Change log for these Terms of Use
CARBON STORE BY COMPENSATE – TERMS OF USE FOR CONSUMERS
In force from September 8, 2022
Updated 15 December 2022 (see change log above)
WELCOME TO COMPENSATE!
This document contains our Terms of Use, which rule pretty much everything that you do in the Carbon Store. You’re our valued customer, and we want you to be confident that we’re good and honest people that wish to treat you with respect.
- So, just in case you’re not a law geek, we’re giving you the gist of everything in short terms at the beginning of each section if the text in that section is lengthy or complex.
But don’t forget to read the more specific terms that come up next, too, since those are the actual terms that apply to you and us. If the wordings are contradictory or otherwise would lead to differing interpretations, the text written out in numbered paragraphs will always take precedence. We apologize for the length of the text, but we’re trying our best to be as clear and concise as possible.
Any lawyers and non-consumers out there: Be sure to skip the short parts and always read and accept only the specific terms. (By the way, if you’re a business customer, you’re probably in the wrong place. Please check out our other Terms of Use that apply to you.)
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
First, let’s go over some of the words that have a certain meaning in these Terms of Use. You may use the list as a glossary, and you can always come back to it if something seems unclear in the later parts of the document.
“Carbon Credit”: A generic term used in the global carbon market to mean a tradeable certificate representing 1000 kilograms (1 metric ton) of CO2 removed or sequestered from the atmosphere or prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere.
“CO2e”: (carbon dioxide equivalent) an umbrella term used in the carbon market to mean carbon dioxide (CO2), and to mean any other greenhouse gasses that have a similar effect on the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, all of which are expressed together in an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.
“Compensate”, “we” or “us”: Compensate Operations Oy (business ID: 2993434-1, registered office in Helsinki, Finland).
”Compensate Credit”: a unit issued by Compensate to warrant and represent the removal or sequestration of a minimum of 1000 kilograms (1 metric ton) of CO2 from the atmosphere or the prevention of the emission of the same into the atmosphere, as calculated and amended from time to time by Compensate on the basis of a composition of Carbon Credits in the Project Portfolio, a Project Package or another array of Projects. The Compensate Credit may be divided up into mathematical fractions to Offset CO2e emissions not divisible by 1000.
The price of the Compensate Credit is determined in accordance with the true cost and expense of Offsetting or of taking another climate action in the carbon market to realize the intended effect on the atmosphere, as evaluated and facilitated by Compensate. The current price of the Compensate Credit (or fractions thereof) for an Offsetting Service is shown during the order process in the Platform.
“Customer" or “you”: the contracting partner of Compensate who accesses and uses the Platform in accordance with these Terms of Use.
“Customer Account”: the online account or mobile account that the Customer may sign up for to access and use the Service and Systems.
“Customer Content": any kind of communication, personal information and data, images, audio, video, text, computer code and other such material, including direct messages, which the Customer creates or possesses in the Platform.
“EU Directive on Consumer Rights”: Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (as amended from time to time).
“EU General Data Protection Regulation” or “GDPR”: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (as amended from time to time).
“Force Majeure”: any of the following causes, when such cause has been reasonably beyond the affected Party’s control: Act of God; war or other severe military operation; severe political unrest; terrorism or severe sabotage; national health or safety emergency; severe natural catastrophe; severe disruption in monetary or payments systems; or severe cyber attack.
“Mobile App(s)”: Our mobile app(s) that you can install and use on your Android, iOS or possibly other types of mobile device.
“Offsetting (CO2e emissions)”: The act of purchasing and retiring Carbon Credits with the effect of removing or sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or preventing the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere, so as to make good the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere that has taken place or will take place in the future.
“Offsetting Factor”: This is the multiplier that is applied to your Offsetting Service to determine the magnitude of your climate action. By default, your Offsetting Service comes with a 1.0x Offsetting Factor, which means you’re offsetting what you’re emitting. However, our Platform may let you opt for different factors as well, such as a 2.0x or 2.5x factor to take even bigger climate action. Conversely, you may be able to opt for smaller factors, such as a 0.5x factor, in case you do not feel like offsetting your carbon footprint fully.
“Offsetting Service”: a transaction initiated by the Customer choosing to Offset his/her CO2e emissions or to take another climate action. In that event a “Offsetting Service Order” is placed, which obliges Compensate to supply the climate effect intended by the Customer, and which obliges the Customer to pay to Compensate the payments in consideration as specified during the order process in the Platform.
“Offsetting Subscription”: an Offsetting Service that we provide to you on a recurring and automatically renewing basis. “Offsetting Subscription Fee” means the recurring fee payable for the subscription that will be charged to you automatically for every invoicing period (normally once every month).
“Overcompensation”: This is our policy that instead of just Offsetting your CO2e emissions once over, we’re letting you Offset a little bit more to make sure the positive climate impact that you want to achieve is actually realized. To do this, we’re in fact assigning more Carbon Credit units to your Offsetting Service than what is mathematically speaking necessary. The Overcompensation buffer serves to ensure that your carbon footprint will remain Offset even if something goes wrong with individual Projects (e.g. a forest fire destroys planted trees).
“Party”: either Compensate or the Customer depending on the context; both together as the “Parties”.
“Payment Method”: A payment card (such as credit or debit card or charge card), a mobile payment method (such as Apple Pay or Google Pay), or another payment method accepted by our payment processors to effect payments for our Services in the Platform. Any Payment Method must belong to you or be otherwise assigned to you so that you are permitted to use it to make payments.
“Platform”: the Carbon Store Platform made available by Compensate to access and use by others in accordance with these Terms of Use. The term includes but is not limited to the Services and Systems that we offer or otherwise make available via the Platform. The Platform may be offered as a web service, through a Mobile App or by way of any other online or software application.
“Project”: an initiative that carries out measures, which have the effect of removing or sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere or preventing the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. As a result of such measures, the Project creates Carbon Credits to represent every 1000 kilograms of CO2 so removed, sequestered or prevented. The “Project Portfolio” is a selection of Projects that Compensate offers or otherwise makes generally available for the Customer. “Project Package” is a tailored selection of Projects that Compensate and Customer agree upon separately in relation to a specific Service or that the Customer may opt for, upon availability, in connection with a specific Offsetting Service.
“Services”: one or several services that Compensate provides to the Customer by way of the Platform or a related service channel, with the intention to Offset CO2e emissions or to take other climate action.
“Systems”: every kind of automatic or manual information technology processes and services, software and applications, networking solutions, communications processes and platforms, as well as any other data and information that Compensate operates, maintains, owns, possesses or otherwise controls. The term also includes any and all websites, Mobile Apps, social media accounts and other user interfaces that Compensate publishes and maintains.
“Terms of Use”: The provisions contained in this document and our Privacy Policy (
ARTICLE 1. APPLYING THESE TERMS OF USE
Extent of Application
1.1 Your access to and use of the Platform are subject to these Terms of Use, which include our Privacy Policy (
1.2 We reserve the right to publish supplementary terms and conditions that apply to certain Services. If that happens, the applicable supplementary terms and conditions will be shown to you before you access or use any such Services. In that case, the supplementary terms and conditions will become a part of these Terms of Use and will apply to you and us as such.
Accepting the Terms of Use
1.3 You must accept the Terms of Use whenever you access or use any part of the Platform (including but not limited to accessing or using any Systems or Services, signing up for a Customer Account, or placing an Offsetting Service Order). Your acceptance will remain in force until you withdraw it or until the application of these Terms of Use terminates.
1.4 You must be at least 13 years old when accessing or using any part of the Platform and therefore accepting these Terms of Use. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, your legal guardian must read these Terms of Use and accept them on your behalf.
1.5 If you do not accept these Terms of Use, please do not access or use any part of the Platform. You can accept the Terms of Use by clicking a selection box or button that indicates your acceptance of the Terms of Use, or by continuing to access or use the Platform after these Terms of Use have been presented to you.
1.6 By downloading, installing, browsing, logging in to or otherwise accessing or using any part of the Platform you accept these Terms of Use. If you do not accept, you may not download, install, browse, log in to or otherwise access or use the Platform.
