General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of carbon-connect AG
1. Scope of Application
carbon-connect AG is primarily active in the following areas:
- CO2 accounting (CCF, PCF, EPD, LCA) & climate strategies
- ESG and sustainability consulting, including advice on the ESG ratings EcoVadis and CDP
- Brokerage of climate protection projects
1.1 These GTC apply to all services provided by carbon-connect AG, Industriestrasse 4b, 8604 Volketswil (hereinafter “carbon-connect”), to companies, organizations and public institutions. They do not apply to consumers.
1.2 Individual agreements in the offer or in a separate contract take precedence over these GTC. In all other respects, the GTC apply in addition.
1.3 Deviating terms and conditions of the client shall not apply unless carbon-connect expressly agrees to them in writing.
2. Conclusion of Contract
2.1 The contract is concluded when the client accepts the offer from carbon-connect – by signature or by written confirmation (email is sufficient).
2.2 Offers from carbon-connect are valid for 30 days, unless otherwise stated in the offer.
3. Services provided by carbon-connect
3.1 carbon-connect provides consulting and preparation services in the field of sustainability and ESG, in particular CO2 accounting (Scope 1–3 according to the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064), ESG reporting, support for EcoVadis ratings, life cycle assessments (LCA/PCF), environmental product declarations (EPD), climate strategies, as well as support with regulatory requirements and within the supply chain. The type and scope of services are set out in the respective offer.
3.2 carbon-connect does not provide legal or tax advice, nor does it provide audit services in the sense of a statutory auditor or an accredited testing and certification body.
3.3 Decisions made by third parties – such as rating results (e.g. the EcoVadis score), certification or audit decisions, and assessments by authorities – lie outside carbon-connect’s sphere of influence. carbon-connect prepares these processes carefully and to the best of its professional knowledge but cannot guarantee any particular outcome.
3.4 carbon-connect is entitled to engage qualified partners or subcontractors for individual services and remains responsible to the client for the contractual performance of the services.
4. Client Cooperation and Data
4.1 The client shall provide carbon-connect with the data, documents and information required for the performance of the services in a timely and complete manner, and shall designate a responsible contact person.
4.2 The client is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the data provided. carbon-connect checks the data for plausibility but cannot conclusively verify its accuracy. carbon-connect accepts no liability for results based on incorrect, incomplete or late data.
4.3 If the client’s cooperation is delayed, agreed deadlines shall be extended accordingly, taking into account carbon-connect’s workload from other engagements. Any resulting additional effort may be invoiced on a time-and-materials basis.
5. Methodology and Standards
5.1 carbon-connect works in accordance with recognized standards and methods (e.g. the GHG Protocol, ISO standards, requirements of rating platforms) in the version valid at the time the services are performed, and using the emission factors and data bases available at that time.
5.2 Subsequent changes to standards, emission factors or regulatory requirements do not constitute a defect in the services already rendered. Updates to existing work results are carried out, upon request, as a separate engagement.
6. Deadlines
6.1 Deadlines are considered non-binding estimates unless expressly agreed as binding. Binding deadlines presuppose the client’s timely cooperation in accordance with Section 4.
6.2 In the event of force majeure or other circumstances beyond carbon-connect’s control, deadlines shall be extended accordingly.
7. Fees and Payment
7.1 Fees are based on the offer. All prices are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF) or EUR, plus statutory VAT.
7.2 Expenses and travel costs are not included in the fee and will be charged on a time-and-materials basis, unless a flat fee has been agreed in the offer.
7.3 Invoices are payable within 10 days of the invoice date without deduction. After this period has elapsed, the client is in default without the need for a reminder; default interest of 5% per annum is owed. We reserve the right to additionally charge a reminder fee.
7.4 If payment remains outstanding despite a reminder, carbon-connect may suspend further services until payment is made in full, or make them contingent on advance payment(s).
7.5 carbon-connect service packages can be used for services relating to climate and sustainability topics. The client purchases and pays for the hours in advance. Hours used and remaining balances are shown transparently. Booked hours do not expire. Unused hours are not refunded.
