Terms of Service
Last Updated: January 12, 2026
Sightline Institute (“Sightline,” “we” or “us”) provides research, news, analysis, commentary, and educational tools and services to educate readers on environmental sustainability through the website located at sightline.org (the “Site”). Please read these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Notice (“Privacy Notice”) carefully because these Terms and Privacy Notice govern your access to and use of the Site and the content and related services referenced above (the Site and such content and services, collectively, the “Services”) and constitute a binding legal agreement between you and Sightline.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING ARBITRATION FOR U.S. USERS: WHEN YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS YOU ARE AGREEING (WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION) TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND SIGHTLINE THROUGH BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION RATHER THAN IN COURT. PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY SECTION 16 “DISPUTE RESOLUTION” BELOW FOR DETAILS REGARDING ARBITRATION.
1. Agreement to terms
You acknowledge and agree that by accessing or using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, whether or not you have created a user profile with the Site. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, then do not use the Service. If you are accessing and using the Services on behalf of a company (such as your employer) or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and, in such event, “you” and “your” will refer and apply to that entity.
2. Things may change
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify these Terms, at any time and without prior notice. If we modify these Terms, we will post the modification on the Site or provide you with notice of the modification. We will also update the “last updated” date at the beginning of these Terms. It is important that you review the Terms whenever we update them or you use the Services. If you continue to use the Services after we have posted the updated Terms on the Site or have provided you with notice of a modification, it means that you agree to be bound by the modified Terms. If the modified Terms are not acceptable to you, you may not use the Services anymore. Because our Services are evolving over time, we may change or discontinue all or any part of the Services, at any time and without notice, at our sole discretion.
3. User eligibility and subscription to newsletters
(a) You may use the Services only if you are 18 years of age or older and capable of forming a binding contract with Sightline, and not otherwise barred from using the Services under applicable law.
(b) You may subscribe to our newsletters via the Services. To subscribe to our newsletters, you will be asked to provide certain information, such as your name and email address. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete. If you don’t, we might have to suspend or terminate your access to our newsletters.
4. Privacy
Please review our Privacy Notice, which also governs your use of the Services, for information and notices about how we collect, use, and share your information.
5. Donations
(a) As a non-profit institution, Sightline relies on the generosity of its supporters to meet the cost of providing research and policy solutions concerning topics related to sustainability. You may visit the Site to review opportunities to support or contribute to Sightline. We appreciate the contributions of all who choose to support our mission.
(b) By donating through the Services (each donation, a “Transaction”), you expressly authorize us (or our third-party payment processor) to charge you for such Transaction. We may ask you to supply additional information relevant to your Transaction, including your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card, and your email and postal addresses for billing and notification (such information, “Payment Information”). You represent and warrant that you have the legal right to use all payment method(s) represented by any such Payment Information. When you initiate a Transaction, you authorize us to provide your Payment Information to third parties so that we can complete your Transaction and charge your payment method for the Transaction you have selected (plus any applicable taxes and other charges). You may need to provide additional information to verify your identity before completing your Transaction (such information is included within the definition of Payment Information). By initiating a Transaction, you agree to the pricing, payment, and billing policies applicable to such fees and charges, as posted or communicated to you. All payments for Transactions are non-refundable and non-transferable, except as expressly provided in these Terms. All fees and applicable taxes, if any, are payable in United States dollars. If something unexpected happens in the course of completing a Transaction, we reserve the right to cancel your Transaction for any reason; if we cancel your Transaction, we’ll refund any payment you have already remitted to us for such Transaction.
6. Sightline’s intellectual property
(a) We make available through the Services content that is subject to intellectual property rights and that is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of the United States and foreign countries (“Sightline Content”). Sightline Content includes, without limitation, all articles, reports, blog posts, maps, charts, graphs, tables, animations, artwork, photographs, and other content made available through the Services. Sightline and its licensors own all rights, title, and interest in and to the Services and, unless otherwise noted, the Sightline Content, including all related intellectual property rights.
(b) Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Sightline grants to you the rights to the Sightline Content set forth in Sightline’s Free Use Policy (which is incorporated into these Terms by reference), subject to the restrictions and requirements set forth therein.
7. Your Story Submissions
(a) Our Services may allow you to submit or provide links to text, information, or other material for availability and reference on our newsletters via the functionality of the Services. Anything (other than Feedback, as defined below) that you submit, post, or otherwise provide us through the Services, for publication on the Site and through the Services, is referred to as “User Submissions.”
(b) By providing us with any User Submissions, you hereby grant to Sightline a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly perform, publicly display, transmit and otherwise exploit such User Submissions only on, through or by means of our newsletters or the Services. Your User Content is yours; we do not claim any ownership rights in such User Content, and we do not do anything to restrict your rights to use your User Content.
(c) You are solely responsible for all of your User Submissions, and you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all User Content that you make available through the Services, or you have all rights, licenses, consents, and releases that are necessary to provide the User Submission to us; and (ii) neither your submission of the User Submissions nor Sightline’s use of the User Submissions will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation.
(c) We have no obligation to include your User Submissions on the Services or any of our newsletters; if we do so, we may remove it at any time for any reason, without giving you notice. You have no right to any compensation (monetary or otherwise) from our exercise of our rights to use your User Submissions.
8. Copyright policy
Sightline respects copyright law and expects its users to do the same. It is Sightline’s policy, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, to disable and/or terminate users’ access to the Services, if such users repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
9. Feedback
We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments, and suggestions for improvements to the Services (“Feedback”). You may submit Feedback by emailing us at editor@sightline.org. If you choose to submit Feedback, you agree that we are free to use it without any restriction, notice, or compensation to you and that we are not required to respond to any Feedback submissions.