1.7 If you use any Services via a social media service, such as Facebook (Meta), Instagram or Twitter, you must comply with the social media service’s own terms and conditions in addition to these Terms of Use. We will not be liable for the use of such third-party services nor for their content, irrespective of whether we refer to them or make them available.
ARTICLE 2. USING OUR PLATFORM
Allowed and Prohibited Use
The gist of it:
- If you’re a consumer, you should only use the Carbon Store Platform for personal and non-business use.
- When using our Platform, you should do so with respect to these Terms of Use, the law and good manners.
- You should not (try to) access or use the Platform in a prohibited manner, for example to copy or steal our data, to break our Systems or to access or use our Platform for unlawful purposes. You also shouldn’t let children younger than 13 years access or use the Platform (otherwise you’re responsible for anything they do with it).
- You get the drift: Please enjoy our Platform in good faith. Thank you!
2.1 Under these Terms of Use, the Platform is only intended for personal and non-business access and use by consumers. Any non-consumers accessing and using the Platform must review and accept the Carbon Store Terms of Use for Businesses, published on our website.
2.2 You may only access or use our Platform in accordance with these Terms of Use, the applicable laws and good manners, and only for the purposes stated in these Terms of Use.
2.3 Unless otherwise stated in these Terms of Use, the Platform may not be accessed or used to:
2.3.1 bypass or attempt to bypass any of the features of the Platform related to controlling usage or preventing copying;
2.3.2 study, scan, or test any vulnerabilities in the Platform;
2.3.3 use any data mining, robots, or other corresponding data collection or data analysis methods;
2.3.4 use robots or scripts or other automated methods to access or use the Platform;
2.3.5 use, copy, sell, rent, transfer, license, or otherwise offer the Platform to third parties;
2.3.6 interfere in other Customers’ access or use of the Platform;
2.3.7 reverse engineer, decompile, open, or otherwise attempt to source code of the Platform
or ancillary technology in whole or in part;
2.3.8 create Customer Accounts for the Platform using false identities or another person’s identity;
2.3.9 access or use the Platform via any user interfaces other than those provided by Compensate;
2.3.10 access or use the Platform in violation of applicable legislation;
2.3.11 access or use the Platform in a way that violates the intellectual property rights, business secrets, or privacy of third parties;
2.3.12 access or use the Platform for unauthorized, inappropriate, or unethical purposes or activities;
2.3.13 access or use the Platform for transferring material that includes adware, malware, or spyware, software viruses, or any other computer code designed to disrupt, destroy, or restrict the functioning of computer software or hardware;
2.3.14 modify or cause modifications to files that are part of the Platform without Compensate's written consent;
2.3.15 take action that Compensate reasonably considers contradictory to the spirit or purpose of the Platform, or abuse Compensate's customer support services;
2.3.16 attempt to purchase or sell the Customer Account or provide or rent it to another party, create Customer Accounts on behalf of anyone other than the Customer him/herself, or enter untrue or outdated personal or contact details, or access or use the Platform if the Customer Account has previously been deleted by Compensate or if the Customer has previously been blocked from using a the Platform; and/or
2.3.17 access or use the Platform to advertise or convey any commercial advertisements to anybody, including chain letters, advertisements, or spam, or repeated or misleading messages.
2.4 You may not allow children less than 13 years old to access or use any part of the Platform. If you do, you accept full liability for the access or use, including any Offsetting Service Orders or other Service orders placed, any Offsetting Subscriptions started or any other purchases made by them through your or the child’s Customer Account or by using your or the child’s Payment Methods.
2.5 We reserve the right to determine which activities we consider to be in breach of these Terms of Use.
Customer Account
The gist of it:
- While some parts of the Platform can be enjoyed without a Customer Account, others require registration. When you sign up for an account, please make sure the information you enter is complete, correct and accurate. Also, please keep the information up to date.
- If you have registered a Customer Account, please keep your username and password safe and private as you’re responsible for the use of and any purchases made with your account. Let us know immediately if your username or password have been stolen or lost. Also, if your account is accessed or used illegally, please file a police report.
- If you wish to close your account, please contact us at
info@compensate.com .
2.6 Please note that you cannot use every aspect of our Platform without a Customer Account. For technical reasons, we may implement a requirement for all Customers to register at a minimum an anonymous Customer Account.
2.7 When you create a Customer Account, you must enter complete, correct and accurate information as requested during the sign-up process. We ask that you update your information as it changes.
2.8 Your username, password and are personal. Do not reveal your password to third parties or allow them to access or use your Customer Account. If you have reason to believe that the security of your Customer Account has been jeopardized (for example, the theft or loss of your login details), you must notify us immediately and change your login details right away.
2.9 You are responsible for the access to and use of your Customer Account, including any and all purchases, irrespective of whether you have authorized such use, except when the account has been accessed or used illegally without your fault or custodial, vicarious or similar responsibility and the illegal access or use was not, and ought not have been, known to you. If your Customer Account has been accessed or used illegally, you must file a criminal report with the police.
2.10 You can close your Customer Account at any time either through an account closure process in your Customer Account (if available), or by sending an email to
Responsibility for Customer Content and Privacy of Customer Content
The gist of it:
- Any Customer Content that you upload, send or transmit to, or share with us or other Customers should respect these Terms of Use, the law and others’ rights and interests. Make sure that you’re not uploading, sending, transmitting or sharing Customer Content that is illegal, incorrect, misleading or confidential, or that contains viruses or other harmful content.
- As we can’t actively monitor or pre-approve any Customer Content on our Platform, we cannot accept responsibility for any inappropriate content or behavior of others. If you have a dispute with another customer, please try to resolve that directly with them. We can’t act as a referee, and we can’t assume responsibility for any disputes between you. But if there’s a need to investigate any inappropriate or unlawful activity, we may need your help in doing that.
- Also, please remember that we’ll handle any Customer Content that you upload, send, transmit or share in our Platform as we have clarified in our Privacy Policy (see at the beginning of this document). You shouldn’t expect any of your Customer Content to be private, because we may have to take a look at it for various technical and legal reasons. If you need to for example communicate with someone in complete privacy, please use some other platform to do that.
2.11 By uploading, sending or transmitting to, or sharing with us or other Customers, or otherwise causing to be included in our Platform, any type of Customer Content you certify that the uploading, sending, transmitting or sharing as well as the Customer Content are:
2.11.1 free from errors, misleading information and confidential information;
2.11.2 lawful and consistent with the Terms of Use, and does not violate third-party rights, and that you have received permission to send or upload the information from the party whose personal data or intellectual property rights are concerned by the material; and
2.11.3 safe in the sense that it does not contain viruses, adware, spyware, worms, or other malicious code.
2.12 We are not liable for any Customer Content, nor responsible for monitoring any inappropriate content or behavior occurring in the Platform. We do not pre-approve Customer Content, nor are we able to monitor all Customer Content. You understand and accept that you are responsible for any unlawful, offensive or indecent Customer Content and may be liable for damages toward other customers or us for such content.
2.13 If you have a dispute with another customer, you release us (and our executives, managers, representatives, parent company, subsidiaries, associated companies, and employees) from all liability for claims, demands, and damages of all types resulting from or otherwise connected to such disputes. Compensate will be entitled but not obliged to participate in disputes concerning interaction in any way.
2.14 You agree to cooperate with us to investigate any suspected illegal, fraudulent, or inappropriate activity, including by allowing Compensate to access and review any part of your Customer Account protected by a password.
2.15 You understand and accept that all personal data connected with Customer Content will be processed as described in our
2.16 We or the service providers we use may, without notification, inspect, monitor, record or otherwise access your Customer Content and any other communications or interactions in the Platform for the purposes of performing, maintaining and improving the Platform, of protecting others, ourselves and the Platform, and of ensuring compliance with these Terms of Use and any applicable laws. This also applies to chat texts and messages and other types of written or verbal communication between you and other customers, whether or not they are intended to be private.
