General Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use (Terms of Service)

Governing Language 

This English version of the General Terms and Conditions is provided for convenience and information purposes only. In the event of any discrepancies, contradictions, or disputes regarding the interpretation of any provision, the German version shall prevail and be legally binding.

Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH

Platform: www.nachhaltigkeitshelden.de

Version: 2.1 | Date: August 2026

Preamble – Operator, Contact and Provider Information

These General Terms and Conditions of Business and Use (hereinafter "Terms of Service") govern the contractual relationship between the

Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH

Simbacher Str. 17, 81673 Munich, Germany

Managing Directors: Thomas Klir and Kevin Tscholitsch

Register Court: Local Court (Amtsgericht) Munich, HRB 125242

VAT Identification Number: DE 348041491

Email Address: info@nachhaltigkeitshelden.de

(hereinafter "Nachhaltigkeitshelden")

and the users of the online platform under the domain https://www.nachhaltigkeitshelden.de as well as the associated social media presences (hereinafter collectively "Platform").

Before registration or use of the Platform, every business user and every private user must expressly read, accept and commit to complying with these Terms of Service. The Platform is hosted via STRATO AG.

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms of Service, the following definitions shall apply:

• 1.1 Platform: The online brokerage service provided at https://www.nachhaltigkeitshelden.de together with all functions, subdomains and associated social media channels and presences.

• 1.2 Business User: Any natural or legal person, commercial operator, freelancer, association, NGO or self-employed individual who/which uses the Platform for promotional presentation of their own business, sustainable products or services.

• 1.3 Private User: Any natural person who uses the Platform as a consumer to inform themselves about sustainable companies, products and services, to search for and rate them or to recommend unregistered companies, and who themselves does not offer sustainable products or services on the Platform.

• 1.4 User: Umbrella term for business users and private users together, unless an explicit distinction is required.

• 1.5 Account: The user's personal user account, which is created following successful registration and contains access credentials and personal information.

• 1.6 Services: All functions and services provided by Nachhaltigkeitshelden on the Platform free of charge or for a fee, such as search functions, business directory entries, rating systems or advertising measures.

• 1.7 Price List: The current price list available on the Platform, applicable exclusively to business users, setting out the fee-based services and their prices.

• 1.8 Content: All information, texts, photographs, descriptions, videos and other materials that users upload, transmit or publish on the Platform.

2. Purpose and Scope

• 2.1 Subject Matter of the Contract: The Platform serves as an online brokerage hosting service and virtual exchange forum. It provides private users with the ability to search for and rate sustainable companies, products and services or to recommend unregistered companies. Business users are offered the opportunity to present their own business and its offerings publicly.

• 2.2 Social Media Channels: These Terms of Service apply accordingly to all user interactions on the official social media presences and accounts (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) of Nachhaltigkeitshelden.

• 2.3 Age Restriction: The Platform is intended for persons who have reached the age of 18. Persons under 18 years of age are prohibited from using the Platform without the express consent and supervision of a guardian. By registering, the user confirms that they are of full legal age and legal capacity, or are acting with the corresponding consent and supervision.

3. Registration and Account Management

• 3.1 Registration Data: To register on the Platform, a valid email address is required. This serves for identification upon each access. All data requested during registration must be provided truthfully and completely.

• 3.2 Single Registration: Each user may only register once on the Platform and may only create one account. However, business users may activate multi-user management, whereby multiple employees may gain access to the company profile using their own email addresses.

• 3.3 Confidentiality: Users are obliged to treat their access credentials and passwords confidentially and to keep them strictly secret from third parties.

• 3.4 Obligation to Update: Business users are obliged to update information and data stored on the Platform in their account without delay as soon as these change.

• 3.5 Verification: Nachhaltigkeitshelden reserves the right to require subsequent account verification for security reasons (e.g. via confirmation link sent to the provided email address or by submission of evidence).

