights abuse in any form. We also report and such requests to relevant federal agencies worldwide.

12. Illegal substances and products

Planoven does NOT provide capital where we have any doubt whatsoever that a Project or Business is in any way engaged with illegal substances, services, or products. We also report and such requests to relevant federal agencies worldwide.

13. Maritime sector abuse

The shipping trade plays an important part in the global economy, as the transport of goods contributes to our prosperity and welfare. Planoven provides capital to the shipping sector to accelerate the adoption of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible business practices. For example, all Partner-Client are expected to go above and beyond industry best practices when transporting hazardous materials.

Further Planoven provides capital for the scrapping of vessels only where the vessel is recycled in a yard that conducts its recycling business in a provably environmentally and socially responsible manner.

14. Palm oil

Palm oil is used as an ingredient in a range of products, from products like toothpaste and soap to a wide array of food items. The growing demand for palm oil across global supply chains raises questions about the environmental and social sustainability of palm oil plantations. Some of the more common concerns include potential deforestation, loss of biodiversity and wildlife, unethical labour practices and the displacement of local communities. These are all serious concerns.

On the other hand, it's generally accepted that alternative oil crops need seven to nine times more land. As a result, replacing oil palms with another type of oil crop would increase the demand for agriculture land. In a statement, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (“IUCN”) warns that “Saying “no” to palm would likely displace, not halt biodiversity loss”. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) appears to agree.

Our approach to providing capital for this industry is on a case-by-case basis — and under an open and collaborative methodology.

15. Plastic abuse

The world produces 1900% more plastic per year than it did 50 years ago, with packaging being the biggest component. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 78 million tonnes of plastic packaging material is produced every year, of which 40% goes straight to landfill, 32% leaks into the environment, 14% is incinerated and only 14% is collected for further processing like recycling. Plastic waste is also often found in waterways and on beaches. That’s why the European Parliament adopted new rules on single-use plastics in March 2019, to reduce marine litter.

Further, plastic recycling has its own set of problems — plastic is rarely recyclable into the same class of plastic as the source plastic. This means that single-use plastics such as water bottles cannot be recycled into the same quality of water bottles, but must be recycled into a lower grade product which likely won’t be acceptable for the industry that required it in the first place. Although many organizations hope new technologies we don’t yet have will make recycling more common, economical, and effective, it also means that realistically many plastics are not economically recyclable or even desirable and will end up in our oceans and landfills no matter what hope to do otherwise.

Planoven does NOT provide capital for projects that rely on single-use plastics.

We do however provide capital to facilitate plastic abuse solutions and innovations, including research and development into sustainable alternatives. We believe that all parties in the chain of supply and demand should take responsibility to rethink the way we currently produce and use plastics.

16. Resource scarcity abuse (circular economy)

The amount of resources available to manufacture products is not unlimited, so we must shift from ‘linear’ (take, make, dispose of) to ‘circular’ methodologies (reduce, reuse, recycle).

Planoven does NOT provide capital to projects where there is clear resource scarcity abuse.

17. Tobacco

Tobacco has a long history of ever-growing health concerns. Costs related to tobacco-related sicknesses are tremendous, and millions of people die each year. As a funder with sustainable growth at the core of our mission, we recognize our duty to contribute to society’s wellbeing.

Planoven does not support the tobacco industry. This includes growing, trading, processing, and manufacturing of tobacco products.