2.17 By accepting these Terms of Use, by uploading, sending, transmitting or sharing Customer Content, or by otherwise accessing or using the Platform, you are granting us your approval for inspecting, monitoring, recording or otherwise accessing your Customer Content and any other communications or interactions on any of our Platform. You understand and accept that you have no expectation of privacy in relation to any Customer Content or any other communications or interactions on any of our Platform, including chat texts and messages and other types of written or verbal communication between Customers, whether or not they are intended to be private. You also understand and accept that our Platform is not intended for private or confidential messaging or other types of communication or interaction.
Restrictions and Other Changes to Access or Use
The gist of it:
- If you (try to) access or use our Platform in a prohibited or disallowed manner, or if we have to do so to protect others, ourselves or our Systems, we may restrict or terminate your access to the Platform, close your Customer Account, delete any information or data in our Systems, or take other necessary steps.
- Also, if you haven’t accessed your Customer Account for at least 180 days, we may close it.
- Finally, we may have to make some changes to our Platform from time to time.
- In any of these events, you may lose access to your Customer Content or other data, or your Customer Content or other data may be deleted for good. If so, we cannot assume responsibility for any loss or damage to you. Please don’t use the Platform to store any material, data or information.
2.18 Compensate may but is not obliged to, without prejudice to Compensate's other legal remedies, without advance notice, temporarily or permanently, in part or in whole (i) restrict, revoke or terminate access to or use of any part of the Platform; (ii) restrict, revoke or terminate access to or use of, or block, combine, delete, modify, move, prohibit, replace or otherwise prevent the availability of any Customer Content or any other information or data included in any part of the Platform; and/or (iii) take any other technical or legal action to prevent access to or use of any part of the Platform, including any Customer Content or any other information or data contained therein, if Compensate has sufficient reason to believe that the Customer or another person has been, currently is or attempts to be:
2.18.1 accessing or using any part of the Platform in a manner that is prohibited or disallowed under these Terms of Use or any applicable laws;
2.18.2 causing technical or other security risks or actual or potential legal liabilities to Compensate or the Platform;
2.18.3 violating the rights and interests of us, other Customers or third parties; and/or
2.18.4 otherwise behaving in a way that is inconsistent with these Terms of Use or any applicable laws.
2.19 Compensate may, without notification, temporarily or permanently, and in part or in whole, suspend, close or delete any Customer Accounts, or parts thereof, that have not been accessed or used for at least 180 days.
2.20 You acknowledge and agree that the Platform is under constant development, so Compensate may alter or remove various components from it, including functionalities and features. Also, Compensate may stop providing or supporting any part of the Platform or parts thereof at any time. In any of such circumstances, Compensate may, without notification, temporarily or permanently, and in part or in whole, restrict, revoke or terminate your access to or use of the Platform, Systems, Customer Account, Customer Content or any other information or data with immediate effect at any time.
2.21 You acknowledge and agree that as a result of a system failure or another unforeseen event, the Platform (including but not limited to Customer Account, Customer Content or any other information or data) may be affected without notification, temporarily or permanently, and in part or in whole. In such circumstances, Compensate shall not be liable for their blockage, combining, deletion, modification, moving, prohibition, replacement or other similar effect.
2.22 In case of any restriction, revocation or termination of access to or use of any part of the Platform or System, or any suspension, closure or deletion of Customer Account, or any blocking, combining, deletion, modification, moving, prohibition, replacing or otherwise preventing the availability of any of Customer Content or any other information or data, Compensate shall not be obliged to pay reimbursements, restitution or compensation or make any other monetary payments to the Customer or any third party. Please do not use the Platform to store or back up any material, data or information.
ARTICLE 3. SERVICES
One-Time Services and Offsetting Subscriptions
The gist of it:
- Upon availability, you may purchase various Services in the Carbon Store Platform. These may be one-time Services (like an Offsetting Service to Offset emissions once for a specific purpose) or recurring Services (like an Offsetting Subscription to Offset your carbon footprint on an on-going basis). The descriptions of the available Services and their specific terms and conditions (if applicable) will be shown in the Platform.
3.1 In the Platform, you may purchase various Services as described therein upon availability. The Services may consist of one-time Services, such as an Offsetting Service, or recurring Services such as a Offsetting Subscription. The service descriptions of Services, as shown in the Platform, as well as any supplemental terms and conditions that apply to the Service in question, are to be considered a part of these Terms of Use.
3.2 We may offer certain one-time Services to Offset your carbon footprint for a specific product, service, event or another specific set of circumstances. Purchasing a one-time Service will not constitute a subscription to a recurring or renewing payable Service.
3.3 In order to Offset CO2e emissions arising from your consumption, living arrangements, hobbies, travel etc. on a recurring basis, you may start a Offsetting Subscription. A carbon footprint test may be required for the first time in the Platform to determine the amount of CO2e emissions to Offset. Unless provided otherwise, the invoicing period of the Offsetting Subscription is one (1) month, calculated from the start date of the Offsetting Subscription. The Offsetting Subscription will renew automatically every invoicing period until terminated or otherwise expired in accordance with these Terms of Use. You may make changes to the Offsetting Subscription at any time, as made available in the Platform, such changes to take effect at the end of the current invoicing period.
Environmental Claims Statement
The gist of it:
- We offer you Climate Services, which have the purpose of removing CO2 in the atmosphere or avoiding the emission of CO2e into it. Because of that, laws in some jurisdictions state that we have to provide you with scientific or other plausible proof that the Projects that we have in our offering, do just that.
- The first thing to know is that the science behind carbon offsetting is clear, and numerous studies have been conducted to determine which kinds of climate measures lead to which results in the atmosphere. Scientists agree that carbon offsetting works as intended. We also exercise high caution in selecting Projects in our portfolios. We currently only accept around 10 % of internationally certified Projects into our offering. Our experts work tirelessly to evaluate all Projects before adding them on, using very strict criteria. We do this to make sure that every Project in our portfolio will be devoid of any doubt as to their effectiveness.
- Any Project in our offering passes current scientific requirements for a verifiable and reliable climate impacting measure with flying colors. On top of that, our rather unique portfolio approach and built-in Overcompensation policy are aimed at ensuring that no matter what, every Compensate Credit sold by us will take 1000 kilograms (1 metric ton) of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
3.4 We offer you Climate Services, which have as their object the removal or sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere, or the prevention of the emission of CO2e into the atmosphere. As such, our Climate Services are intended to cause certain positive environmental effects, the realization of which in many jurisdictions require scientific or other plausible proof.
3.5 Carbon offsetting is an activity that has been in use for several decades, both as an voluntary endeavor to limit negative climate effects from CO2e emissions as well as a legally mandated obligation for big manufacturing companies and other major polluters. The positive impacts of carbon offsetting have been studied in depth over the years, and there exists consensus that various climate impacting measures, such as planting trees or reducing deforestation, do in fact have the effect of removing or sequestering carbon dioxide in, or avoiding carbon dioxide emissions into, the atmosphere. To attest to the verifiability and reliability of certain measures, there have been developed a number of international standards to assess and certify such measures. For example, the Gold Standard and Verra are globally renowned certification bodies that only allow such Projects to bear their seal that satisfy the scientifically determined requirements set by the organizations.
3.6 Our Climate Services that are intended to cause positive environmental effects are backed by ample scientific proof. For years now, we’ve gone through a mountain of scientific studies to understand how climate impacting measures actually affect the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, which measures are the most effective and what are the common pitfalls in the global carbon market. We have a dedicated Sustainability Department that consists of experts working every day to stay up to date on any scientific developments. On top of that, we have gathered a Network of Scientific Advisors that consists of top-level forest and climate scientists and other researchers. We consult the advisors from time to time to make sure that we’re on the right track.
3.7 Any Project that will eventually be included in our portfolios will normally bear at least one international certification attesting to the verifiability and reliability of the Project. (We may, however, offer from time to time innovative portfolios that may include, as a minor portion, certain Projects that do not (yet) bear international certifications. Even then, the Projects will be certified by an independent third party such as a university or an expert group.)
