Donation principles of Planted HQ gGmbH

Preliminary remark

PLANTED HQ gGmbH offers business customers the opportunity to make a direct contribution to reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions by paying for this service and private customers by making donations. To this end, PLANTED HQ gGmbH invests in suitable climate protection projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The emission reductions achieved are verified and certified by certification bodies such as the "Gold Standard" and receive official certificates (such as the Certified Emission Reductions, CER) in accordance with Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol (CDM, Clean Development Mechanism). In addition, PLANTED HQ gGmbH uses a further portion of the income or donations for the reforestation of trees (either directly via its own projects or indirectly via third-party partners such as the forestry offices of the federal states), which are not directly counted towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but are to be regarded as additional. PLANTED HQ gGmbH cannot guarantee that the planted trees will absorb a certain amount of CO₂ over the next century due to environmental influences, fires, weather conditions or similar. Nevertheless, PLANTED HQ gGmbH does its best to ensure the survival of the trees, so that the reforestation measures can be seen as an additional means of reducing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Direct and clear CO₂ offsetting for business or private customers takes place via verifiable and certified CO₂ certificates.  

A. APPLICATION FRAMEWORK

1. general

1.1 PLANTED HQ gGmbH (hereinafter also referred to as PLANTED) is particularly active in the following areas:

a) Climate protection projects for CO₂ compensation
b) Reforestation of trees
c) Promotion of international understanding

1.2 Insofar as PLANTED HQ gGmbH provides services for business customers, these services as well as the conditions specifically applicable thereto shall be agreed individually with the customer (the service contract). The provisions in Section B of these GTC shall apply in particular.

1.3 Projects or activities in the areas of climate protection and climate education that are financed by donations are regulated in an agreement on the use of the donation (the donation agreement). The provisions in section C of these GTC apply in particular.

1.4 These GTC apply to all services provided by PLANTED HQ gGmbH and to all donations. All services, including ancillary services provided by PLANTED, are provided exclusively on the basis of these GTC. By concluding the service contract or donation agreement, the customer agrees to PLANTED's GTC.

1.5 The service contract or the donation agreement shall take precedence over these GTC in the event of deviations, insofar as the content can be clearly documented (in particular, in writing). The provisions of these GTC shall apply in each case in addition to the service contract or the donation agreement. Deviating terms and conditions of the customer or the donor shall not be recognised unless PLANTED expressly agrees to their validity in writing.

B. SERVICE CONTRACT

2. services

2.1 Services provided by PLANTED under the Service Agreement shall be compensated in accordance with the net terms agreed therein. These services are subject to VAT accordingly, unless a specific service is exempt from VAT (such as, in particular, educational measures and service exports). The net price of all services subject to VAT shall be increased accordingly by the applicable VAT rate. We reserve the right to make changes and adjustments to VAT legislation.

2.2 Subject to deviating provisions in the service contract, invoices shall be due for payment 30 calendar days after the invoice is issued. Payment shall be made to the account specified in the invoice without deduction in the currency shown. Any bank charges associated with the payment shall be borne by the Client and shall not reduce the total amount invoiced.

3. payments  

3.1 If necessary, the Customer shall grant PLANTED access to the Customer-specific data or knowledge carriers relevant for the provision of the Service.

3.2 The Customer warrants to PLANTED the correctness and completeness of the transmitted data. PLANTED shall not assume any liability for consequential damages of the Customer if the service provided by PLANTED is based on incorrect, erroneous or incomplete data of the Customer.    

3.3 PLANTED shall use and treat the data and information received from the Customer confidentially in accordance with the provisions of these GTC (see Section 14) or in accordance with the data protection information published on the websites operated. However, PLANTED is entitled to use data in processed or derived form, which may be based on the Customer's data, for statistical or scientific purposes. In the event of publication in this respect, PLANTED shall anonymise the Customer's name or obtain the Customer's express prior consent to the publication of the Customer's name.

4. reports

4.1 Reports or scientific analyses etc. prepared by PLANTED pursuant to the Service Agreement may only be used by the Customer for the purposes specified in the Service Agreement. If necessary, the Customer shall grant PLANTED access to the Customer-specific data or knowledge carriers relevant for the provision of the Service.

4.2 All copyrights relating to the reports prepared by PLANTED shall remain with PLANTED unless a transfer of the copyrights to the Customer has been expressly agreed in the service contract.

C. DONATION AGREEMENT

5. donations

5.1 General donations, patronage contributions and CO₂ compensation contributions from private individuals or from companies, provided they are earmarked for the realisation of climate protection projects as well as for the implementation of climate education projects, are considered donations (the Donations).

5.2 PLANTED is recognised as a non-profit organisation in Germany and can issue customers with a donation receipt for donations which is accepted by the relevant German tax authorities. Tax legislation is subject to change.

5.3 Subject to deviating provisions in the donation agreement, invoices shall be due for payment 30 calendar days after the invoice is issued. Payment shall be made to the account specified in the invoice without deduction in the currency shown.

6. CO₂ compensation

6.1 PLANTED makes it possible to compensate for the realisation of PLANTED climate protection projects through donations (CO₂ compensation or CO₂ compensation contribution). PLANTED climate protection projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing energy sources that have a negative impact on the climate with clean ones. In particular, projects in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency and reforestation are supported.

