Status: November 21, 2023
1.1 score4more GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "score4more") operates an internet service for companies on the website www.score4more.eu in order to support them in the area of sustainability and to promote their cooperation. In particular, score4more offers a space for mutual exchange, analysis of companies and the use of digital content as well as for further functions and services within the scope of service offers ("score4more Services", the website and, if available, related mobile application of score4more together "Platform"). These following General Terms and Conditions ("score4more GTC") apply to all uses of the offer within the framework of the contractual relationship ("score4more Contract") between score4more and the individual entrepreneur or company as contractual partner ("Contractual Partner"). General terms and conditions of the Contractual Partner only become part of the contract if score4more expressly approves them in writing.
1.2 For the use of additional available services ("Partner Services") from other third-party providers (such as other online service providers, each a "Partner") or the integration of the Partner Services, the terms of use and other contractual conditions agreed separately by the Contractual Partner with the respective Partner, including the general terms and conditions of these Partners (each a "Partner Contract"), apply insofar as a separate contractual relationship between the Contractual Partner and the respective Partner is required. Irrespective of this (but especially if a Partner Contract is not concluded), the Contractual Partner must agree to the price and service descriptions provided by score4more for the score4more Services.
1.3. Contractual Partners can only be entrepreneurs in the sense of § 14 BGB. The score4more GTC do not apply to consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB.
2.1 The subject of the score4more contract is the use of score4more services. For the use of some score4more services, a user account with a company profile is required. The functional scope of the platform and the description of the score4more services are made available to the contractual partner on the score4more website as a "Price and Service Description (PSD)" or in another way (e.g. through an individual offer), to which the score4more GTC apply in full as part of the score4more contract. Price adjustments for paid services are governed by section 13.5.
2.2. The score4more GTC do not apply to individual contractual services agreed between the parties (such as individual project and consulting contracts), unless explicit reference is made to these score4more GTC in the individual assignment.
2.3 The company profile represents the identity with which the contractual partner appears and is presented within the platform. The company profile is only visible within the platform. The contractual partner determines the visibility of the company profile within the platform via opt-in. The company profile offers the contractual partner the opportunity to present itself as a company. The contractual partner can choose between the profile-related services offered in the price and service description with different functionalities.
2.4 The contractual partner or his authorized representative creates a user account on the platform, selects a score4more service according to the price and service description and accepts the score4more GTC. For the user account, the contractual partner enters his e-mail address and a password ("access data") in addition to the master data.
2.5 By completing a booking or order process, the Contractual Partner submits an offer to conclude a contract for score4more services in accordance with the price and service description. When using paid services, the contractual partner accepts the associated payment obligation by clicking on the confirmation field offered in this case. A confirmation of receipt by e-mail does not constitute acceptance of the offer by score4more. score4more accepts this offer of the contractual partner by sending an order confirmation or providing the corresponding services. The contract between the contractual partner and score4more only comes into effect with this acceptance. score4more is not obliged to conclude the contract. score4more will inform the contractual partner by e-mail as soon as the account and the ordered services are ready for use.
2.6 Details of the conditions and requirements of the partner services can be found in the respective partner contracts. The partner contracts are beyond the control of score4more.
3.1. The Contractual Partner has the opportunity to decide within the offer for the use of digital content advertised therein. Digital content is either made available directly online for use or offered as purchasable digital products.
3.2 Unless otherwise agreed, score4more will provide the contractual partner with purchased digital online content immediately or within a delivery time defined in the price and service description after conclusion of the contract.
3.3 The transmission of purchasable digital product content takes place by providing it as a PDF document. In order to display the document in question, the contractual partner requires a compatible PDF reader. The use of Adobe Reader, which is available free of charge for many platforms, is recommended.
3.4 The provision of a purchased digital product is only possible once. The contractual partner is solely responsible for the storage and sufficient backup of the respective file. score4more is not liable to the contractual partner if purchased digital content is no longer available for renewed provision.
4.1. With the order confirmation, the Contractual Partner receives the details of his order and the score4more GTC by e-mail. The Contractual Partner can view the current version of the score4more GTC on the Platform at any time. The text of the contract is neither archived by score4more nor is it otherwise accessible to the Contractual Partner.