4. Registration of Companies, Products and Services

• 4.1 Right to Register: Sustainable companies, products or services may be registered on the Platform only by the following categories of persons:

  • 4.1.1 By the business user themselves, provided the business belongs to them or they are demonstrably authorised to manage and maintain it by virtue of their position.

  • 4.1.2 By employees of Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH for editorial purposes or on customer instruction.

• 4.2 Prohibition of Duplicates: It is prohibited to register the same company, product or service more than once on the Platform (prohibition of duplicates).

• 4.3 Quality Requirements for Media: When creating a profile, at least one photograph or video of appropriate quality must be uploaded (depending on the chosen pricing model). The person uploading must possess all necessary rights of use in this image and sound material and be authorised to transfer them. Content responsibility lies solely with the respective user; Nachhaltigkeitshelden assumes no responsibility for this.

5. Fee-Based Services, Price Changes and Payment (exclusively for Business Users)

• 5.1 Additional B2B Services: In addition to free services, business users may book additional fee-based services. The respective prices and scope of services are determined by the price list in force at the time of booking. All prices are in Euro (EUR).

• 5.2 Payment Obligation: The business user is responsible for proper and timely payment of the fee for the booked services in accordance with the terms of the invoice issued or the agreed payment terms.

• 5.3 Price Changes: Nachhaltigkeitshelden is entitled to adjust the price list for future bookings at any time. Current services already firmly booked shall remain unaffected by price changes until the end of the current billing period (end of month for monthly payment; end of year for annual payment). Price changes will be communicated to business users in good time.

• 5.4 Automatic Renewal and Termination of Business Subscriptions: Fee-based subscriptions for business users shall be automatically renewed following expiration of the contractual minimum term for the same period (e.g. for a further month or year) unless cancelled with a notice period of two (2) weeks before the end of the respective term.

6. 6. Credit Balance ("Credits")

6.1 Top-Up: Providers may maintain a credit account in their dashboard and top it up via lump sum payment through the payment service provider PayPal. The top-up amount is freely selectable between €1 and €10,000 (net); it is exclusive of statutory VAT. The provider receives an invoice for each top-up at the provided email address.

6.2 Conversion and Scope of Use: The conversion rate is 1 € (net) = 100 Credits; one credit thus equals €0.01 (net). Credits are not e-money and not a general means of payment. They may be used exclusively within the Platform to pay fees for fee-based location entries.

6.3 Payment Using Credit Balance: If the provider activates the "Pay with Credit" option for a location entry, the respective due fee (according to the chosen billing period) is automatically deducted from the credit balance on the due date; any existing PayPal payment arrangement is paused for this period. All deductions may be viewed in the payment history of the respective location entry.

6.4 Insufficient Credit Balance: If the credit balance does not fully cover a due fee, no partial deduction takes place. Instead, the stored PayPal payment is automatically reactivated and billing continues via PayPal; the location entry remains uninterrupted. Any remaining credit balance is retained and may be used again following top-up and renewed activation of the option.

6.5 Payment Out and Non-Transferability: Credit balance is not interest-bearing and is not transferable to other accounts or third parties. Payment out during the term of the user agreement is excluded. Upon termination of the user agreement, any remaining credit balance will be refunded to the provider upon request.

6.6 Chargebacks: If a top-up is charged back, cancelled or not finally confirmed by the payment service provider, the corresponding credit balance is withdrawn again. Any resulting negative balance must be settled immediately.

7. Rules of Use and Prohibited Content

• 7.1 General Conduct Requirements: Each user undertakes to act in good faith when using the Platform and creating content (e.g. messages, support requests, profile texts), to comply with all applicable laws and to respect the rights of third parties.

