Privacy & Cookies Policy

Introduction

Founded in 2006, Climate Strategies is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that aims to improve policy in the fields of climate change, energy and sustainable development by bridging the gap between decision-makers and researchers across Europe and internationally.

1. What this privacy policy covers

Climate Strategies is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with their obligations under data protection legislation. The current data protection law is found in the Data Protection Act 1998 but with effect from 25th May 2018, the main data protection law will be the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018 and related laws.

This privacy policy explains what information Climate Strategies collects about you and how it will be used.

Climate Strategies promises to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we get from other organisations and keep it safe. We aim to be clear when we collect your data and not do anything you wouldn’t reasonably expect.

If you have any queries regarding this privacy policy please contact us via email: info@climatestrategies.org.

2. Where and how we collect your information

We collect information in the following ways:

Information you give us

·        The information collected automatically through our website: www.climatestrategies.org. This information will be collected when you sign up to our mailing list via the contact form. We use Mailchimp to manage our public newsletter. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy policy on this page.

·        The information shared by Climate Strategies member for their profile: Each Climate Strategies member has a publicly accessible profile on this website. We create this profile for members when they join our network using the information they provide.

·        The information collected when you register for an event organised or co-organised by Climate Strategies. Most virtual events are held on Zoom. Learn more about Zoom’s privacy policy on this page.

·        The information you provide us with when you apply for a job with Climate Strategies (see also section 3.6.

Cookies

We use ‘cookies’ to enhance your experience on our website. Cookies mean that the Climate Strategies website will remember you for a particular purpose and for a particular length of time.

When you’re accessing our website, your device may provide us with information about the device you’re using, this could include the type of device, what operating system you’re using and may report any details of a website crash. Your device manufacturer or operating system provider will be able to provide you with more details about the information your device makes available to us.

Functional cookies on this website include cookies used to remember if Climate Strategies members are logged in to the website, giving them access to the member-only section of the website.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors are using and engaging with our website and apps. This allows us to make improvements to our web services and your online experience.

The Google Analytics tracking tool uses a number of cookies to collect information and report website usage statistics and does so without personally identifying individual visitors to Google or Climate Strategies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of Climate Strategies’ website will be transmitted and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

For more information about Google’s privacy policy in regards to Google Analytics, please see www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html.

Climate Strategies will not merge personally-identifiable information with anonymous information gathered from these analytics systems unless there is prior notice and affirmative consent via opt-in from the user. When using any of these tracking tools Climate Strategies does not identify users or facilitate the merging of personally identifiable information with non-personally identifiable information collected.

If you wish to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking please visit and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.

3. What information do we collect and how do we use it?

The type of personal information we will collect about you will depend on the purpose of collecting the information.

3.1 Direct marketing

Email/text marketing

We will only contact you by email if you actively consent to this using the Mailchimp-powered sign-up form, unless we believe there is a legitimate interest to contact you, e.g. if you are member of our network. By consenting to Climate Strategies emails or opting in to email communications, you grant us permission to use your email address to send you email marketing communication. At any stage you may choose to opt out of such communications, using the link in the footer of our emails or this unsubscribe form.

3.2 Third parties

Climate Strategies will not sell your data. We will not share your data for marketing purposes unless you have actively consented to this. However, in some circumstances we may need to share your details with a third party for processing. This could be if we run an event in partnership with another organisation and they need your details in order to fulfil your tickets or experience. For example, if you are taking part in a conference or workshop, we may need to share your details to be able to send you full details about the event.

3.3 Your choice

You always have a choice as to whether and how you want to receive communications about our work, products and services and ways you can get involved. If you do not want us to use your contact details to contact you in the future you can opt out of this when we collect your details or at a later time.

If you ever want to change your contact preferences, or opt out of communications, you can do this at any time by accessing the link in the footer of the latest email we sent you. If you choose not to be contacted by us, we will never send you personalised marketing communications, but we will keep your details on a ‘suppression list’ to ensure you are not contacted.

If you are a Climate Strategies member, you can edit information available to the public on your profile by logging in to our website at www.climatestrategies.org/login.

3.4 Legal basis for processing your personal data

In some circumstances we will collect and process your personal information using the legitimate interest legal processing basis, e.g. if you are a member of our network.

Sometimes, we will need to process your data as it is part of a contract which you have entered into. For instance, if you take part in an event, then we may need to contact you to enable us to provide the relevant services under the agreement with you.

However in most circumstances, we will rely on your consent when using your personal data. An example of this would be when we request your consent to receive marketing emails from Climate Strategies.

3.5 Retention

We hold your information for only as long as necessary for the purpose needed. For example, if you have declared gift aid, HMRC require us to store your name and address for seven years.

3.6 Job and volunteering application data

If you apply to work or volunteer at Climate Strategies, we will use the information you supply to us to process your application and to monitor recruitment statistics.

If you are unsuccessful in your application we will not keep your personal information for more than 12 months.

4. How do we keep your personal information secure?

We always ensure that we have the necessary controls in place to protect the personal data you provide us with. Our website is hosted by Siteground on servers located in the UK. When you consent to pass on data to external providers e.g. to Mailchimp for our newsletter, the privacy and data protection policies of the respective service apply.

5. Your right to your personal information

Under the General Data Protection Regulation you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. You also have the right to request that we erase any personal information we hold, where Climate Strategies has no compelling reason to continue processing this data.

If you wish to request this information please contact info@climatestrategies.org. We will then send you a form which you will need to complete and send back to us by email. We may require you to provide up to two forms of identification. Once we have received your information request and your identification we will respond within one month.

6. Updates to this privacy policy

We may make changes to this policy. If we do make any significant changes to the way we collect and process your personal information we will make this clear on the Climate Strategies website, or by contacting you directly.

This privacy policy was last updated in July 2021 to provide you with more detailed information about the external services we use, their privacy policies and the location of our website servers.

7. Raising Queries or Concerns

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about data protection at Climate Strategies please contact our team at info@climatestrategies.org. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from us for any reason then you may wish to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office via https://ico.org.uk.