4.2. Payment of the fees is only possible with the payment methods permitted at the time the contract was concluded.
4.3. Invoices are provided to the Contractual Partner in electronic form as a PDF file. The Contractual Partner is responsible for the proper storage of the invoices.
5.1 score4more owes the contractual partner only the score4more services listed in the respective valid price and service description.
5.2. score4more always endeavors to ensure unrestricted usability and availability of the score4more Services, but cannot provide an unlimited guarantee. score4more is obliged to ensure an annual average server-side availability of the score4more Services of 96% ("Service Level").
5.3. The score4more Services provided are also in accordance with the contract if the Service Level is reduced by a maximum of 6% on an annual average and the usability or availability of the score4more Services is restricted by:
6.1. The software and other digital content provided by score4more may be subject to copyright, trademark and other legal aspects. score4more is the owner of the software and the databases. The corresponding rights remain entirely with the respective rights holders.
6.2 score4more grants the Contractual Partner a simple and non-transferable right to use the services booked and the content purchased. The right to use purchased digital products is unlimited in time from the conclusion of the contract, unless otherwise stated in the PSD (e.g. ESG Passport). The right to use services and content is limited to the term of the contract. The contractual partner is not entitled to exploit the services booked and content acquired by it beyond the use permitted in this granting of rights. In particular, he is not permitted to edit or otherwise change the digital content, convert it, reproduce it for purposes other than those stated, distribute it, make it publicly accessible via the Internet or other data networks for a fee or free of charge, or pass it on.
6.3 The above granting of the right of use is subject to the condition precedent of full payment of the fee agreed for the purchase, but may also depend on other conditions according to the PSD (e.g. specific scoring for ESG Passport).
6.4. For the purposes of the respective score4more Services and their advertising, the Contractual Partner grants score4more a non-exclusive, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable right of use (a) with the registration of the company name including the right to a name, any word mark and company name, (b) with the uploading of logos to the logos including any figurative marks, and (c) with the uploading of copyright-protected documents such as sustainability reports to them. The right of use applies for the term of the contract and also for all digital content created during the term of the contract, in particular content protected by copyright, such as benchmarking reports.
7.1. score4more undertakes to protect Contractual Partner data at all times by appropriate measures that correspond to the current state of the art and to only pass on personal data of the Contractual Partner and his employees and other contact persons for legally permissible reasons according to the Privacy Policy. Once entered into the company profile, data is no longer confidential and is not subject to any trade secrets.
7.2. As a technical measure within the meaning of Section 7.1, score4more transmits data, especially account information, exclusively in encrypted form. score4more uses other suitable and secure procedures to enable the Contractual Partner to retrieve the necessary information and to transmit inquiries (e.g. two-factor-authentication).
7.3. Details on the handling of personal data and data security are described thoroughly in the score4more data protection declaration policy (https://score4more.eu/en/privacy-policy/).The data is transmitted via a secure and encrypted internet connection. For the regular exchange of data, score4more and the Partners have each concluded an agreement for the respective data processing.
7.4. For the processing of the Contractual Partner's data by Partners, their data protection declarations apply.
8.1. The Contractual Partner is obliged,
8.2. The Contractual Partner is prohibited from the following actions:
8.3. The Contractual Partner assures that all data provided by it is true and complete. The Contractual Partner is obliged to keep the data regarding all applications used by it correct and complete for the entire contract period. In the event that the Contractual Partner acts on behalf of a legal entity within the scope of certain applications, the Contractual Partner assures to be authorized to act on behalf of the legal entity. Upon request, the Contractual Partner will provide score4more with evidence of the information assured in accordance with this clause.
8.4. score4more is not obliged to make data and/or information provided by the Contractual Partner available to other contractual partners if this data and/or information is not in accordance with Sections 8.1 and 8.2. score4more is entitled to remove inadmissible data and/or information from the Platform according to Sections 8.1 and 8.2 without prior notice to the Contractual Partner.