• 7.2 Prohibited Content (Central Exclusion List): All users are strictly prohibited from publishing, transmitting or distributing content (texts, images, videos, links) on the Platform that:

  • 7.2.1 is untrue, misleading, inaccurate, incomplete or falsified;

  • 7.2.2 violates the rights of third parties, in particular intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, registered marks, design rights, registered designs);

  • 7.2.3 violates property rights, personality rights or data protection rights of third parties, in particular the right to one's own image (e.g. photographs in which other persons are recognisable without express consent) or unauthorised publication of personal data;

  • 7.2.4 violates good morals, accepted moral standards or public order (in particular erotic, pornographic, violent, youth-endangering or violent content);

  • 7.2.5 incites, endorses or trivialises crimes or offences, discrimination, hatred, racism or violence on the basis of race, ethnic origin or nationality;

  • 7.2.6 contains defamatory, insulting, commercially damaging or personality-rights-violating statements;

  • 7.2.7 contains malware, viruses or programmes that may disrupt the operation of the Platform or damage the IT systems of other users;

  • 7.2.8 contains spam, chain letters, unlawful advertising or links to or advertising for competitors of the Platform;

  • 7.2.9 usurps the identity of another person or acts under a false identity.

• 7.3 Data Mining and Scraping Prohibition: It is strictly prohibited to collect, combine, systematically extract (scraping/data mining) or disclose to third parties data of the Platform or information about the behaviour of other users in an automated manner, where such data has been obtained illegally or without express written permission.

8. Guidelines for the Rating System

• 8.1 Prerequisites for Ratings: A user may only submit a rating for a company, product or service if they actually know the offering from their own experience, have personally used it or have visited the company on site.

• 8.2 Prohibition of Self-Rating and Consideration: Ratings of one's own business or own products and services are not permitted. Users receive no remuneration or financial benefits from Nachhaltigkeitshelden for submitting online ratings. Ratings must be fair, honest and factual.

9. Intellectual Property and Licence Grant

• 9.1 Rights in the Platform: Nachhaltigkeitshelden retains all ownership, protection and copyright rights in the Platform. The system, layout, design, software used and all trademarks, logos and domain names used are exclusive intellectual property of Nachhaltigkeitshelden.

• 9.2 Licence Rights in User Content: Where a user uploads copyright-protected content (e.g. photographs, description texts, ratings, videos) to the Platform, they grant Nachhaltigkeitshelden a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free and perpetual licence (valid for the statutory period of protection) to use, copy, reproduce, display and technically adapt this content for the operation, presentation, promotion, further development and functionality of the Platform.

  • 9.2.1 Important Limitation: This licence is strictly limited to the scope necessary for the operation and marketing of the Platform. Any further promotional use outside the Platform in unusual third-party media (e.g. on television or in print media) for commercial purposes of the corporate group shall take place only following the obtaining of separate, express consent from the affected user.

  • 9.2.2 Continuation Upon Account Deletion: In order to preserve the integrity of forum discussions, contributions and business directory entries, this licence shall continue following deletion of the user's account within the scope of Platform operation.

• 9.3 Warranty of Rights: Users warrant that they possess all necessary rights in the content they upload and are authorised to grant the licence set out in clause 9.2. Users alone are liable for any claims by third parties arising from lacking rights.

10. Responsibility and Liability Limitation

• 10.1 User Responsibility: Users bear sole and complete criminal and civil liability as authors for the content and profiles they publish. They indemnify Nachhaltigkeitshelden from all claims by third parties arising from culpable breach of obligations under these Terms of Service (in particular clause 7.2).

• 10.2 Disclaimer for Third-Party Content (Hosting Provider Privilege): Nachhaltigkeitshelden is not required, as a service provider/platform operator, to proactively monitor transmitted or stored third-party information or to investigate circumstances indicating unlawful activity. Liability for illegal content is only possible from the point of actual knowledge of a specific legal violation. Following proper notification and review (in accordance with clause 11), the affected content will be removed within a reasonable time. Nachhaltigkeitshelden is in particular not responsible for actions by users, the accuracy of profiles or the quality of the products/services presented.

• 10.3 Disputes Between Users: Nachhaltigkeitshelden is not responsible for disputes, contracts or interactions arising between users themselves (e.g. between business users and private users). Nachhaltigkeitshelden provides no support in such cases and does not participate in dispute resolution.

