The Exclusion List defines what activities should under no circumstances be financed:

1.  Forced labor[1] or child labor[2].
2.  Activities or materials deemed illegal under host country laws or regulations or international conventions and agreements, or subject to international phase-outs or bans, such as:
   1. ozone depleting substances, PCB’s (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) and other specific, hazardous pharmaceuticals, pesticides/herbicides, or chemicals
   2. wildlife or products regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species or Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), or
   3. unsustainable fishing methods (e.g., blast fishing and drift net fishing in the marine environment using nets in excess of 2.5 km in length)
   4. conversion or degradation of Critical Forest Areas[3] or forest-related Critical Natural Habitats
3.  Any impact on natural World Heritage Sites https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ unless it can be demonstrated through an environmental assessment that the project (i) will not result in the degradation of the protected area and (ii) will produce positive environmental and social benefits.
4.  Any impact on areas on the United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas https://www.protectedplanet.net/ unless it can be demonstrated through an environmental assessment that the project (i) will not result in the degradation of the protected area and (ii) will produce positive environmental and social benefits.
5.  Extraction or infrastructure in or impacting: protected area Categories I, II, III, and IV (Strict Nature Reserve/Wilderness Areas and National Parks, Natural Monuments and Habitat/ Species Management Areas), as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Projects in IUCN Categories V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) and VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) must be consistent with IUCN management objectives https://www.protectedplanet.net/ unless it can be demonstrated through an environmental assessment (i) there is no degradation of the protected area and (ii) there are positive environmental and social benefits.
6.  Cross-border trade in waste and waste products, unless compliant with the Basel Convention and the underlying regulations.
7.  Destruction[4] of High Conservation Value areas[5].
8.  Production of or trade in radioactive materials[6] and unbonded asbestos fibers.
9.  Projects or companies that perform forced or involuntary abortions as a method of family planning; coerce any person to practice abortions; pay for the performance of or perform involuntary sterilizations as a method of family planning; coerce or provide any financial incentive to any person to undergo sterilizations; or pay for or perform any biomedical research which relates in whole or in part, to methods of, or in the performance of, abortions or involuntary sterilization as a means of family planning.
10.   In the event that any of the following products form a substantial part of a project’s primary financed business activities[7]:
    1. Alcoholic Beverages (excluding beer and wine);
    2. Tobacco;
    3. Weapons and munitions;
    4. Gambling, casinos, and equivalent enterprises;
    5. Media communications of an adult or political nature;
    6. Pornography and/or prostitution;
    7. Racist and/or anti-democratic media;
11.  Coal prospection, exploration, mining, or processing.
12.   Oil exploration or production.
13.   Standalone fossil gas exploration and/or production[8].
14.   Transport and related infrastructure primarily[9] used for coal for power generation.
15.   Crude Oil Pipelines.
16.   Oil Refineries.
17.   Construction of new or refurbishment of any existing coal-fired power plant (including dual).
18.   Construction[10] of new or refurbishment of any existing HFO-only or diesel-only power plant producing energy for the public grid and leading to an increase of absolute CO2 emissions[11].
19.   Construction of dams that significantly and irreversibly:
    1. – disrupt natural ecosystems upstream or downstream of the dam;
    2. – or alter natural hydrology;
    3. – or inundate large land areas;
    4. – or impact biodiversity;
    5. – or displace large numbers of inhabitants (5,000 persons or more);
    6. – or impact local inhabitants’ ability to earn a livelihood.
20.    Projects or companies in which host country governments have majority ownership or effective management control (except for investments in privatizing companies made in accordance with the Finance Agreement).
21.   Projects or companies that provide significant, direct support to a government that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.
22.    Companies found by a court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction engaging in unlawful monopolistic practices.
23.    Companies which are treated as inverted domestic corporations or more than fifty percent (50%) owned directly by an Inverted Domestic Corporation, or through another entity that is more than fifty percent (50%) owned by an Inverted Domestic Corporation.
24.    Any business with planned expansion of captive coal used for power and/or heat generation[12].
25.    Other activities that may be considered not appropriate or imprudent to the company Board of Directors and Senior Management Team.

 

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[1] Forced labor means all work or service, not voluntarily performed, that is extracted from an individual under threat of force or penalty as defined by ILO conventions.

[2] Persons may only be employed if they are at least 14 years old, as defined in the ILO Fundamental Human Rights Conventions (Minimum Age Convention C138, Art. 2), unless local legislation specifies compulsory school attendance or the minimum age for working. In such cases the higher age shall apply.

[3] A type of natural forest that qualifies as Critical Natural Habitat. Critical Forest Areas include, but are not limited to, primary Forests and old growth Forests that may serve as critical carbon sinks.

[4] Destruction means the (1) elimination or severe diminution of the integrity of an area caused by a major, long-term change in land or water use or (2) modification of a habitat in such a way that the area’s ability to maintain its role is lost.

[5] High Conservation Value (HCV) areas are defined as natural habitats where these values are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance (See https://hcvnetwork.org/).

[6] This does not apply to the purchase of medical equipment, quality control (measurement) equipment or any other equipment where the radioactive source is understood to be trivial and/or adequately shielded.

[7] “Substantial” means more than 10% of consolidated balance sheets or earnings.

[8] Gas extraction from limnically active lakes is excepted from this exclusion.

[9] ”Primarily” means more than 50% of the infrastructure’s handled tonnage.

[10] For indirect equity through investment funds, investments (up to a maximum of 20% of the fund) in new or existing HFO-only or diesel-only power plants are allowed in countries that face challenges in terms of access to energy and under the condition that there is not economically and technically viable gas or renewable energy alternative.

[11] I.e., where energy efficiency measures do not compensate any capacity or load factor increase.

[12] This does not apply to coal used to initiate chemical reactions (e.g., metallurgical coal mixed with iron ore to produce iron and steel) or as an ingredient mixed with other materials, given the lack of feasible and commercially viable alternatives.