6.2 PLANTED undertakes to implement climate protection projects to achieve emission reductions with the CO₂ compensation contributions received from companies and private individuals. A quota of at least 75% of the contributions will be allocated to an earmarked climate protection fund and used for the projects from this fund.

6.3 Unless otherwise stipulated in donation agreements with companies, PLANTED undertakes to ensure that in projects based on renewable energy and energy efficiency:

a) the associated tonnage of emission reductions is generated in the projects no later than two years after payment of the offset contribution, and

b) by no later than three years after payment of the offset contribution, the corresponding emission reduction certificates have been retired in an internationally recognised emissions trading registry.

6.4 In the event of an unforeseen delay or under-generation of emission reductions in the selected PLANTED climate protection projects, PLANTED guarantees the realisation of the CO₂ compensation, unless otherwise agreed with the customer:

a) through emission reduction certificates in the selected climate protection project from a later verification period (so-called vintage), or

b) through emission reduction certificates from another climate protection project of the same quality standard and vintage, or

c) through emission reduction certificates from another climate protection project of the same quality standard with subsequent vintage.

6.5 PLANTED calculates the tonnages for CO₂ compensation in accordance with the latest information available. The calculation bases are subject to regular control and revision, however PLANTED does not assume any liability for their up-to-dateness or correctness.

6.6 PLANTED calculates the CO₂-compensation exclusively on the basis of the data provided by the Donor and does not perform any further CO₂-compensation. In particular, PLANTED is not responsible for incorrect, erroneous or incomplete data provided by the Donor or for calculation errors resulting from incorrect, erroneous or incomplete data provided by the Donor.

D. GENERAL PROVISIONS

7. termination of contracts

7.1 Subject to deviating provisions in the Service Agreement or the Donation Agreement, both the Customer and PLANTED may terminate the Service Agreement or the Donation Agreement properly and without giving reasons at any time to the end of the month.

7.2 For good cause, a service contract or donation agreement may be terminated at any time without notice and with immediate effect. An important reason exists in particular if the continuation of the contractual relationship is not reasonable under consideration of the interests of both parties, for example if:

a) the customer has not fulfilled his payment obligations after two reminders,

b) a contracting party has become insolvent or insolvency proceedings have been instituted against its assets or the insolvency proceedings have been dismissed for lack of assets, or

c) statements or actions of the Customer are contrary to PLANTED's values and objectives or the Customer's conduct may cause reputational damage to PLANTED.

7.3.The termination does not require any special written form and can be declared by e-mail to hi@planted.green.  

8. liability

8.1 Subject to a deviating provision in the service contract or in the donation agreement, PLANTED shall be liable exclusively for damages which arise as a direct consequence of the breach of important contractual obligations by PLANTED and which PLANTED (or its representatives or vicarious agents) have caused intentionally or through gross negligence.

8.2 Any further liability of PLANTED is excluded. In particular, PLANTED Germany shall not be liable for damage caused by a reason beyond PLANTED's control, such as damage caused by fire, severe weather, natural disasters, failure of technical infrastructure through no fault of PLANTED such as server, communication facilities, internet or power supply, war or terrorism, nuclear accident, political unrest, confiscation, general shortage of raw materials, restriction of energy consumption, strike and the like. PLANTED shall also not be liable if a partner or supplier is affected by such circumstances and PLANTED is unable to fulfil its contractual obligations as a result.

8.3 Except as otherwise provided in any agreement entered into with any company

9. information

Every year, PLANTED publishes an annual report providing comprehensive information on the funds received, the use of the funds and the climate protection and climate education projects realised as a result. The respective annual reports are available on the website www.planted.green. PLANTED gives no guarantee that information made available by PLANTED is free of errors or complies with foreign law.

10. websites

10.1 Information and data on the websites are for information purposes only, without the Customer being entitled to rely on the up-to-dateness, accuracy or completeness of the information. PLANTED shall not be liable for temporary lack of accessibility of the websites or specific applications and functionalities of the websites.

10.2 PLANTED is solely responsible for the content of the websites that it creates, publishes and distributes itself. PLANTED shall not be liable for the accuracy and legality of information and statements by third parties, even if such information is made available to users on a website or social media platform operated by PLANTED.

10.3 Unlawful or defamatory statements on the websites are not permitted and will be deleted immediately by PLANTED. PLANTED reserves the right to take legal action against offending users.

11. data protection

11.1 As a matter of principle, PLANTED shall treat all personal data of customers or users in accordance with the applicable Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) or the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO).

11.2 All information relating to the handling of customer data is regulated in the "Data Protection Information", the current version of which is published on the websites operated by PLANTED.

15. amendments to the contract

15.1 All ancillary agreements, supplements and amendments to the service contracts and donation agreements must be in writing in order to be valid.

15.2 PLANTED is entitled to amend the GTC at any time. The current version shall be published on the homepage and/or sent to the Customer. Subsequent amendments to the GTC shall become part of the contract if the Customer does not object in writing within 30 days of the GTC being published or sent.

16 Effectiveness/ Severability Clause

Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be invalid, this shall not affect the binding nature of the remaining provisions and the contracts concluded on the basis thereof. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes as close as possible to its meaning and purpose.

17 Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

Place of performance and jurisdiction is Cologne. German law shall apply.

Status: December 2020