• 10.4 Internet Risk Disclosure: Users are aware that, despite all security measures, the internet is not an absolutely secure network by its nature. Nachhaltigkeitshelden is not liable for unforeseeable events such as cyber attacks or security breaches in data transmission or for restrictions on transmission speed, insofar as these do not result from culpable conduct by Nachhaltigkeitshelden. Users are obliged to take their own protective measures (e.g. current security software, antivirus scanners, backups).

• 10.5 Statutory Liability Limitation (Scope of Liability): Nachhaltigkeitshelden is liable without limitation for damage to life, body or health and for damage arising from intent or gross negligence by Nachhaltigkeitshelden. In the event of slight negligence in breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal duties), Nachhaltigkeitshelden's liability is limited in amount to the damage typically foreseeable at the time of contract conclusion. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded, insofar as this is permitted by law.

11. Content Moderation, Reporting and Complaints Procedure (DSA Compliance)

• 11.1 Reporting Unlawful Content (Notice-and-Action): Should users or third parties discover content that violates legal provisions or the usage rules of these Terms of Service (clause 7.2), this may be reported via the following channels:

By Email: info@nachhaltigkeitshelden.de

By Post: Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH, Simbacher Str. 17, 81673 Munich, Germany

Upon receipt of a sufficiently substantiated report, Nachhaltigkeitshelden shall carefully examine the facts and remove or block the unlawful content within a reasonable period.

• 11.2 Obligation to Provide Reasons (Art. 17 DSA): Where Nachhaltigkeitshelden restricts, deletes or conceals a user's content, conceals their profile or temporarily or permanently suspends an account, the affected user shall be provided with a clear and specific statement of reasons for this decision, insofar as Nachhaltigkeitshelden has knowledge of the electronic contact details. The statement of reasons shall set out the facts, the applicable clause of these Terms of Service or legal provision, and references to available remedies.

• 11.3 Internal Complaints Management (Art. 20 DSA): The affected user has the right, for a period of six (6) months from receipt of the decision, to lodge a complaint free of charge against moderation measures (such as deletion or suspension). Complaints may be submitted by email to info@nachhaltigkeitshelden.de.

• 11.4 Processing of Complaints: Nachhaltigkeitshelden shall examine all cases received via the internal complaints system promptly, carefully and impartially. The procedure is conducted by qualified personnel (no purely automated decision-making in the complaints procedure). The outcome of the examination shall be communicated to the user without delay.

12. Sanctions and Account Suspension by the Operator

• 12.1 Suspension Rights: Nachhaltigkeitshelden is entitled to suspend accounts temporarily or permanently or to refuse future registration if the user:

  • 12.1.1 culpably violates obligations under these Terms of Service, the Data Protection Declaration or legal prohibitions;

  • 12.1.2 has knowingly transmitted or published inaccurate, misleading or incomplete data during registration or in the course of use;

  • 12.1.3 unlawfully assumes the identity of another user or insults other users;

  • 12.1.4 attempts to re-register despite an existing suspension under a different identity or from an already suspended IP address or device;

  • 12.1.5 has already received at least three warnings/notices from Nachhaltigkeitshelden.

• 12.2 Consequences of Permanent Suspension: A complete suspension includes permanent exclusion of the user from the Platform. Re-registration is prohibited. Data required to clarify legal violations or to fulfil legal retention obligations shall be retained for these specific purposes in accordance with the Data Protection Declaration.

13. Data Protection

The protection of users' personal data is of paramount importance to Nachhaltigkeitshelden. All information regarding which data is collected, processed, stored and transmitted, as well as the rights of those affected, are set out in the separate Data Protection Declaration, which may be accessed via the following link:

https://www.nachhaltigkeitshelden.de/datenschutz

The Data Protection Declaration is an integral part of these Terms of Service. By registration and use of the Platform, users accept the Data Protection Declaration.

