A Corporate Code of Conduct

A Corporate Code of Conduct Foundational

Principles Harm to life on Earth is a crime.

Harm includes but is not limited to:

• Damage to human health (acute or chronic)

• Environmental degradation (soil depletion, water contamination, air pollution, biodiversity loss)

• Economic harm (destruction of livelihoods, exploitation of communities)

• Cultural harm (loss of food sovereignty, erosion of traditional practices)

• Future harm (resource depletion, creation of long-term liabilities for future generations)

• Stagnation when better alternatives become available (no resting on laurels nor sitting in investments)

• Depiction of people as objects

New products, technologies, or substances must demonstrate long-term safety through independent research before market approval. The burden of proof rests with the company, not the public.

I. Product Responsibility

A business will be held accountable for the quality of its products and services from start to finish, as well as for the impact that these products and services have on others.

Cradle-to-Grave Accountability

A company is responsible for its product from beginning of life to end of life.

• Refurbish, repurpose, or recycle

• The same goes for packaging

• Right to repair: Companies must provide parts, tools, and instructions Replace, it Repair it, refurbish it or recycle it.

• No planned obsolescence

• Open-source option required for abandoned products

Penalties for Harm

• Execution or the death of the company is an acceptable solution for egregious harm

• If people were victims, assets will be distributed to them

• Otherwise, assets go to the national debt or toward buying back United States land sold to foreign investors without the consent of the people

• Profits from harmful practices held in escrow for restoration and victim compensation

Transparency Requirements

All safety studies, clinical trials, and research (company-funded or independent) must be publicly accessible.

• Suppression of research or data is a criminal offense

• Patent restrictions cannot be used to prevent independent safety research

• Companies must disclose all known risks and uncertainties

II. Customer Relations

A company is responsible for the happiness and safety of its customers.

Product Quality

• A faulty product will be replaced or repaired at the expense of the company

• Products must meet expected longevity standards for their category

Customer Service

• Customers should have a variety of customer service options available: written, phone calls, email, as suits their comfort level

• Customer feedback will be valued and incorporated

• Response time standards enforced

Fair Billing Practices

No billing for services before services are rendered.

• Payment taken only after service delivery or on a clear, agreed-upon schedule for ongoing services

• Deposits allowed only with full refund policy if service not delivered

• No charging for “estimated” work that exceeds actual work without customer approval

• Clear itemization of all charges

• No hidden fees or surprise charges after the fact Exceptions requiring transparency:

• Subscription services: Must clearly state when charges occur, easy cancellation, prorated refunds

• Deposits for custom work: Amount must be reasonable, refundable if work not started, applied to final bill

• Advance purchase discounts: Must be clearly optional, not default, with full refund if service not delivered

Violations include:

• Charging before month/service period begins

• Insurance premiums without prorated refunds for early cancellation

• “Free trial” that auto-converts to paid without explicit opt-in

• Utility estimates that wildly exceed actual usage without adjustment

• Medical billing for appointments before they occur

• Any service that takes payment then makes service nearly impossible to access

Other Fair Practices:

• No Auto Renewals of any kind (subscriptions, contracts, approvals, permits, patents)

• Fees for lateness should be incremental

• At least one payment a year should be allowed to be skipped for financial hardship

• No predatory lending or hidden fees

• Clear, readable contracts (no fine print designed to deceive)

III. Commerce and Communication Integrity In business and trade, ethical clarity is a cornerstone of trust. All entities operating under this Code shall observe the following consumer protections:

Transparent Transactions

• All terms, prices, and renewal conditions must be stated in plain language before any transaction

• Deceptive or manipulative interface design (including hidden fees, pre-checked boxes, or obscured cancellation options) is expressly prohibited Free-Trial Integrity Clause No entity shall require private financial information for access to a free trial.

• Free means free

• Payment methods shall only be requested once a user consents to continue beyond the free period

• Trials must end automatically unless the individual chooses to continue

• The purpose of trial access is education, not entrapment

• Companies violating this standard compromise public trust and are subject to immediate review by an independent consumer board Communication Ethics

• Private correspondence shall never be monitored, sold, or mined for behavioral prediction

• Informed consent is mandatory for all data collection

• Respect for individual privacy and autonomy is a matter of law and of conscience

IV. Corporate Grading System Products, services, and companies will be graded. The final grade will be decided based on scores in each area:

A. Environmental Impact

• Carbon footprint

• Soil health impact

• Water use and contamination

• Biodiversity effects

• Waste generation and management

B. Worker Welfare and Location

• Distance between the salary of the highest paid person and the lowest paid person (maximum ratio enforced)

• Percentage of income needed for a good life in their location (living wage standard)

• Worker health outcomes tracked (company liable for occupational harm)

• Workers’ right to refuse dangerous work without penalty

• Geographic justice: Cannot exploit cheap labor abroad to avoid domestic standards

C. Profit Distribution

• How much profit and where it goes

• Percentage to workers, community investment, research, shareholder returns

• Fines for excess profit that comes from externalized costs

• Executive compensation tied to lowest worker wage and long-term company/community health D. Product Longevity

• Product years of life vs. potential expectancy

• Durability and repairability standards

• Comparison to best-in-class alternatives E. Quality of Product

• Performance standards

• Safety record

• Defect rates

F. Customer Approval

• Satisfaction ratings

• Complaint resolution rates

• Transparency in gathering and reporting feedback

G. Independent Verification

• Third-party testing required (not self-reporting)

• Conflicts of interest disclosed

• Regular audits by independent agencies

H. Reversibility

• Can damage be undone?