8.5. The Contractual Partner is responsible for taking state-of-the-art IT security measures within his own organization and for his employees. The Contractual Partner is responsible for the technical setup and administration of the user account. This includes in particular: (i) the functional setup of the user account, in particular migration of data, configuration of processes and products; (ii) the functional setup of integrations in the user account and in third-party systems, e.g. the determination whether certain data fields are to be transferred and how Contractual Partner-specific values from multiple selection fields are to be assigned ; (iii) the technical connection of interfaces on the part of the Contractual Partner according to the specification for incoming and outgoing data, including the entry of API keys and the activation of interfaces in the third-party system if API is available; (iv) the administration of the user account, in particular the creation of users and roles and the assignment of access to the user account.
8.6. score4more assumes no responsibility for content, data and/or information provided by the Contractual Partner on the Platform as well as for contents on linked, external websites. In particular, score4more does not guarantee that this content is true, fulfills a specific purpose or can serve such a purpose.
8.7. score4more cannot determine with certainty whether a Contractual Partner registered on the Platform actually represents the company the Contractual Partner pretends to represent. score4more therefore does not guarantee the actual identity of a Contractual Partner.
8.8. The Contractual Partner is responsible for ensuring that third parties cannot gain knowledge of access data and must take the necessary measures to ensure confidentiality. In maintaining confidentiality, he must exercise the same care as with his own information of similar importance, but at least an appropriate degree of care. In particular, he must use a secure password made up of numbers, letters and special characters and change the password at regular intervals.
8.9. The Contractual Partner is also responsible for taking appropriate precautions to back up the data and content entered, uploaded and stored when using the account regularly and appropriate to the dangers and to create his own backup copies in order to ensure the reconstruction of the same in the event of loss of data and information.
8.10. The availability of the score4more Services depends on internet access. The Contractual Partner is responsible for ensuring that the necessary system requirements are met in order to be able to use the score4more Services. If the Contractual Partner uses offers from third parties, he is responsible for ensuring that these do not impair the score4more Services. In particular, the Contractual Partner is prohibited from using scraping software on the score4more Platform. In this respect, score4more assumes no liability for compatibility and is not liable for damage caused by the use of such offers.
9.1. The term of the score4more Contract is determined by the selected score4more Services.
9.2 After expiry of the contract term, the paid services are automatically extended for a further billing period if they are not terminated by the Contractual Partner or score4more in due time. Section 13.5 applies to price adjustments.
9.3 After termination of the paid services by the Contractual Partner or score4more, the Contractual Partner will initially switch to the free services, but the additional and extended functions of the paid services will no longer apply. Upon termination of the free services, the user account of the contractual partner will be deleted.
9.4. The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected. A good cause in this sense exists in particular if the Contractual Partner:
In the event of an extraordinary termination, the user account will be deleted and fees already paid will be refunded pro rata temporis.
9.5. Unsaved data, including digital content, will be lost upon termination.
9.6. If there is an important reason according to Section 9.4, score4more can also impose the following sanctions on the Contractual Partner, regardless of a termination according to Section 9.4:
10.1. With regard to the contents of digital content, score4more guarantees that the respective analyzes were created in accordance with the analysis methods used by score4more and on the basis of the data and information provided by score4more for the analysis or that are publicly available. score4more does not assume any further guarantee for the correctness and completeness of the digital content, in particular score4more does not guarantee the correctness of the data used for analyzes and studies. score4more uses artificial intelligence software to estimate some data and labels this software; score4more assumes no liability for the accuracy of the estimates.
10.2. score4more assumes no responsibility for reporting obligations or other obligations regarding legal or tax information that the Contractual Partner is obliged to provide to third parties (in particular authorities). The Contractual Partner is solely responsible for compliance with his storage obligations, in particular, but not exclusively, according to § 147 German Tax Code (Abgabenordnung, AO) or German VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz, UStG). He shall ensure that his documents and data are kept lawfully - where necessary - and that authorities are granted the necessary access to them.
10.3 For the functions offered as part of the score4more Services that assess, evaluate and compare the sustainability of companies, e.g. "Sustainability Profile", "Scoring", "Benchmarking" and "ESG Passport" ("ESG Functions"), the Contract Partner acknowledges that the reliability of the ESG Functions and their results depends to a large extent on the quality of the data provided by score4more. The Contractual Partner is only entitled to proper application of the methodology on which the ESG functions are based. The results thus produced do not replace professional legal advice and the Contract Partner acknowledges that any decisions and applications for certifications of the Contract Partner require the active participation of the Contract Partner. Any liability of score4more with regard to decisions made on the basis of the ESG functions and their results is therefore excluded.
