General Terms and Conditions for Usage of
the ECOnGOOD Label

International Federation for the Economy for the Common Good e.V.

Preamble

Christian Felber referred to a label for the Economy for the Common Good movement in his book Gemeinwohl Ökonomie (Economy for the Common Good) in 2010. Also in Change Everything: Creating an Economy for the Common Good, he refers to the label as a way to create market transparency. The concept of a label was embedded in the strategy of the Economy for the Common Good movement from the beginning. After several years of preparation, we launched the ECOnGOOD label.

 

§1 Area of Application

These General Terms and Conditions apply to the use of the ECOnGOOD label. This label may be used by organizations that meet all of the following conditions:

  • During the period of use, organizations must have a valid membership in a member association of the International Federation for the Economy for the Common Good e.V. and the membership fees must be paid in full.
  • The organization must have a valid audit of its Common Good Balance Sheet conducted by an auditor recognized by the International Federation for the Economy for the Common Good e.V..
  • The Common Good Balance Sheet on which the audit is based must show a positive result.
  • The organization must be registered in the Audit database currently in use.

§2 Duration of Use

The label may be used for the period of validity of the audit as well as one year (“grace year”) beyond that. If there is no follow-up assessment and audit, the use of the label by the organization after the grace year must be discontinued immediately.

§3 Usage Right

  • The rights user is entitled to use the subject matter of the contract in all known and currently unknown ways, in particular in print form (e.g. in business correspondence, advertising flyers, advertisements, tags, etc.) and in particular digitally (e.g. on the Internet, on the homepage, social media, in the form of banner advertising, etc.). The right of use includes in particular any reproduction, distribution, making available to the public and broadcasting.
  • The rights user agrees to use the word and figurative mark only in the form provided by the rights holder. Any deviation, no matter how minor, requires the prior written consent of the rights holder.
  • The usage right may not be transferred to third parties.
  • The rights user agrees not to derive any rights against the rights holder from the use of the word and figurative mark, not to attack the word and figurative mark himself/herself, nor to initiate or support attacks by third parties.

§4 Prices and Payment

Use of the label is free of charge.

§5 Obligations of Use

  • The word-picture mark contains a QR code and a five-digit ID number. The UID number is used for unique assignment.
  • The provided QR code leads customers and the interested public to an ECOnGOOD landing page, on which the Common Good Certificate and the Balance Sheet Report of the organization are featured. [Further general information about the company and information about the history of the Common Good Balance Sheet can be displayed there]. The rights holder is not responsible for the content of the landing page. When the audit certificate expires, a corresponding notice appears on the landing page. After the one-year transition period following the expiry of the audit certificate, the QR code becomes inactive.
  • Word-picture mark:

The word-picture mark is also called the ECOnGOOD label or the ECOnGOOD brand.

If space is limited and printing colors are restricted, the following alternative representations of the word-picture mark are also permitted:

a) For space constraints:

b) In case of printing color constraints:

black and white                               ECOnGOOD teal and white
ECOnGOOD green and white         EU organic green and white

 

§6 Supply

  • The label with the QR code is provided to the organization together with the certificate after the audit is completed.

§7 Miscellaneous

  • These General Terms and Conditions and the entire legal relationship between the parties shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
  • The place of performance and exclusive place of jurisdiction and for all disputes arising from this contract is our registered office, unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation.
  • All agreements made between the parties for the purpose of execution are set out in writing in the General Terms and Conditions.