3.8 However, even the most renowned international standards cannot guarantee that a project produces real climate impact. In the past year, various investigations by climate organizations and news outlets have provided evidence on the fundamental flaws of the voluntary carbon market, allowing loosely set methodologies and non-additional projects to be certified and to issue millions of poorly performing credits. For instance, sometimes the positive effects are exaggerated by the Project developers, or sometimes the Projects are not “additional” in the sense that they do, in reality, nothing to further the removal, sequestration or avoidance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This could be the case for example when a Project claims to save a forest from being cut down when, in reality, there are no foreseeable plans to cut down that forest anyhow.
3.9 To combat these uncertainties, we consistently exercise significant caution in selecting Projects in our portfolio. As we have pointed out in our white paper entitled “Reforming the Voluntary Carbon Market” (
3.10 As such, the Projects in our offering will pass any current scientific requirements for a verifiable and reliable climate impacting measure with flying colors. To further reduce the risk of failure, our rather unique portfolio approach serves to make sure that even if one or two Projects are later found to perform worse than expected, the overall climate impact packed into a Compensate Credit will nevertheless be realized. To top everything off, our built-in Overcompensation policy helps to ensure every credit sold by us will take 1000 kilograms (1 metric ton) of CO2 out of the atmosphere even when the climate effects of individual Projects are exaggerated.
Rights and Responsibilities of Compensate
The gist of it:
- We’ll exercise care and follow professional standards to deliver our Services to you. Depending on the Service, we will provide you with (fractions of) Compensate Credits to Offset the CO2 emissions or to take other climate action intended by you. The Compensate Credits will be packed using Carbon Credits that we’ve evaluated and bought from the global carbon market using our expertise. It is our promise that the Carbon Credits that we sell do, in reality, bring about the positive climate impact that you’re buying from us.
- In very rare cases, when we cannot deliver our Service due to a Force Majeure, we’re relieved from our obligations to do so for the duration of the Force Majeure. If that happens, we’ll let you know in writing.
3.11 Compensate will perform the Services with reasonable care and in accordance with the applicable professional standards and methods. Compensate may contract out the performance of any part of the Services to third-party contractors. In such case, Compensate will warrant and represent that the third-party contractor fulfills the obligations of Compensate in conformity with these Terms of Use and other agreements expressly appended or linked to them.
3.12 Where the Customer places an Offsetting Service Order, Compensate will supply Compensate Credits and/or fractions thereof to effect the Offsetting or other climate action intended by the Customer. Unless the Customer and Compensate agree on a tailored Project Package, upon availability, the Compensate Credits so supplied will be based on a variable composition of Carbon Credits in Compensate's Project Portfolio or another array of Projects at Compensate's choosing. Compensate will warrant and represent that the Compensate Credits so supplied represent a sufficient amount of Carbon Credits or other deliverables from Projects which fulfill, based on available evidence, requirements of reliability and measurability in accordance with current industry standards.
3.13 The selection, composition and weight of Projects in Compensate’s Project Portfolio, Project Package or another array of Projects, as well as the selection, composition and weight of Carbon Credits or other such deliverables from the Projects therein, will be determined by Compensate. The Parties acknowledge and agree that Compensate may, temporarily or permanently, wholly or in part, manually or automatically, change and vary the selection, composition and weight of Projects or Carbon Credits in any of the foregoing from time to time based on:
3.13.1 the availability of Carbon Credits or other deliverables from one or several Projects;
3.13.2 the price of Carbon Credits or other deliverables from one or several Projects;
3.13.3 the reliability, measurability and other qualitative factors, as determined by Compensate, of one or several Projects or the Carbon Credits or other deliverables from those Projects;
3.13.4 the intended climate effect, as determined by Compensate, of the Project Portfolio, Project Package or another array of Project applicable to a Service; and/or
3.13.5 other relevant factors, as reasonably determined by Compensate, such as the environmental, social, political and value-based considerations affecting the suitability and desirability of one or several Projects.
3.14 The Parties acknowledge and agree that any determinations on, or changes to or variations in, the Project Portfolio, Project Package or another array of Projects, or the Carbon Credits or other such deliverables from the Projects therein, as described in the previous Section 3.13 and its subsections, is the sole prerogative of Compensate based on its professional assessment of the factors listed therein, such assessment being a core business and trade secret of Compensate. Therefore, the Parties acknowledge and agree that any determinations, changes or variations referred to herein will not be construed as constituting, actually or potentially, a breach of any obligations of Compensate under these Terms of Use or any other agreements expressly appended or linked to them. The Parties also acknowledge and agree that Compensate is not under an obligation to notify to the Customer any determinations, changes or variations.
3.15 We may withhold our performance under this Article 3 due to a Force Majeure. In such case, we will notify you, as soon as reasonably possible, by email at the address that you have provided. In the notification, we will outline the emergence of the Force Majeure, the material obligations that we are prevented from performing, and the expected duration, if reasonably foreseeable, of the Force Majeure.
Rights and Responsibilities of the Customer
The gist of it:
- Whenever buying our Services or starting subscriptions, please make sure to enter complete and accurate information about yourself as requested during the order process. Also, if you want to Offset CO2e emissions or take other climate action to be able to present public statements about it, please make sure that you give us complete and accurate information about your emissions. This will be easy as long as you fill out any order forms carefully while you’re buying Services in the Carbon Store Platform.
- You may purchase our Services for yourself or for a family member, friend or another natural person. Please do not access or use the Platform to resell our Services or otherwise conduct any business. Also, please do not try to access or use the Platform from any jurisdiction or location where it’s prohibited (if a place like that even exists!).
3.16 Whenever placing an Offsetting Service Order, starting an Offsetting Subscription or placing any other order to purchase Services or other items, the Customer must enter complete, correct, accurate and truthful contact details, payment information and other information as requested as part of the order process in the Platform. The Customer will update the information from time to time as necessary. In addition, to be able to present public statements about Offsetting personal CO2e emissions or taking other climate action, the Customer should report correctly and accurately to Compensate all information and data necessary for the provision of the Services. In particular, the Customer should enter completely, correctly and accurately the information requested as part of the Offsetting Service Order process. Failing to do so, the Customer should not present any public statements about Offsetting or taking other climate action. Compensate is not responsible for any incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or untruthful statements about Offsetting or taking other climate action made by the Customer.
3.17 The Customer may purchase Services for his/her own benefit or for the benefit of a family member, friend or another individual (natural person). Apart from that, the Customer may not sell, resell, lease, assign, transfer or otherwise make available to, share with or otherwise cause to benefit any third party any service, process, method or result or other climate effect of the Services or any part thereof, or attempt or appear to do any of the preceding.
3.18 The Customer will not access or use or make any purchase from the Services, and will not attempt to do any of the foregoing, from a location or in circumstances where doing so would be prohibited by law or binding legal or administrative order.
Right to withdraw (cancel)
The gist of it:
- If you’re a consumer, you may usually withdraw from (cancel) any distance contract of sale to purchase goods or services from us, within 15 days from receiving the goods or from the order date of the services. Distance contract of sale means a contract that you have concluded online in the Platform or using our Mobile App, which is usually the case when you order something from us.
- You do not have to state any reasons for your decision to withdraw. However, you should always send us some kind of clear notice that you wish to withdraw from a particular contract for certain goods or services.
- Please note that if we’ve already performed (with your permission!) the Service that you’ve purchased, you may not be able to withdraw completely or at all. Kindly contact us at
info@compensate.com if you wish to withdraw, and we’ll help you from there. - If you do withdraw from your purchase, we will refund you for the goods or, if possible, for the parts of the service that we haven’t yet performed. We’ll make the refund within 14 days to the Payment Method that you’ve used to make the purchase.
- When withdrawing from a distance contract of sale for the purchase of goods, you should refuse delivery of the goods or mail them back to us within 15 days. (Don’t forget to give us a clear notice of withdrawal in either case!) Unless we agree on something else, you have to pay the postal fees for the return. Make sure that the goods are in unused condition and packed well so that they won’t get damaged during the return.
