CO2 Offsets Terms & Conditions:

When You Offset Your CO2 with NativeEnergy,

you will have helped make it possible for the Laurelbrook Farm to install and operate a manure separation and composting project (the “Project”) that will prevent emissions of methane that would have resulted from its prior business-as-usual practice of lagoon storage of manure pending periodic field spreading. Your purchase will fund a portion of our commitment, made on our customers’ behalf, to purchase 100 percent of the carbon dioxide-equivalent verified emissions reductions (“VERs”) to be produced by the project over its first ten years of commercial operations. Our commitment was necessary for the Laurelbrook Farm to agree to install and operate the project. We will make this purchase as follows:

  • We are currently having the Project validated as a carbon offset project by First Environment under the Voluntary Carbon Standard, a leading independent carbon offset standard. As part of that validation, First Environment will make a final determination for us of the quantity of VERs that the Project will be expected to produce during its first 10 years of commercial operations (the “Validated Quantity”). This 10-year period is the amount of time the Project is eligible to be credited with VERs under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (the “Crediting Period”). We expect the Validated Quantity to be approximately 22,000 short tons of VERs, and we will use that 22,000 ton figure as a “[placeholder]” in these terms and conditions, pending receipt of the Validation Report, which we expect by the end of October, 2010.

  • In order to bring to the Project the up-front capital it needs to pay for the equipment, we have committed purchase and pay for 80% of the Validated Quantity promptly following the Project’s achievement of commercial operations. Upon making that purchase, we will secure all right, title and interest in and to the first [17,600] tons of VERs to be produced by the Project (80% of [22,000]), based on our current estimates of what the Validated Quantity will be (we will have the Validation Report before making this purchase, so we’ll know what that [17,600] VER placeholder will have changed to by then). We expect that 80% of the Validated Quantity will be produced during the first 8 years of the Crediting Period. This 8-year period is referred to in these terms and conditions as the “Delivery Term.” The number of tons that is 80% of the Validated Quantity – the amount we’re currently selling – is referred to as the “Sales Quantity”).

  • We will purchase the remaining VERs produced by the Project during the Crediting Period in excess of the Sales Quantity, if any are produced, on an annual basis following annual verification of the production of the Sales Quantity. The amount of VERs produced in excess of the Sales Quantity is referred to as the “Buffer Quantity”).

As such, for each ton of CO2 you offset with NativeEnergy from the Laurelbrook Farm Project, we will allocate to you a 1 / [17,600] fraction of the first [17,600] tons VERs produced by the Project, which we estimate will produce 1 ton of carbon dioxide-equivalent VERs by the end of the Delivery Term. This fraction is subject to adjustment based on the validation of the Project’s expected VER production – 17,600 will be replaced, for all our customers, with the number that represents 80% of the Validated Quantity. You can see what adjustment was made by visiting this link in January, 2011.

Donation to Clean Air - Cool Planet.

When you offset with our premium “Help BuildTM” projects, you are purchasing the rights to a long-term stream of VERs. To have them offset your current CO2 footprint, you need to make sure that your VERs are never sold to someone else later. That’s why we donate all our customers’ VERs to Clean Air-Cool Planet, for retirement. CA-CP has agreed with us that it will accept our customers’ VERs, and that it will not sell or otherwise transfer them, or use them, for any purpose, except to the extent necessary or advisable under applicable law to effect their retirement, such as transfer to a duly constituted government agency for retirement.

Varification.

The Project’s VER output will be third party verified following the Project’s first year of operations, which will give us the opportunity to work with the Laurelbrook Farm to correct any operational issues. It will be verified again following its 9th and 10th year of operations, to confirm the production of the Sales Quantity and the extent of the production of the Buffer Quantity. We will register the Project with the Markit Registry, where Pending Issuance Units (“PIUs”) will be recorded with respect to the Validated Quantity. Upon third party verification of the emissions reductions produced by the Project, the corresponding quantity of PIUs will be cancelled and Voluntary Carbon Units (“VCUs”) representing the VERs will be issued by the Voluntary Carbon Standard and then retired in our retirement account, assuring that none of the emissions reductions are double-counted.

Project Construction.

The Laurelbrook Farm completed construction of the Project and it began operations on July 20, 2010, in reliance on our commitment to purchase its VERs. As such, the Delivery Term will be completed on July 20, 2018, and the Crediting Period will end on July 20, 2020.