8. Work Results and Usage Rights
8.1 All copyrights and other proprietary rights to the work results produced by carbon-connect (e.g. balance sheets, reports, concepts, declarations), as well as to pre-existing know-how, methods, templates and tools, remain with carbon-connect.
8.2 Upon payment in full, the client receives a non-exclusive, temporally unlimited right to use the work results prepared for it for the agreed purpose. This includes internal use as well as disclosure to the client’s own customers, business partners, authorities or rating platforms within the scope of this purpose.
8.3 Commercial disclosure or resale to third parties, as well as any use beyond the agreed purpose, requires the prior written consent of carbon-connect.
9. Confidentiality
9.1 Both parties shall treat all business and technical information received in the course of the collaboration as confidential and shall use it exclusively for the performance of the contract. This obligation survives termination of the contract.
9.2 Excluded are information that is publicly known, already lawfully in the possession of the receiving party, or that must be disclosed due to legal or regulatory obligations.
9.3 carbon-connect may use data in anonymized and aggregated form for statistics, benchmarks and the further development of its own services. Any inference back to the client is excluded.
10. Reference Naming
carbon-connect may name the client as a reference, using its name and logo (e.g. on the website or in presentations). The client may revoke this right at any time with effect for the future.
11. Data Protection
carbon-connect processes personal data in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), exclusively for the performance of the contract. Details are governed by the privacy policy at www.carbon-connect.ch.
12. Liability
12.1 carbon-connect is liable for damages caused by intent or gross negligence.
12.2 In all other respects, liability is excluded to the extent permitted by law. In particular, carbon-connect is not liable for slight negligence, indirect damages and consequential damages, loss of profit or loss of data, nor for the acts of auxiliary persons.
12.3 carbon-connect’s liability is limited in amount to the fee for the engagement concerned; in the case of recurring services, to the fee for the last twelve months prior to the damaging event.
12.4 carbon-connect is not liable for the decisions and actions of third parties, in particular rating agencies, certification and testing bodies, or authorities (see Section 3.3).
13. Term and Termination
13.1 Individual engagements end upon delivery of the agreed service.
13.2 Contracts for recurring services (e.g. annual support) have the term agreed in the offer. They are automatically renewed for a further year unless terminated in writing (email is sufficient) at least 30 days before expiry.
13.3 Both parties reserve the right to terminate for good cause with immediate effect.
13.4 Upon termination of the contract, completed work results are handed over. Services rendered up to the termination of the contract remain payable.
14. Climate Protection Projects
14.1 Where agreed, carbon-connect brokers emission reduction certificates from third-party climate protection projects and handles their purchase and retirement on behalf of the client. carbon-connect does not operate its own climate protection projects; the emission reduction is a service provided by the respective project developer, over whose implementation carbon-connect has no direct influence.
14.2 carbon-connect’s responsibility is limited to the careful selection of projects under recognized standards (e.g. Gold Standard, VCS/Verra) and to contractual processing. carbon-connect relies on the information provided by the project developers, the standards and the independent verification bodies, and is not liable for the accuracy or completeness of such information. A particular reduction outcome cannot be guaranteed.
14.3 If a project is unable to deliver the agreed certificates, or is unable to do so in time, carbon-connect will provide equivalent certificates from another project of the same or a comparable standard.
14.4 The client is solely responsible for any advertising or public statements made in connection with certificates purchased and shall observe the applicable unfair competition law requirements (in particular the Swiss Unfair Competition Act (UWG) and EU requirements regarding environmental claims).
15. Final Provisions
15.1 carbon-connect may amend these GTC. The version in force at any given time is published at www.carbon-connect.ch. For existing contracts, the version in force at the time the contract was concluded shall apply.
15.2 Should any provision of these GTC be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid one that comes closest to its economic purpose.
15.3 Swiss law applies, excluding the conflict-of-law rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The place of jurisdiction is the registered office of carbon-connect AG.
Version: July 2026
carbon-connect AG
Industriestrasse 4b
8640 Volketswil
Switzerland