3.19 You, as a consumer, are entitled to withdraw, without stating any reasons, from any distance contract you have made with us for the sale of goods or the provision of services, within 15 days from receiving the goods or placing the order for the service. Distance contract of sale means a contract that you have concluded online in the Platform or otherwise on our website or Mobile App, which is usually the case when you order something from us.
3.20 However, there is no right of withdrawal if we have performed the Service in full with your prior express consent and acknowledgement of the waiver of your right to withdraw from the contract. If we have performed the service partially under these circumstances, you may be entitled to withdraw from the part of the contract that we have not yet performed.
3.21 When placing an Offsetting Service Order, or making another contract for the provision of Services, you will be asked for your prior express consent for the immediate performance of the services as well as to acknowledge the waiver of your right to withdraw from the contract, in accordance with art. 16(1)(a) of the EU Directive on Consumer Rights or other relevant legislation (if applicable).
3.22 If you are entitled to withdraw from the distance contract of sale in accordance with the foregoing, you can do so by sending us an email at
— To Compensate Operations Oy:
— I hereby give notice that I withdraw from my contract of sale no. [CONTRACT NUMBER] of the following goods/for the provision of the following service: [IF APPLICABLE, LIST OF GOODS OR SERVICES THAT YOU WISH TO WITHDRAW FROM],
— Ordered on [DATE OF ORDERING SERVICES]/received on [DATE OF RECEIVING GOODS],
— Name: [YOUR NAME],
— Address: [YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS],
— Date [DATE OF THIS NOTIFICATION].
Download a pre-filled WITHDRAWAL FORM FOR A CLIMATE SERVICE CONTRACT (pdf):
3.23 When withdrawing from a contract of sale for the purchase of goods, you must either refuse the delivery of the goods or ship them back to us within 15 days from the date on which you informed us of your decision to withdraw. In either case, you should still inform us in clear terms that you wish to withdraw from the particular contract. Merely refusing delivery or shipping the goods back without a clear notice may not suffice. Any goods that you return must be in unused condition, and you bear the risk of damage during the return. Please package the items properly.
3.24 If you withdraw from a distance contract of sale, we will refund to you any payments that we have received from you for the goods or services in question. Unless we agree on something else, we will pay the refunds using the Payment Method that you used for the purchase. We will pay the refunds within 14 days from the date that we received your notification to withdraw, however in case of goods only after we’ve received back the goods in appropriate condition. In case of services, we will refund any portion of the payments for which the services have not yet been performed. In case of goods, non-standard postal charges as well as the costs of returning goods (postal fees) will not be refunded.
ARTICLE 4. PAYMENTS
Pricing and Payment Terms
The gist of it:
- If you’re purchasing a payable Service from the Carbon Store Platform, the price and other payment terms will be shown to you during the order process. The grand total payable will depend on the Service as well as other factors such as your chosen Climate Factor and applicable taxes and similar charges and fees. Normally all Services are payable immediately in the Platform, and we’ll charge your Payment Method for them. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll send you an invoice.
- If you purchase a one-time Offsetting Service, we’ll charge you for the grand total payable. If you purchase a recurring Offsetting Subscription, we’ll charge you for the fee payable for the first invoicing period immediately and thereafter automatically every following invoicing period.
- Please note that if due to volatility in the global market or other reasons the prices in the Platform happen to change by more than 10 % after you place a one-time order, we may cancel the order within seven (7) days. Also, if for the same reasons we have to change the pricing of your recurring Offsetting Subscription, we may do so in accordance with Article 8 of these Terms of Use. If you don’t agree with the changes, you can then terminate your subscription.
4.1 Some of our Services may be accessed and used free of charge (if available). If accessing or using a Service requires a payment, the price and other payment terms will be shown to you during the order process before placing an Offsetting Service Order or another Service order, making another purchase or starting a Offsetting Subscription. The grand total of the Services will depend on the Services in question, the amount of (fractions of) Compensate Credits purchased for Offsetting or another climate action, other pricing agreed by the Parties, the applicable Climate Factor, applicable taxes and other public and private fees and charges and other applicable payments. All of the foregoing payments, fees and charges will be subject to the provisions set out in this Article 4.
4.2 We will charge or invoice you, and you will pay or effect the payment to us, for all Offsetting Services and other Service orders placed and purchases made in the Platform, in accordance with this Article 4. Unless provided otherwise, all payments will be due immediately upon placing an Offsetting Service Order or another Service order, or making another purchase, and will be charged automatically to your Payment Method. Where the payment is not charged automatically to the Payment Method, Compensate will issue an invoice within a reasonable time, and the Customer will pay the invoice following the instructions on the invoice.
4.3 We will charge or invoice you, and you will pay or effect the payment to us, for all Offsetting Subscriptions started in the Platform, in accordance with this Article 4. Unless provided otherwise, the invoicing period of an Offsetting Subscription is one (1) month, calculated from the start date of the Offsetting Subscription. Unless provided otherwise, the Service fee for the first invoicing period of an Offsetting Subscription will be due immediately upon starting the Offsetting Subscription and will be charged automatically to your Payment Method. Thereafter, the Service fee payable will be charged automatically to your Payment Method once in every invoicing period or within a reasonable period after the end of the invoicing period. Where the payment is not charged automatically to the Payment Method, Compensate will issue an invoice within a reasonable time, and the Customer will pay the invoice following the instructions on the invoice.
4.4 When you place an Offsetting Service Order or another relevant Service order, make another relevant purchase or start a Offsetting Subscription, the price of the Compensate Credit or another pricing applicable to it will be indicated during the order process in the Platform. Where, due to a technical error or similar reason, the price of the Compensate Credit or another pricing is indicated erroneously and such error ought to have been reasonably clear, we may cancel the Offsetting Service or another Service order, purchase or Offsetting Subscription within seven (7) business days, such cancellation not to be deemed a breach of these Terms of Use or other agreement expressly appended or linked to them.
4.5 You acknowledge and agree that the price of a Compensate Credit or other pricing in the Platform may change from time to time depending on changes to:
4.5.1 the calculations or estimations made by Compensate, using assessment methods and criteria as amended by Compensate from time to time, regarding the cost and expense of Offsetting or realizing other climate action as intended by the Customer;
4.5.2 the availability and cost of Carbon Credits issued by one or several Projects in the Project Portfolio, Project Package or another array of Projects applicable to the Service; and/or
4.5.3 the determinations on, changes to and variations in the Project Portfolio, Project Package or another array of Projects applicable to a Service, as described in Section 3.13 and its subsections.
4.6 Where, due to changes referred to in the previous Section 4.5 and its subsections, the price of the Compensate Credit or another pricing increases substantially (by 10 % or more) upon or after placing an Offsetting Service Order, another relevant Service order, making another relevant purchase or starting a Offsetting Subscription, we may cancel the Offsetting Service Order or another Service order, purchase or Offsetting Subscription within seven (7) business days, such cancellation not to be deemed a breach of these Terms of Use or other agreement expressly appended or linked to them. In such case, Compensate may offer an alternative Service with adjusted pricing. Where no such alternative Service is possible or feasible, Compensate will return payments charged or invoiced and received under the canceled Service within a reasonable time.
4.7 Due to changes referred to in Section 4.5 and its subsections, we may change the amount of the Offsetting Subscription Fee payable for a Offsetting Subscription. Any such changes will be published and, if applicable, notified to you in accordance with Sections 8.3–8.7. If you do not agree with such changes, the Offsetting Subscription may be terminated following the procedures described therein.
4.8 Any and all payments received by Compensate under these Terms of Use as well as any other relevant contractual or other legal relationships are non-refundable unless you are entitled to exercise your right of withdrawal (cancellation) under Sections 3.19–3.24. To this end, Compensate will ask your consent for the immediate performance of the Services and other obligations arising from the Offsetting Service as well as acknowledgement of a waiver of your right to withdraw from (cancel) the Offsetting Service Order in accordance with art. 16(1)(a) of the EU Directive on Consumer Rights or other relevant legislation (if applicable).