• If harm is irreversible, higher bar for approval required

• Restoration plans and funding in place before approval

I. Necessity and Alternatives

• Is this product/service necessary or just profitable?

• Are safer alternatives available?

• Innovation must improve life without creating new harms

J. Tax Fairness

• Effective tax rate paid (not just nominal rate)

• Use of tax havens and offshore schemes

• Ratio of executive compensation to taxes paid

• Subsidies received vs. taxes paid

• Companies that pay fair taxes get higher grades and preferential government contracts (one deal at a time only, with product quality being the main deciding factor.)

Penalties

• Fines for: excess profit from externalized costs, privacy invasion, deceptive practices, safety violations

• Downgraded companies face: increased oversight, reduced market access, mandatory improvements

• Failing grades result in: suspension of operations until standards met, or company dissolution

V. Business Structure Goals A co-op business structure should be the ultimate goal while allowing for rewards for better workmanship.

• Worker ownership aligns incentives (workers won’t poison their own communities)

• Profit-sharing models incentivize quality and sustainability

• Democratic decision-making for major company directions

• Transition support provided for existing companies moving toward co-op models

VI. Privacy No privacy invasion.

• Customer data minimally collected, transparently used, securely stored

• No selling of personal information

• Opt-in only (never opt-out) for data collection beyond essential services

• Right to deletion of all personal data

• Violations result in massive fines and criminal charges for executives

VII. Regulatory Integrity Preventing Regulatory Capture

• Individuals cannot move between regulatory positions and industries they regulated (or vice versa) for a minimum of 10 years

• Violations void all approvals granted during their tenure

• If an agency becomes captured, leadership faces criminal charges

• No corporate lobbying of any kind

• No industry-funded “educational” campaigns to legislators Approval and Renewal

• Chemical and product approvals must be re-justified every 5-10 years with new safety data

• Patents cannot be evergreened through minor modifications

• Regulatory permits cannot be automatically renewed

• Burden of proof for continued safety rests with the company Whistleblower Protection

• Strong protections and substantial rewards for whistleblowers

• Anonymous reporting mechanisms

• Retaliation against whistleblowers treated as criminal offense

VIII. Agricultural Specific Provisions Organic, traditional, regenerative agriculture must become standard practice for the health of people and planet.

Corporate Accountability for Agricultural Harm

• Corporations responsible for soil depletion, biodiversity loss, or farmer dependency must fund transition to regenerative practices

• Profits from harmful practices held in escrow for soil restoration

• Compensation owed for past harm (e.g., Monsanto’s experiments and damages)

Seed and Genetic Material Patents on seeds/genetics become void if:

• Cross-contamination occurs

• Farmers lose sovereignty

• Environmental harm is demonstrated

• Company engages in predatory practices

Support for Sustainable Agriculture

• Funding for family farms and regenerative agriculture research

• Transition assistance from industrial to regenerative methods

• Protection of traditional seed varieties and farming knowledge

IX. Enforcement Mechanisms Who Enforces

• Independent agency with citizen oversight board

• Rotating membership to prevent capture

• Funded adequately and protected from political interference

What Triggers Investigation

• Citizen complaints (low threshold for investigation)

• Automatic regular audits based on risk category

• Whistleblower reports

• Pattern of customer complaints

• Changes in worker health outcomes

• Environmental monitoring data Legal Process

• Fast-track legal process for clear violations (cannot tie up in courts for decades)

• Discovery cannot be prevented by proprietary claims

• Burden of proof on company to demonstrate safety and compliance

• Appeals allowed but with strict timelines

• Frivolous corporate appeals penalized

International Coordination

• Companies cannot flee to weak jurisdictions to avoid accountability

• Products made abroad for US market must meet US standards

• Trade agreements incorporate these standards

• International enforcement cooperation

X. Transition Period Phased Implementation

• Year 1-2: Assessment and grading of all existing companies

• Year 3-5: Compliance requirements phased in by category

• Support provided for companies genuinely transitioning

• No grandfather clauses for harmful practices

• Regular review and strengthening of standards as better practices emerge

Support During Transition

• Technical assistance for companies moving to sustainable practices

• Financing for necessary changes

• Worker retraining programs

• Community transition support for areas dependent on harmful industries

Final Principle “Innovation that harms is not progress. True innovation improves life without creating new harms. Companies that cannot innovate safely should not exist.”

This code recognizes that the purpose of commerce is to serve life, not the reverse. Profit extracted through harm is theft from the commons and from future generations. We establish these standards to ensure that business activity enhances rather than degrades the systems that support all life on Earth. Systems are moral mirrors. What they reward, they create. Therefore, every policy, practice, and exchange must honor fairness, compassion, and accountability.