logoMenu Burger dark
Take action
chevron-right-black
About the Foundation
chevron-right-black
DE|EN

Terms & Conditions

General Terms and Conditions for Donations of ClimatePartner Foundation gGmbH

1 Scope of Application

These general donation conditions apply between ClimatePartner Foundation gGmbH (hereinafter "CPF") and donors for the payment of voluntary contributions to climate action by means of the online form on the website of CPF. Donors can be natural persons as well as legal entities. For ease of reading, donors are only used in the male form. 


2 Voluntary Climate Protection Donation

2a) The CPF is a non-profit limited liability company. The statutory purpose of the company is to promote education and nature preservation by supporting climate action nationally and internationally as well as the sustainability goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). CPF offers the possibility to contribute to the general reduction and compensation of greenhouse gas emissions by means of donations. To this end, CPF invests in appropriate climate protection projects.  

2b) Filling out and submitting the online form on the website you.climatepartner.com constitutes a binding declaration of intent to make a voluntary contribution to CO ₂ compensation. A donation agreement is concluded when the donor has received an electronic confirmation from CPF that CPF accepts the participant's contribution. CPF is entitled to refuse a donor's contribution without giving reasons. 

3 Determination of the Amount of Emissions to be Compensated.

For his own information and assessment the donor has the possibility to calculate directly with the CO ₂ -calculator how high his respective CO ₂ emissions are for a certain area and can therefore get an indication of the amount he wants to donate. The donor is free to donate in this or any other amount for climate protection.  

Despite the use of scientific standards and exact calculation, the calculator also uses average values; these may differ in their exact amount from the actual emissions and their climate impact. CPF does not verify the correctness or plausibility of the data submitted by the donor, the actual exact CO ₂ reduction of his emissions and does not guarantee that the estimated emissions correspond to the actual emissions caused by the client. The donor is free to use the values calculated by the CPF calculator as a basis for his order of certified savings.  


4 Use of Funds

As a matter of principle, the CPF only invests in carbon offset projects that meet the test criteria of recognized international standards, such as the Gold Standard, which was developed in 2003 by the WWF and other environmental associations. The emission reductions achieved are verified, certified and guaranteed by official certificates (Verified Emission Reductions, VER).  

On a smaller scale, however, the CPF can also support projects that do not meet an official standard, for example because certification is too costly or not yet possible for the project technology.  

The selection of the individual carbon offset projects is carried out by CPF. The conclusion of contracts with the project operators is exclusively in the name of CPF, the donor does not become a party to the contract.  

CPF does not guarantee the use of the donations for a specific carbon offset project. If CO ₂ emissions cannot be reduced with a carbon offset project preferred or desired by the donor, CFP will use the donation for another carbon offset project and also reserves the right to withdraw support for such projects that do not meet its contractual obligations and standards. 

CPF will use the donations after deduction of personnel, public relations and administrative costs of approximately 20%. A detailed account of the use of funds, including income and expenses, will be published in CPF's annual reports on the CPF website. The CFP will also publish an overview of the total donations received and the resulting emission reductions at regular intervals, at least in its annual report. Upon request, the CFP will allow access to its accounts in the relevant registries, where it will provide verification of the actual emission reductions in the projects. There are no further claims to information regarding individual business transactions. 


5 Retirement of Allowances

The emission reduction credits issued by the project appraisers are valuable in terms of emissions trading. They are received by the CPF and transferred to the decommissioning account of the respective registry (e.g. Gold Standard Registry). This formally proves the greenhouse gas reduction and compensatory effect in favour of the climate.  

The payment of the donation does not constitute a personal entitlement to the personal receipt of valuable emission reduction credits or to the acquisition or any other specific use of certain emission reduction certificates by CFP. 


6 Exclusion of Liability

CPF does not accept any liability for the accuracy of the information made available to it by certification organisations or project operators and the information regarding emissions caused, emission reductions achieved and other project information. CFP is also not liable for the occurrence of the reduction of a concrete verifiable amount of greenhouse gas emissions.  



7 Copyright

The works, content and data published on CPF website are subject to German and international copyright law. Any unauthorized use requires the prior written consent of the respective author. The works, content, and data may not be copied, modified, used, or sent for commercial purposes or further distribution, including the text, images, audio, and video elements. Only the production of copies or downloads for private use is permitted. 


8 Tax Deductibility

The CPF is recognised as a non-profit organisation and has been able to issue tax-recognised donation receipts since 1 March 2020. Therefore, payments received after this date are deductible from your taxable income as a special expense at German tax offices and therefore have an income tax-reducing effect. 

9 Choice of Law

These conditions and the resulting legal relationships are subject to German law. Place of jurisdiction is Berlin.


10 Severability Clause


Should a provision of these terms and conditions be invalid, this shall not affect the remaining provisions, which shall be supplemented in such a way that the party's intention expressed in the invalid provision is realised in the best possible way. Deviations from the donation agreement according to number 2a together with these terms and conditions of donation require a written agreement signed by both parties. 

Effective 08/2020