4.9 Where payment by invoice is available, the due date of every invoice will be fourteen (14) calendar days unless agreed otherwise in writing, such payment due date counted from the date of the invoice. Compensate will be entitled to charge late payment interest at 7.0 % annually as well as 5 € (five euros) (or equivalent amount in another currency if applicable) per late payment reminder for any late payments. We will issue a payment reminder using your contact details on file not more frequently than once every two weeks. Please make sure that your contact details are correct and up-to-date.
4.10 The Customer will be entitled to withhold payments by it where and insofar as Compensate is prevented from performing its obligations due to a Force Majeure in accordance with Section 3.15. The Customer will notify Compensate by email at
4.11 Where, according to the provisions of this Article 4, a Service description or supplemental terms and conditions of a Service, payment is due immediately or at another time prior to the provision of the Service, Compensate may withhold the performance of its obligations in connection with that Service until it has received all applicable payments in full.
Taxes and Similar Charges and Fees, Strong Customer Authentication
The gist of it:
- Unless otherwise stated, all prices in the Carbon Store Platform are shown with value-added tax (VAT) or other taxes and similar charges and fees. Depending on applicable laws, we add all relevant taxes to the prices. The grand total that is payable by you will be shown inclusive of VAT and other relevant taxes and similar charges and fees. If you’re making a purchase from a country or jurisdiction where we’re not established for tax purposes, you may have to report and pay any VAT, sales tax, use tax, consumption tax, import charges or other taxes or similar charges and fees in that country or jurisdiction.
- Please make sure that you provide us with complete, correct, accurate and current information regarding your domicile (location), status as a consumer and so on. In other words, please provide the information that we ask for when you’re registering a Customer Account or when you’re purchasing something from the Platform. Otherwise you may be liable for any taxes and similar charges and fees that we collect or not collect on the basis of the purchase due to incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or non-current information.
- Due to legal requirements, you may have to go through a short Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) process when you’re paying for the Services electronically in the Platform. This is to prevent money laundering and other crimes. The authentication process will be carried out by our payment processors and banks, and normally you’ll just have to authenticate yourself using mobile banking or a banking app. The SCA information will be processed by the payment processors and banks, and we’ll never see any of it.
4.12 Unless stated or agreed otherwise in writing, all prices and payments under these Terms of Use and all other agreements expressly appended or linked to them are presented without value-added tax (VAT) or any other taxes or similar charges. Subject to the following Section 4.13, Compensate will charge such VAT and other taxes and similar charges to the Customer in accordance with applicable legislation and tax rules, unless a reverse charge scheme applies (in which case the Customer will report and pay any taxes owed in its location). The VAT and other taxes and similar charges payable on the Services will be indicated during the order process in the Platform on the basis of the information provided by the Customer. Where, due to a technical error or similar reason, the VAT and other taxes and charges payable are indicated erroneously and such error ought to have been reasonably clear, Compensate may charge or invoice such payments to the Customer separately.
4.13 Where the place of supply of a Service is deemed to be outside the European Union due to a factor relating to the Customer, the Customer will account for, report and pay any VAT, sales tax, use tax, consumption tax, import charges, levies, tolls and other public and private charges and fees due for the Services in the geographical area or jurisdiction of the place of supply. The foregoing will not apply if Compensate has established tax presence in the place of the supply and is legally responsible for accounting for, reporting and paying such taxes and other charges or fees in that geographical area or jurisdiction.
4.14 The Customer will provide Compensate with complete, correct, accurate and current information regarding his/her status as a non-taxable person (consumer) and his/her domicile or registered address as well as other information necessary for the correct charging, reporting and payment of VAT and other taxes and similar charges and fees, as requested during Customer Account registration, Service order process or another event. The Customer will make sure the information is always correct and up-to-date.
4.15 Where the Customer has provided Compensate with incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or non-current information in breach of the previous Section 4.14, the place of supply of the Services will be deemed to be in Finland and the Offsetting Service or other transaction to be taxable under Finnish law. Where Compensate has reasonable grounds to believe that the information provided is incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or non-current, Compensate may cancel any applicable Offsetting Service or other transaction, such cancellation not to be deemed a breach of these Terms of Use or other agreement expressly appended or linked to them. In such case, Compensate will return payments charged or invoiced and received under the canceled Offsetting Service or other transaction within a reasonable time, less Compensate's direct payment processing costs and other reasonable expenses. Any limitations of liability set out in Article 6 below notwithstanding, the Customer will indemnify and hold harmless Compensate for the full amount of any tax liabilities or related fees or charges which Compensate is made to account for, report and pay in a geographical area or jurisdiction outside the European Union as a result of incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate or non-current information, as well as any related expenses, interests, fines and other resultant charges, including legal fees.
4.16 In accordance with European Union law and Finnish law, any electronic payment made by you to us may trigger a Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) request. If a SCA request is triggered, your payment processor (bank, Payment Method provider etc.) may ask you to identify yourself using e.g. your mobile banking app. Your identity will be processed by the payment processors in question, and no such data will be communicated to us.
ARTICLE 5. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
Intellectual Property
The gist of it:
- Everything that you find in our Platform is the property of us or our business partners. Unless otherwise specified, you do not have any intellectual property rights to our Platform. You should also understand that you do not own or control anything (such as copyrights) related to your Customer Account or Customer Content or other parts of our Platform. We ask that you don’t create anything original in our Platform, including your Customer Account.
5.1 All rights related to our Platform, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and other proprietary rights, belong to us, our subcontractors or our actual or potential licensors. This applies to all of our Platform, including all Mobile Apps, titles, machine-language and source code, themes, characters, character names, stories, dialog, slogans, concepts, illustrations, animation, audio, compositions, audiovisual effects, texts, operating methods, moral rights, documentation, technical records of the usage of the Mobile Apps, and the Mobile Apps’ software and server software.
5.2 Unless otherwise specified, these Terms of Use do not grant you any intellectual property rights to our Platform. We, our subcontractors and actual or potential licensors reserve all rights that are not expressly granted to you or someone else in these Terms of Use.
5.3 You acknowledge and agree that you do not own or control any title or proprietary rights, including but not limited to copyrights, to your Customer Account or Customer Content.
5.4 You acknowledge and agree that you do not own or control any title or proprietary rights to any other content in our Platform, including but not limited to Virtual Items or Rewards, or any other features present in our Platform, whether or not connected with your Customer Account.
License from Us to You
The gist of it:
- To enjoy our Platform, we’re giving you a license to access and use them in accordance with these Terms of Use. The license is only meant for you, and you may not share, sell or give it to anyone else. It’s only limited to your access to and use of our Platform and not anything else. You may only access and use our Platform and share our name and logo in a truthful and tasteful manner for your personal and non-commercial purposes. We may revoke the license at any time. Just to make it clear, we’re not giving you any rights to our intellectual property, and you may not use any of our intellectual property to claim or register a similar intellectual property right (e.g. a trademark, domain name or social media handle).
5.5 We grant you, subject to these Terms of Use, a non-assignable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited and revocable license in connection with using our Platform. You may only use the Platform for personal and non-commercial purposes. You may share our name and logo for personal and non-profit purposes privately and for example in social media. Any sharing that you do must be done in a truthful and tasteful manner so as not to damage or dilute the name, logo and reputation of Compensate.
5.6 All the rights related to the Platform belong to us and our subcontractors and our actual or potential licensors. You are not granted any title, intellectual property rights or other rights to the Service.
5.7 You may not claim or register any patent, trademark, model, trade name, copyright, domain name, email address, social media account or any other public account or handle that can be confused with the trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property, including slogans and identifiers, of us, our subcontractors or our actual or potential licensors.
License from You to Us
The gist of it:
- You’re giving us your permission to use your Customer Content for example for marketing or promotional purposes. This includes your name, likeness and any texts, photos, videos etc. that you create or store in our Platform. You’re responsible for making sure that you’re the creator of your Customer Content and that your content does not infringe the rights of others. If we do use your Customer Content, we don’t have to name you as the creator of the content. However, you’ll still be free to use it for your own purposes.