10. What not to do
You agree not to do any of the following: (a) submit, post or transmit any User Content that: (i) infringes a third party’s intellectual property rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, false, misleading, or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar, or offensive; (v) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment, or harm against any individual or group; (vi) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any other person or entity; or (vii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances; (b) use, display, mirror, or frame the Services or any individual element within the Services, Sightline’s name, any Sightline trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without Sightline’s express written consent; (c) access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, Sightline’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of Sightline’s providers; (d) attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Sightline system or network or breach any security or authentication measures; (e) avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by Sightline or any of Sightline’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Services; (f) attempt to access or search the Services or download content from the Services using any engine, software, tool, agent, device, or mechanism (including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools, or the like) other than the software and/or search agents provided by Sightline or other generally available third-party web browsers; (g) send any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or other form of solicitation; (h) use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a Sightline trademark, trade name, or logo without our express written consent; (i) use the Services, or any portion thereof, for any commercial purpose or for the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by these Terms; (j) attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services; (k) interfere with the access of any user, host, or network, including sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, or mail-bombing the Services; (l) impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; (m) violate any applicable law or regulation; or (n) encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.
We have the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above to the fullest extent of the law. We may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who violate these Terms. You acknowledge that we have no obligation to monitor your access to or use of the Services or any of your User Content, but have the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Services, to ensure your compliance with these Terms, or to comply with applicable law or other legal requirements. We reserve the right, at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to any Sightline Content and any User Content, that we, in our sole discretion, consider to be objectionable or in violation of these Terms or otherwise harmful to the Services.
11. Links to other websites
The Services may allow you to access third-party websites or resources. We provide access only as a convenience, and you agree that we do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for: (a) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (b) the content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Your use of any such websites or resources is your sole responsibility.
12. Suspension or termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to and use of the Services, including suspending access to or terminating your subscription to our newsletter, at our sole discretion, at any time and without notice to you. You may cancel your subscription to our newsletters at any time by using the links in any of our emails’ footer or by sending an email to editor@sightline.org. Upon any termination, discontinuation, or cancellation of the Services or your subscription to our newsletters, the following Sections will survive: 6(a), 7(b), 7(c), 8, 9, this sentence of 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.
13. Disclaimers
WE PROVIDE THE SERVICES “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE EXPLICITLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY (I) THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS, OR (II) REGARDING THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, TRUTHFULNESS, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT ON THE SERVICES. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM US OR THROUGH THE SERVICES, WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.
THE SIGHTLINE CONTENT IS PROVIDED BY SIGHTLINE ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS FOR USE ONLY AS SET FORTH IN THESE TERMS AND FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE WHATSOEVER. SIGHTLINE DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO SIGHTLINE CONTENT, OR THEIR CONDITION OR SUITABILITY FOR USE BY YOU, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND SIGHTLINE MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO YOUR RIGHT TO REPRODUCE OR OTHERWISE USE ANY SIGHTLINE CONTENT. IT IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO (A) DETERMINE IF IT IS NECESSARY OR PRUDENT TO OBTAIN ANY THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS OR PERMISSIONS FOR YOUR USE OF ANY SIGHTLINE CONTENT, AND (B) IDENTIFY AND OBTAIN WHATEVER COPYRIGHT OR OTHER PERMISSIONS MAY BE REQUIRED (IF ANY) FROM ANY THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS HOLDER OR REPRESENTATIVE.
14. Indemnity and limitation of liability
(a) You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Sightline, its officers, directors, employees, and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Services; (ii) your User Content; or (iii) your violation of these Terms.
(b) TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER SIGHTLINE NOR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUES, LOST SAVINGS, LOST BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF DATA OR GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE, OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT SIGHTLINE OR ITS SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
(c) TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL SIGHTLINE’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING FROM ALL CLAIMS UNDER OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS $100.00.
(d) THE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN SIGHTLINE AND YOU.
15. Federal Arbitration Act
These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (US), federal arbitration law, and the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in Section 16 “Dispute Resolution,” the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and Sightline are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in the King County, Washington, and you and Sightline each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.
16. Dispute resolution
(a) Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Services (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and Sightline agree that the US Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Terms, and that you and Sightline are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Terms.
(b) Exceptions. As limited exceptions to Section 16(a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.
(c) Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Terms. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org.
Any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) where you live, unless we both agree to a different location. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.
(d) Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
(e) Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in Section 16(b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
(f) Class Action Waiver. YOU AND SIGHTLINE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution section shall be null and void.
(g) Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 16(f) of these Terms (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Terms will still apply.
17. General
(a) Entire Agreement. These Terms constitute the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between us and you regarding the Services, and these Terms supersede and replace any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between us and you regarding the Services. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable by an arbitrator or a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect. Except where provided by applicable law in your jurisdiction, you may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without Sightline’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms absent our consent or your statutory right, without such consent, will be null. Sightline may freely assign or transfer these Terms without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.
(b) Notices. Any notices or other communications provided by Sightline under these Terms will be given: (i) via email; or (ii) by posting to the Services. For notices made by email, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted.
(c) Waiver of Rights. Sightline’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of such right or provision. The waiver of any such right or provision will be effective only if in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of Sightline. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise.
18. Contacting Us
If you have any questions about these Terms or the Services, please contact us at editor@sightline.org.