14. Term, Termination and Changes to the Service

• 14.1 Termination by User: Users may terminate the user relationship for free services at any time without notice. Where an account has been created, deletion may be initiated via the profile settings or termination may be declared by email to info@nachhaltigkeitshelden.de. For booked additional services by business users, the contractual provisions in clause 5.4 shall apply.

• 14.2 Ordinary Termination by Operator: Nachhaltigkeitshelden may terminate the indefinite user relationship for free services with thirty (30) days' notice in writing or by email, in particular in the event of a fundamental change to the business model.

• 14.3 Extraordinary Termination: The right to terminate without notice for good cause (in particular in the event of serious or repeated violations of usage rules or timely objection to amended Terms of Service) shall remain unaffected for both parties.

• 14.4 Cessation of Operation: Nachhaltigkeitshelden reserves the right to cease operation of the Platform, in whole or in part, to restrict it or to transfer it to a third party, subject to notice of at least thirty (30) days. Users shall be informed of this in advance.

15. Procedure for Changes to Terms of Service

• 15.1 Right to Change: Nachhaltigkeitshelden is entitled to amend these Terms of Service with effect for the future, insofar as this is necessary to adapt to changed laws, decisions by the highest courts, administrative requirements or due to significant technical, market-driven or organisational developments.

• 15.2 Procedure for Business Users (Opt-Out / Deeming Provision): Changes to the Terms of Service shall be communicated to the business user at least fifteen (15) days, in the case of material changes (e.g. restrictions on main functions or new obligations) at least four (4) weeks before the intended date of entry into force by email. If the business user does not object to the changes before the proposed date of entry into force, the amended Terms of Service shall be deemed accepted. Nachhaltigkeitshelden shall expressly draw attention in its communication to the significance of its silence and its right to terminate without notice in the event of objection.

• 15.3 Procedure for Private Users (Requirement for Consent): Since the Platform is permanently free for private users, material changes to these Terms of Service require their express consent. Automatic acceptance by silence is excluded. The private user shall be informed in good time and asked for active consent (Opt-In) upon next login to the Platform. Without consent, the Platform may not be fully usable.

16. Final Provisions

• 16.1 Applicable Law: These Terms of Service and all resulting legal relationships shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Sales Convention (CISG). For consumers (private users), this choice of law shall apply only insofar as the protection granted is not denied by the mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which the consumer has their habitual residence (Art. 6 para. 2 Rome I Regulation).

• 16.2 Jurisdiction: Where the user is a merchant, a public law legal entity or a public law special fund, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Service shall be the registered office of Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH (Munich).

• 16.3 Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumers (ODR Platform / VSBG): The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution (ODR) platform, which consumers can find at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. Nachhaltigkeitshelden is neither willing nor required to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer mediation body under the Consumer Dispute Settlement Act (VSBG). The competent general mediation body is: Allgemeine Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle des Zentrums für Schlichtung e. V., Straßburger Straße 8, 77694 Kehl am Rhein, www.verbraucher-schlichter.de.

• 16.4 Communication: All contract-relevant notifications, enquiries and other information exchanged between business users and Nachhaltigkeitshelden shall be sent via the contact form provided on the Platform or by email to info@nachhaltigkeitshelden.de.

• 16.5 Assignment: Nachhaltigkeitshelden is entitled, subject to applicable data protection laws, to transfer all rights and obligations under these Terms of Service in whole or in part to third parties (e.g. in the event of mergers or a change of control). Business users shall be informed of this at least thirty (30) days in advance and have the right to terminate without notice in such cases.

• 16.6 No Corporate Relationship: These Terms of Service do not create any partnership (under any legal form), employment relationship, commercial agency relationship or franchise relationship between Nachhaltigkeitshelden and the users.

• 16.7 Severability Clause: Should any provision of these Terms of Service be or become wholly or partly invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. Any invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a legally valid and enforceable provision that comes closest to achieving the economic purpose of the original provision.

Version 2.1 · Date: August 2026 · Nachhaltigkeitshelden GmbH, Frankfurt am Main