Terms of Use

Last updated: August 28, 2024

These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Notice, and any other legal notices, terms, and policies expressly incorporated herein (collectively, these “Terms of Use”), are a binding agreement between you and Earth Advantage, Inc. (“we,” “us,” or x.  You are agreeing to these Terms of Use by registering with, accessing, visiting, or otherwise using (collectively, “interacting”) any of the following websites and web applications:
•    www.earthadvantage.org (our “Website”);
•    NW Rater Portal hosted at https://nwraterportal.com/login
•    Green Building Registry® hosted at https://us.greenbuildingregistry.com/; or
•    Home Energy Fit™ hosted at https://homeenergyfit.com/login. 

Our Website, proprietary web applications (including the websites on which they are hosted) and the content, features and functionality thereon, are collectively referred to as our “Services” through these Terms of Use. 

Please read these Terms of Use carefully before you start interacting with our Services. By interacting with our Services, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use.  If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use, you must not interact with our Services.  

Changes to these Terms of Use

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace any or all of these Terms of Use at any time.  All changes are effective immediately when posted and apply to all interaction with our Services thereafter.  Your continued use of our Services following the posting of any revision means that you accept and agree to the changes.  You are expected to check these Terms of Use frequently, so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.  If you are dissatisfied with our Services, or any terms and conditions herein (including as modified), you agree that your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using our Services.
 

Eligibility and Compliance with these Terms of Use

You agree to use our Services only in accordance with these Terms of Use, whether you are a “Visitor” (which means that you simply browse our Services as an unregistered user) or you are a “Member” (which means you have registered and have an account with us).  The term “User” means a Visitor or a Member.  Please read and save these Terms of Use.  If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, do not use our Services or any of its features.  If you register to become a Member you may be required to indicate your acceptance to these Terms of Use during the registration process.

Our Services are offered and available to Users who are 18 years of age or older and are located in the United States of America (the “U.S.”).  If you do not meet these requirements, you are not permitted to interact with our Services. 

Use of our Services and their features and registration to be a Member (“Registration”) are void where prohibited.  By using our Services and their features, you represent and warrant that you: (a) are 18 years of age or older; (b) are located in the U.S.; (c)submitted truthful and accurate information at Registration; (d) will maintain the accuracy of Member information; and (e) are not violating any applicable law or regulation by or when interacting with our Services. 
 

Access to Our Services and Account Security

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend our Services at our sole discretion without notice.  We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of our Services are unavailable at any time or for any period.  From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts or all of our Services to Users, including Members. 

You agree that all information you provide for Registration or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through any interactive features on our Services, is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.  Please be aware that this may include your individual clients’, suppliers’, employees’, or other individuals’ information if you upload such information on or through our Services.

If you register to become a Member, you will be asked to provide an email address and password .  You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of this information.  You are not permitted to allow anyone else to use your username and password to log into our Services.  You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session.  You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.  

You must notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your password.  You are solely responsible for any and all use of your account, so please be vigilant in protecting its confidentiality.

We have the right to disable any username, password, or other identifier at any time at our sole discretion for any or no reason, including, if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.
 

Your Use of Our Services

You agree not to use our Services for any unlawful purpose.  You agree not to rent, retransmit, disclose, publish, sell, assign, lease, sublicense, market, or transfer our Services or any portion thereof or use it in any manner not expressly authorized by these Terms of Use.  You agree not to copy, reverse engineer, translate, port, modify or make derivative works of any portion of our Services, including the underlying code, data, or content in our web applications.  Tampering with our Services, misrepresenting the identity or age of a User, or conducting fraudulent activities on our Services, including through automated means, are prohibited.
 

Prohibited Uses

You may use our Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use.  You agree not to use our Services:
•    In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation.
•    For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors (defined, for purposes of these Terms of Use, as a person under the age of 18) in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
•    To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use, or re-use any material that does not comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.
•    To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any “junk mail,” “chain letter,” “spam,” or any other similar solicitation.
•    To impersonate or attempt to impersonate Earth Advantage, an Earth Advantage employee, another User, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing).
•    To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of our Services, or which, as determined by us, may harm Earth Advantage or Users of our Services, or expose them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:
•    Use our Services in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair our Services or interfere with any other party’s use of our Services, including their ability to engage in real time activities through our Services.
•    Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access our Services for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on our Services.
•    Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on our Services, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, without our prior written consent.
•    Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of our Services.
•    Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
•    Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of our Services, the server(s) on which our Services are stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to our Services.
•    Misuse any APIs or data associated with our Services, including by exceeding authorized access levels or extracting data in a manner that is not permitted.
•    Attack our Services via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
•    Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of our Services.
 

Intellectual Property Rights

The Services and their original content (excluding content provided by Users), including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof, are and will remain the exclusive property of Earth Advantage, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. 
 