Project Operations.

The Laurelbrook Farm has agreed with us that it will use commercially reasonable efforts to operate the Project for the duration of its Crediting Period. The farm has also agreed to perform all manufacturer-recommended maintenance and commercially reasonable repair, and to maintain adequate insurance.

Buffer: Portfolio Guarantee.

NativeEnergy has contracted to purchase 100% of the Laurelbrook Farm Project’s VER output over its entire 10-year Crediting Period, however much that is. We will initially sell only the first 80% of that – the Sales Quantity. We are reserving the remaining last 20% of the Validated Quantity – the Buffer Quantity – in a dedicated buffer account on the registry as a “buffer” to protect you against the risk that the Project underperforms during its first 8 years – the Delivery Term. If the Project produces more than the Sales Quantity during the Delivery Term, we will retire the excess VERs on your behalf, and your purchase will result in more VERs than you paid for. If the Project produces less than the Sales Quantity during the Delivery Term, we will retire VERs from the buffer account on the registry, first from the Buffer Quantity from the Laurelbrook Farm Project, and second from the buffers of other projects in our portfolio whose Crediting Periods end in the year the Laurelbrook Farm Project’s Crediting Period Ends, and from which we sold VERs on a long-term, up-front basis (our “Help BuildTM Projects”), until the Sales Quantity of VERs have been retired on behalf of our Laurelbrook Farm supporters. We will buffer each Help BuildTM project and manage that portfolio of project buffers to maintain, or following unforeseen events, to restore (as new projects are added to the portfolio), a 99% probability that more than enough VERs will be available to be retired on your behalf.

Our Emissions Reductions Estimates are Estimates Only.

We estimate that your fraction of the Project’s VER production capacity will prevent the emission of the number of CO2-equivalent tons you have chosen to offset. This estimate will be validated by First Environment using Voluntary Carbon Standard Protocols. These protocols require verification tithing a 5% materiality threshold for accuracy, so we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. In addition, the CO2–equivalent reducing impact of the Project may be subject to changes in law.

Billing.

If you choose our monthly payment plan, we will continue to bill your credit card each month until you cancel. Each monthly payment will purchase 1/12 of the number of tons you chose to offset for the year. Your first monthly payment will be dedicated to the Laurelbrook Farm Project. Each successive monthly payment will be dedicated to the Laurelbrook project as long as we are selling from it on our web site. Thereafter, each monthly payment will be dedicated to helping build or support an alternated project in our portfolio. You can always learn which project your monthly payments are helping to build or support by sending us an e-mail at support@nativeenergy.com, or calling our toll-free number. If it isn’t a project you want to help build or support, we’ll either switch you to a different project or terminate our monthly billing, whichever you prefer. If you choose our upfront payment option, we will not automatically bill you again next year, although we will ask you to renew your purchase at that time.


Cancellation.

If you elect our convenient monthly payment option, you may cancel any time for any reason by sending us an e-mail to support@nativeenergy.com or calling us at (800) 924-6826 and we will immediately discontinue further charges to your credit card. If you elect our up-front payment option or our monthly payment option, you may cancel your participation for any reason by sending us an e-mail to support@nativeenergy.com or calling our toll-free number within ten days of your initial purchase. If you cancel your participation within this period, we'll refund any amounts charged to your credit card. If you do cancel, please tell us why.

Other Legal Provisions.

EXCEPT AS SET FORTH EXPRESSLY IN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, NATIVEENERGY MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER IMPLIED OR EXPRESS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (this disclaimer may not apply in your state). All our estimates regarding the quantity of emissions reductions represented by your VERs are subject to changes in law. In no event shall either party be liable to the other party for indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation, loss of revenues or profits. In no event shall NativeEnergy be liable for any failure to perform to the extent caused by or resulting from any cause or circumstance beyond its reasonable control and which, by the exercise of due diligence, it could not have reasonably prevented or overcome. All damages shall be limited to actual damages only. The agreement set forth in these terms and conditions shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Vermont, without regard to its provisions governing conflicts of laws. Any dispute arising under this agreement shall be subject to mandatory arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and the arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding upon the parties. All information included on the web pages or pop-ups linked to in these terms and conditions is incorporated into these terms and conditions by this reference, with the same effect as though fully set forth herein.

If you have questions about our terms and conditions, please contact us at info@nativeenergy.com or call (800) 924-6826.