5.8 By accepting the Terms of Use, you grant us an perpetual, unlimited, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable and global license to publish, broadcast or otherwise cause to be presented in public, reproduce or otherwise use any and all of your Customer Content. We may use the Customer Content in any manner we deem fit, including for the purpose of marketing and promoting our Platform. The license includes the usage of your name, likeness, textual and audiovisual expressions created or stored in our Platform as well as all other information or material concerning all of the Customer Content without any express obligations to you.
5.9 By accepting these Terms of Use, you warrant and represent that you are the creator of your Customer Content and that the content does not infringe the proprietary rights of others.
5.10 Unless otherwise stipulated in compelling legislation, you surrender all moral rights and rights to be acknowledged as the creator of your Customer Content, irrespective of whether the Customer Content you created is modified or altered in any way.
5.11 We will not present demands concerning the proprietary right of your Customer Content, and nothing in these Terms of Use is intended to limit your own rights to use and exploit your Customer Content. We are not obliged to control or enforce the intellectual property rights related to your Customer Content.
ARTICLE 6. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
The gist of it:
- While we are doing our best to keep our Platform available to you at all times, we cannot assume any liability if your access to or use of them is disrupted for any reason. Also, we can’t promise that the Services are as described by us or as you expect them to be.
- There are also certain risks and uncertainties related to carbon offsetting. We take great care in selecting and continuously evaluating the Projects in our portfolio, but we can’t guarantee their effectiveness. We endeavor to make sure that the Offsetting of CO2e emissions or another climate action intended by you is realized in accordance with current standards of measurability and reliability.
- In any case, we cannot assume responsibility for any indirect, consequential, corresponding or immaterial damage that you may incur from accessing or using our Services. Also, in any case, our total liability is limited to the amounts of money that you have paid to us.
- If applicable and mandatory laws prohibit certain limitations of liability, such limitations do not apply to you as a consumer. If any provisions of these Terms of Use become invalid or unenforceable due to such laws, any and all other provisions remain in effect.
- If we need to defend ourselves against legal action or other action as a result of your use of our Services or your breach of these Terms of Use, you must protect and defend us against any such action, including against any monetary claims and legal fees. However, this only applies if you have caused the action through wilful or negligent behavior.
6.1 We endeavor to maintain the functionality of our Platform, but please be aware that we may temporarily or permanently suspend any of the Platform at any time. We offer the Platform to you as they are described on our website or other user interfaces, in our agreements with you or in other materials that we provide to you. However, we cannot give any guarantees or make any representations that our Platform is suitable for you or your purposes, or that the Platform is free from errors and available at all times.
6.2 You acknowledge and agree that various risks are associated with carbon offsetting and other climate actions. We exercise care and due diligence in selecting the Projects providing Carbon Credits and taking other measures to help the climate, but we cannot assume responsibility for the effectiveness of those Projects. We are only responsible for endeavoring to ensure that the Offsetting of CO2e emissions or another climate action intended by you is realized in accordance with current standards of measurability and reliability.
6.3 In any case, we cannot be held liable to you for any indirect, consequential, or other corresponding damages, including loss of revenues or profits, lost information, or business disruption, or corresponding intangible losses that are in any way due or related to these Terms of Use or our Platform. Also, the total joint liability of us, including the Foundation, is limited to the sum of money that you have paid to us in accordance with the Terms of Use over the six months preceding the date on which you have first presented your original claim to us. If you have not paid anything to Compensate during this period, your sole legal remedy is to discontinue the use of our Platform and to terminate your Customer Account.
6.4 Some legal systems do not permit the exclusion of certain additional guarantees or liabilities in regard to certain types of damage. In such case, these Terms of Use do not limit any of your statutory rights as a consumer under applicable and mandatory laws. If any affected provisions in these Terms of Use become invalid or unenforceable as a result, this does affect the application of any and all remaining provisions.
6.5 You undertake to protect and defend Compensate (including our executives, managers, brokers, joint projects, and employees) against legal action or other action, claims, demands, claims for damages, and losses, including reasonable legal fees, brought or claimed by a third party for a breach of right or interest or any other cause of action, as a result of your use of our Platform or as a result of your breach of these Terms of Use. However, the foregoing will not apply if the circumstances from which any of the foregoing have arisen are unconnected to your wilful action or negligence.
ARTICLE 7. VALIDITY AND TERMINATION
The gist of it:
- These Terms of Use start to apply to you and us from the first time you access or use our Platform, and they continue to apply until duly terminated or otherwise expired.
- Once placed, an Offsetting Service Order cannot be terminated (you may however be able to exercise your legal right to withdraw from the order, see Sections 3.19–3.24). You may terminate any Offsetting Subscription or another Service (if allowed), or close your Customer Account at any time, either through a dedicated function in your Customer Account (if available) or by e-mail at
info@compensate.com . Your Offsetting Subscription will then expire at the end of the current invoicing period. Please note that any unused Customer Account balances (if available) will not be paid out in cash or otherwise.
- If you terminate one or more Services, this may lead to other Services being terminated as well. If you close your Customer Account, you may lose access to it or your Customer Content immediately. If you’re a Subscriber, closing your Customer Account will automatically lead to your Offsetting Subscription being terminated as well. We may also terminate one or more Services or the application of these Terms of Use by notifying you.
- If these Terms of Use are terminated or otherwise expired, some parts will nevertheless remain in force because they are by their nature intended to do so. Such parts include (but are not limited to) our Privacy Policy (see at the beginning of this document), Section 6 (Proprietary Rights), Section 7 (Limitation of Liability) and Section 10 (Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution).
7.1 These Terms of Use start to apply to you whenever you’re first accessing or using our Platform. As a legally binding document, these Terms of Use will remain in force indefinitely, until duly terminated or otherwise expired in accordance with these Terms of Use.
7.2 Any Offsetting Service Order placed by the Customer and accepted by Compensate may not be terminated except as specifically provided in these Terms of Use. The Customer may withdraw from (cancel) an Offsetting Service Order in accordance with Sections 3.19–3.24 (if applicable). Compensate may cancel an Offsetting Service Order in accordance with Sections 4.3, 4.5 and 4.11.
7.3 Either Party may terminate any Offsetting Subscription or any other automatically recurring Service at any time. You may do so through a dedicated function in your Customer Account or a Mobile App (if available), or in any case by notifying us to this effect by email at
7.4 We may suspend, for a specific or an unspecified duration, worldwide or in specific jurisdictions or geographical locations, any Offsetting Subscription due to a mandatory requirement of applicable legislation or a binding ruling of a competent court, tribunal or public authority, or changes in taxation or other public charges, tolls, levies or other similar payments, exchange rates, or other similar legal or financial reason that would make the continuation of the Offsetting Subscription unreasonable for either Party, or to protect our legal or financial status or rights or interest against a significant threat or unreasonable burden. During the suspension, both Parties will be relieved of their obligations under Articles 3 and 4 of these Terms of Use. Unless the reason for suspending the Offsetting Subscription is sudden and unforeseeable, we will notify you 30 days prior to the suspension, specifying its reason and expected duration.
7.5 Either Party may terminate the application of these Terms of Use at any time by notifying the other Party to that effect. You may do so by email at
7.6 You may close your Customer Account at any time, provided that no Offsetting Service Order is pending or any payments or other debts are outstanding. You may do so directly through your Customer Account if this function is available. Alternatively, you may close your Customer Account by sending an email to
7.7 We may close your Customer Account in accordance with Sections 2.16–2.18 (e.g. to protect our Systems or just to close down inactive accounts from time to time).
7.8 Please note that if your Customer Account is closed in relation to one or more Services or parts of the Platform, it may lead to your Customer Account being closed also in relation to other Services and other parts of the Platform. In such case, you may also lose access to your Customer Account and any related Customer Content immediately and irretrievably.
7.9 All provisions of these Terms of Use that are by their nature intended to survive the termination or expiry of the Terms of Use will remain in force even after the termination or expiry. These include but are not limited to our Privacy Policy (see at the beginning of this document), Section 6 (Proprietary Rights), Section 7 (Limitation of Liability) and Section 10 (Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution).
7.10 Upon termination or expiry of these Terms of Use or the closure of the Customer Account, no unused rebates, refunds or Customer Account balances (if available) will be paid out in cash or otherwise.