Trademarks

NW RATER PORTAL, GREEN BUILDING REGISTRY, HOME ENERGY FIT, EARTH ADVANTAGE, our logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans are trademarks of Earth Advantage or its affiliates or licensors. You shall not use such marks without our prior written permission.  All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on our Services are the trademarks of their respective owners.


Content You Upload

We do not claim any ownership rights in the content (including, but not limited to, text, images, photos, and videos) that you post, submit, publish, display, or transmit (hereinafter, “upload”) on or through our Services (“User Uploads”).  You continue to retain any such rights that you may have in your User Uploads, subject to the limited license you grant to us.  By uploading User Uploads, you grant us an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, modify, delete from, add to, create derivative works of, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute (and to sublicense the foregoing rights through multiple tiers of licensees) such content in connection with our Services.

Our Services may contain the content of other Users, licensors, or other third parties. Except as provided within these Terms of Use, you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any content or data, including User Uploads, that appears on or through our Services.

We may remove User Uploads (whether in whole or in part) from our Services, permanently or temporarily.

All User Uploads must comply with the following Content Standards.  By uploading any content, you represent and warrant that: (a) you own the content or otherwise have the right to grant the licenses set forth above; and (b) posting will not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, contract rights, intellectual property, or any other rights of any person or entity.  You agree to be fully responsible for and to pay any and all royalties, fees, and any other monies owing any person or entity by reason of any User Uploads you make.
 

Content Standards

User Uploads must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations.  Without limiting the foregoing, User Uploads must not:
•    Reveal sensitive personal information. 
•    Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
•    Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
•    Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
•    Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
•    Be likely to deceive any person.
•    Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote, or assist any unlawful act.
•    Impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
•    Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
•    Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity if this is not the case.

We may reject, ignore, or delete any User Uploads for any or no reason, including, without limitation, content that in our sole judgment violates these Terms of Use.  


Communications

By creating an account with us, or otherwise providing your email address on our Services, you agree to subscribe to newsletters, marketing or promotional materials, and other information we may send.  To opt-out of promotional communications from us, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of our emails or follow the instructions provided. 


Disclaimer

Your use of our Services is at your sole risk.  The Services are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis.  The Services are provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or course of performance.  We cannot guarantee and do not promise any specific results from use of our Services.

We are not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User of our Services including, without limitation, any User Uploads.  By voluntarily uploading content, including any sensitive or personal information you choose to disclose, you acknowledge and agree that you do so at your own risk.  We disclaim any responsibility for disclosures arising from such voluntary submissions, and you are solely responsible for the content you choose to share in your User Uploads.

We assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, and any User Upload or other electronic communication.  We are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or players due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or on any portion of our Services or combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Users or to any person’s device related to or resulting from interacting with our Services. 

Under no circumstances shall we be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from use of our Services, from any User Uploads posted on or through our Services, or from the conduct of any Users, whether online or offline.  Additionally, we shall have no liability for any viruses or anything beyond our control.  We are not responsible for any damage to your computer, software, modem, telephone, or other property resulting from your use of our Services.  We will not be liable to you if you are unable to access information through our Services.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties and/or liabilities, so certain limitations or exclusions in these Terms of Use may not apply to you.


Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, NOR OUR MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AGENTS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, LICENSEES, LICENSORS, OR AFFILIATES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, CLAIM, OR LOSS INCURRED BY YOU, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION COMPENSATORY, INCIDENTAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM: (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, OUR SERVICES; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON OUR SERVICES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM OUR SERVICES; AND (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR USER UPLOADS, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, MISREPRESENTATION, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

IF ANY WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT ARE FOR ANY REASON HELD UNENFORCEABLE OR INAPPLICABLE, YOU AGREE THAT OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).
 

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us, our members, managers, employees, partners, agents, service providers, licensees, licensors, and affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, agents, partners and employees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”), harmless from any loss, liability, cost, expense, claim, or demand, including without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from (a) your use of our Services in violation of these Terms of Use; (b) a breach of these Terms of Use or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these Terms of Use; (c) any User Upload made by you or from your Member account; and (d) any third-party transaction that you enter or attempt to enter in connection with our Services.
 

Governing Law

These Terms of Use shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Oregon, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.  The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms of Use.

ANY CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.  EACH OF THE PARTIES ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THIS SECTION IS A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT FOR THE OTHER PARTY ENTERING INTO THE TERMS.


Miscellaneous 

We may assign these Terms of Use, in whole or in part, to a related entity or to a third party.  These Terms of Use are accepted upon you interacting with our Services and is further affirmed upon you becoming a Member.  These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and Earth Advantage regarding the use of our Services and their features.  Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision.  The section titles in these Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.  These Terms of Use operate to the fullest extent permissible by law.  If any provision of these Terms of Use is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from these Terms of Use and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.


Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us at info@earthadvantage.org

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