10.4. score4more is liable on the merits without contractual limitation only for damages of the Contractual Partner:
10.5. For damages resulting from a slightly negligent breach of an essential obligation, the liability of score4more is limited to the amount of the damage that is foreseeable and typical given the nature of the respective business. Essential obligations are obligations, whose violation jeopardizes the achievement of the purpose of the contract or whose fulfillment enables the proper execution of the contract in the first place and on whose compliance the Contractual Partner regularly relies.
10.6. A liability of score4more for damage to the Contractual Partner resulting from loss of data is excluded insofar as the damage is based on the fact that the Contractual Partner has failed to regularly and properly carry out data backups within his area of responsibility and thereby ensure that lost data can be restored with reasonable effort.
10.7. Any further liability of score4more is excluded.
10.8. Insofar as the liability of score4more is excluded or limited, this also applies to the personal liability of employees, representatives and vicarious agents of score4more as well as to tortious claims.
11.1. The Partners act on the basis of their own contractual relationship with the Contractual Partner. score4more assumes no warranty or liability in this respect.
11.2 If the Contractual Partner uses the Partner Services via score4more, this is always at the Contractual Partner's own risk. Details can be found in the product descriptions of the partners and the terms of use provided by score4more for the respective partner service.
The limitation period for all warranty rights of the Contractual Partner is 12 months, unless score4more is subject to unlimited liability in accordance with Section 10.4.
13.1. score4more reserves the right to change the score4more Services or to offer different score4more Services, unless this is not reasonable for the Contractual Partner.
13.2. score4more also reserves the right to change the score4more Services or to offer different services,
13.3. Changes with only an insignificant influence on the functions of the Platform do not constitute changes of service within the meaning of these clauses 13.1 and 13.2. This applies in particular to changes of a purely graphic nature and the mere change in the arrangement of functions.
13.4. score4more is entitled to make changes to the score4more GTC, including the price and service description and other provisions of the score4more contract, at any time. If the contractual partner does not object to the validity of the new score4more GTC within six (6) weeks of notification, the amended score4more GTC are deemed to have been accepted by the contractual partner. score4more will inform the contractual partner of his right to object and the significance of the objection period in the notification. For price increases at the end of the respective billing period, section 13.5 applies with priority.
13.5. score4more reserves the right to increase the prices for paid services with effect from the beginning of a new billing period if the general operating costs of the provider increase, but never by more than 20% ("price increase"). In this case, score4more will inform the Contract Partner accordingly at least six (6) weeks before the start of the billing period at which the price increase takes effect. If the contractual partner does not agree with this price increase, he can object to it within four (4) weeks via contact form, letter or e-mail. The objection corresponds to an irrevocable termination of the paid services by the contractual partner, so that the paid services end at the end of the existing minimum usage period or the current billing period. score4more will inform the contractual partner in the notification of his right of objection and the significance of the objection period. A change in the price due to a change in the scope of services or the number of employees to be managed is not considered a price adjustment within the meaning of this section 13.5.
13.6 score4more will inform the contractual partner of these changes by e-mail.
14.1. The Contractual Partner may not cede or pledge claims against score4more. This does not apply to monetary claims as long as the requirements of Section 354a of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, HGB) are met. score4more can cede all claims against the Contractual Partner to third parties.
14.2. score4more may entrust third parties with the fulfillment of the obligations arising from this contract. During the term of the contractual relationship, the Contractual Partner may not allow third parties to use the score4more Services, nor sublet, lease, sell or encumber the score4more Services with a lien or make them the subject of a transaction in any other way. Extraordinary termination according to Section 540, para. 1, s. 2 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) is excluded.
15.1. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to the exclusion of the UN Sales Convention.
15.2. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the score4more Contract (including the score4more GTC) is Berlin-Mitte if the Contractual Partner is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law. This also applies to the enforcement of score4more's rights against the Contractual Partner.
15.3. Should individual provisions of the score4more GTC be or become invalid, this will not affect the validity of the remainder of the score4more GTC. The ineffective provision will be mutually replaced by the contracting parties with a provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the ineffective provision in a legally effective manner.
15.4. The above provision applies in case of loopholes accordingly.