ARTICLE 8. CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF USE AND PRICING
- The gist of it:
- We may have to change these Terms of Use or the way we price our Services from time to time. We may especially have to increase the (average) price of Compensate Credits if the price of offsetting in the carbon market rises. Also, we may have to add or change the amount of tax or similar charges payable on top of or included within the Compensate Credit or other pricing if the laws change or authorities require charging taxes or similar public charges.
- We’ll publish any material changes on our website. Also, if we make substantial changes that increase the pricing of your Service Offsetting Subscriptions or lessen your rights under these Terms of Use, we’ll notify you separately (if applicable). Usually any changes will take effect after 30 days from the publication or notification. However, if the changes result from sudden and unforeseeable changes in the law, or taxation or similar charges, or exchange rates, or from sudden and unforeseeable legally binding orders by courts, public authorities or similar bodies, the changes may take effect immediately at their publication or notification. You’ll always see the current prices applicable to your Offsetting Service Order or another Service order during the order process in the Platform.
- If you don’t agree to material changes that increase the pricing of your Offsetting Subscription or other obligations under these Terms of Use, you must terminate your Offsetting Subscription and cease using or accessing our Platform before the changes take effect. (See Section 8 on how to do that.) If you don’t terminate your Offsetting Subscription, or if you continue to use or access our Platform after the changes have taken effect, we take it to mean that you have accepted the changes.
- However, if the material changes substantially and disproportionately increase the pricing or other obligations applicable to you, or lessen your rights, under these Terms of Use, we’ll ask for your specific acceptance before the changes take effect. Any justifiable changes leading to an increase in the price of the Compensate Credit, or to changes in other Service prices, or any changes leading to the inclusion of taxes or similar public charges to the prices, are not considered as material changes that substantially and disproportionately increase the pricing or other obligations applicable to you, or lessen your rights, under these Terms of Use.
8.1 We may alter these Terms of Use or the pricing of any Services and, therefore, the amounts payable by you in connection with an Offsetting Service Order or other Service order, another purchase or a Offsetting Subscription, if this is necessary due to a material change in circumstances, due to changes in the operating costs, purchasing costs, or other costs relating to our Platform, or due to other valid reasons. The foregoing notwithstanding, we may alter the pricing of the Compensate Credit in accordance with Section 4.5 and its subsections above.
8.2 We may also alter these Terms of Use or the pricing of the Compensate Credit or any Services if changes in applicable legislation or binding rulings of courts or public authorities require charging or paying taxes, other public charges, tolls, levies or other similar payments, in connection with an Offsetting Service Order or another Service order. We may either add such taxes, other public charges, tolls, levies or other similar payments on top of the price of the Compensate Credit or the Service, or we may include them within the prices. Conversely, we will remove or decrease the amounts of taxes, other public charges, tolls, levies or other similar payments if they are no longer required.
8.3 Any material changes described in the previous Sections 8.1–8.2 will be published on our website. Immaterial changes, such as ordinary fluctuations in exchange rates or ordinary changes to payment processing fees, will not be published. In addition, any material changes that increase the Customers’ pricing of Offsetting Subscriptions or other obligations, or lessen their rights, under these Terms of Use will be notified in writing to all affected Customers by email at the email addresses they have provided to us, and/or by a notification in the Platform (if available). For the avoidance of doubt, the current price of the Compensate Credit will be shown during the order process in the Platform, and any changes to it will not be published or notified separately except where the changes increase the pricing of an active Offsetting Subscription as described in Section 4.7 above.
8.4 Any material changes referred to in Sections 8.1–8.2 will take effect 30 days after they are published and, if applicable, notified to all affected Customers as described in the previous Section 8.3. However, any material changes to the foregoing, or additions on top of or inclusions within the prices of taxes and similar charges and fees that result from a sudden and unforeseeable change in the applicable law, taxation, public policies, embargo or quota, or from an unforeseeable legally binding decision or order of a judicial court or other tribunal or a public authority or similar body, or a sudden and unforeseeable change thereof, will take effect immediately at their publication and, if applicable, notification to all affected Customers. Any failure to receive the notification by you will not affect the taking of effect of the changes if such failure is due to a factor attributable to you or your email provider, your network provider or another provider on your end essential to transmitting the notification to you.
8.5 If you do not agree with any material changes to these Terms of Use or any supplemental terms and conditions, you must cease accessing and using our Platform before the changes take effect. If you continue to use or access our Platform after the changes have taken effect, we take it to mean that you have accepted the changes.
8.6 If you do not agree with any material changes that increase your Offsetting Subscription Fee, you must terminate your Offsetting Subscription in accordance with Section 7.3 within the time limit indicated in the written notification that we send to you. In your notification to terminate the Offsetting Subscription, please mention that you do not agree with the pending changes, in which case your Offsetting Subscription will be terminated prior to the taking of effect of the changes. If you do not terminate your Offsetting Subscription, any changes affecting your Offsetting Subscription Fee, or obligations or rights under these Terms of Use, will be applied to your current invoicing period from the date on which the changes take effect onward.
8.7 However, if any material changes substantially and disproportionately increase your Offsetting Subscription Fee or other obligations, or lessen your rights, under these Terms of Use, we’ll ask for your specific acceptance before the changes take effect. Any increase in the Offsetting Subscription Fee not exceeding 10 %, or any changes referred to above resulting in the inclusion of taxes, other public charges, tolls, levies or other similar payments within your Offsetting Subscription Fee, are not deemed as substantially and disproportionately increasing your Offsetting Subscription Fee or other obligations, or lessening your rights, under these Terms of Use.
ARTICLE 9. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
9.1 These Terms of Use and any contractual relationship based on them are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Finland, with the exception of their choice of law provisions and principles that would lead to these Terms of Use or the contractual relationship between the Parties being governed by or construed in accordance with foreign law. The courts of Finland shall have sole jurisdiction in adjudicating any matters arising in connection with these Terms of Use or any related contractual relationship that cannot, for any reason, be resolved in accordance with the following Section 9.2; the rules of proceedings shall be based on the laws of Finland.
9.2 Any disputes arising from these Terms of Use or any related contractual relationship shall first and foremost be resolved through good-faith discussions and negotiations between the Parties. If the dispute cannot be resolved by negotiation within a reasonable time, the Customer may refer the dispute to the Finnish Consumer Disputes Board (
ARTICLE 10. FINAL PROVISIONS
10.1 These Terms of Use together with Compensate's Privacy Statement (
10.2 If any provisions of these Terms of Use or other agreements referred to in the previous Section 10.1 are ruled or otherwise rendered void or without effect, the rest of the foregoing agreements shall remain in full force. If necessary, any provisions ruled or otherwise rendered void or without effect shall be replaced with provisions having the nearest possible content, purpose and effect to ensure the uninterrupted application of the foregoing agreements.
10.3 In case of conflicting content, effect or purpose, the provisions of these Terms of Use shall be given precedence. Thereafter, the provisions of any other agreements expressly appended or linked to the Terms of Use shall be given precedence in the order of their start date or, if applicable, numbering. Thereafter, any terms indicated during the order process in the Platform shall be taken into account. Next, any guidelines or instructions reasonably issued by Compensate to the Customer shall be taken into account. Finally, any written communications between the Parties shall be taken into account.
10.4 Compensate may reasonably amend these Terms of Use at any time and for any reason. The Terms of Use applicable to a one-time Offsetting Service or another one-time transaction in connection with a specific Service shall be those dated to be in force at the time of such transaction. The Terms of Use applicable to an Offsetting Subscription shall be those in force from time to time. Unless provided otherwise in Article 8, Compensate is not obligated to notify any changes to the Terms of Use.
10.5 Any electronic or physical print-out of these Terms of Use shall only be for illustrative purposes. In case of varying content, only the Terms of Use published and updated from time to time by Compensate in the Platform or its website shall represent the true and legally binding content of the Terms of Use.
Compensate's Correspondence Details:
Compensate Operations Oy
Mariankatu 5 A
00170 HELSINKI
FINLAND
Notices to:
Legal Notices to: