Privacy Policy

Last update: 1st February, 2024

This privacy policy explains in detail how we collect, use, and disclose your personal data. It also informs you about the choices that you have with respect to your personal data. Please read this privacy policy carefully before submitting any personal data to us.

 

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Here you can find some general information about us and our website.

1.1 About the Privacy Policy. The Earth Foundation privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) governs the processing of personal data collected from individual users (“you” and “your”) through the website https://earth-foundation.org, the related services, and other websites controlled by us (collectively, the “Website”). The Privacy Policy does not cover any third-party websites, applications or software that integrate with the Website or any other third-party products and services.

1.2 About the Website. The Website provides information about The Earth Foundation, an overview of our initiatives, and allows you to connect with us.

1.3 Data controller. The Website is owned and operated by The Earth Foundation having a registered address at Boulevard du théâtre 5, 1204 Genève, Switzerland, and the registration number CHE-439.560.973 (“we”, “us”, or “our”).

1.4 Minors. The Website is not intended for use by persons under the age of 16, unless we have a parental consent for such collection. In any case, we do not collect personal data from children under 13. If any minor between the age of 13 and 16 wishes to access the Website, that minor needs to get his/her parent or legal guardian to approve the access to the Website and reach out to us on the minor’s behalf. If you become aware that (i) a minor below the age of 13 provided us with personal data through the Website or (ii) a minor between 13 and 16 has provided us with personal data without prior parental consent, please contact us immediately and we will remove the child’s personal data from our systems.

1.5 Term and termination. This Privacy Policy enters into force on the effective date indicated at the top of the Privacy Policy and remains valid until terminated or updated by us.

1.6 Amendments. We can change the Privacy Policy from time to time to address the changes in the Website, laws, regulations, and industry standards. The amended version of the Privacy Policy will be posted on this page and, if we have your email address, we will send you a notice about all the changes implemented by us. We encourage you to review our Privacy Policy to stay informed. For significant material changes in the Privacy Policy or, where required by the applicable law, we may seek your consent.

 

2. WHAT DATA DO WE COLLECT?

Here we explain in detail what personal data we collect from you, for what purposes we use it, what technical data is collected automatically when you use the Website, and how we communicate with you.

2.1 Collection of personal data. We comply with data minimization principles. This means that we collect only a minimal amount of personal data that is necessary for your use of the Website. We use your personal data for limited, specified and legitimate purposes explicitly mentioned in this Privacy Policy. For example, we use it only for the purposes of providing you with access to the Website, maintaining and improving the Website, replying to your inquiries, and pursuing our legitimate interests. We do not repurpose your personal data. This means that we do not use it for any purposes that are different from the purposes for which your personal data was provided. Below, you can find an overview of the types of personal data that we collect, the purposes for which we use it, and the legal bases on which we rely when processing it.

  • Inquiries. When you contact us by email or by using the contact form available on the Website, we collect your first name, last name, email address, organization (if applicable), and any information that you decide to include in your message. We use such data to respond to your inquiries and provide you with the requested information. The legal bases on which we rely are ‘pursuing our legitimate interests’ (i.e. to grow and promote The Earth Foundation) and ‘your consent’ (for optional personal data). We will store this data until you stop communicating with us.
  • Newsletters. If you decide to subscribe to our newsletter by completing the form available on the Website, we collect your email address. We use it to deliver the requested newsletter and inform you about current and future events and initiatives of The Earth Foundation. The legal basis on which we rely is ‘your consent’. We will store this data until you unsubscribe from our newsletter. You can opt-out from receiving our communications at any time free of charge by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link included in our newsletters or by contacting us directly.
  • Surveys. From time to time, we may ask you to complete a survey sent by us. When you complete a newsletter survey, we collect your role or occupation (e.g. student, parent, teacher, mentor, or other), city, and country. When you complete an application survey, we collect your date of birth, academic institution, title of the degree, CV, motivation letter, and any other information that you decide to provide in the survey. The surveys are facilitated by our third-party service providers Typeform and Moosend. We use such data to evaluate the profiles of our candidates, provide you with tailored information about our initiatives, and analyze and improve our activities. The purposes of your personal data collected through surveys will always be specified in the surveys. The legal basis on which we rely is ‘your consent’ (optional). We will store this data until (i) you unsubscribe from our newsletter or (ii) your application is no longer necessary for its purpose.
  • Location and cookies. When you browse the Website, we or our third-party analytics service provider (as explained below) collect your location and cookie-related data. We use such information to analyze the technical aspects of your use of the Website, prevent fraud and abuse, and ensure the security of the Website. For more information on our use of cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy. The legal basis on which we rely are ‘pursuing our legitimate interests’ (i.e. to analyze our content and protect the Website) and ‘your consent’. We will store this data as long as analytics records are necessary for our activities or you withdraw your consent.

2.2 Sensitive data. We do not collect or use any special categories of personal data (“sensitive data”) from you, unless you decide, at your own discretion, to provide such data to us. Sensitive data refers to your health, religious and political beliefs, racial origins, membership of a professional or trade association, or sexual orientation.

2.3 Refusal to provide personal data. If you refuse to provide us with your personal data when we ask for it, we may not be able to perform the requested operation and you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Website, receive the requested newsletter and information, or get our response. Please contact us immediately if you think that any personal data that we collect is excessive or not necessary for the intended purpose.

2.4 Collection of non-personal data. When you browse the Website, we may have access to certain technical non-personal data collected from you by our analytics service provider. Such data does not allow us to identify you in any manner. The non-personal data includes the following information:

  • Your activity on the Website (time of visit, pages visited, time spent on each page, clicks, scroll depth, interaction with widgets);
  • URL addresses from which you access the Website;
  • Your browser type and version;
  • Your operating system;
  • Your device details;
  • Information about your orders; and
  • Your other online behavior.


2.5 Purposes of non-personal data. We use non-personal data to analyze what kind of users use the Website, improve our content and services, investigate and prevent security issues and abuse.

2.6 Your feedback. If you contact us, we may keep records of any questions, complaints, recommendations, or compliments made by you and the response. Where possible, we will de-identify your personal data (i.e., we will remove all personal data that is not necessary for keeping such records).

2.7 Aggregated and de-identified data. In case your non-personal data is combined with certain elements of your personal data in a way that allows us to identify you, we will handle such aggregated data as personal data. If your personal data is aggregated or de-identified in a way that it can no longer be associated with an identified or identifiable natural person, it will not be considered personal data and we may use it for any legitimate purpose.

2.8 Important service notices. If we have your email address and it is necessary to do so, we may send you important informational messages, such as technical or administrative emails. Please note that such messages are sent on an “if-needed” basis and they do not fall within the scope of commercial communication that may require your prior consent. You cannot opt-out from service-related notices.

 

3. HOW LONG DO WE STORE YOUR DATA?

Here we explain for how long we keep your data in our systems and how we delete it.

3.1 Storage of personal data. We or our data processors store your personal data in our systems only for as long as such personal data is required for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or until you request us to update or delete your personal data, whichever comes first. For more details, please refer to section 2.1. After your personal data is no longer necessary for its purposes and there is no other legal basis for storing it, we will immediately securely delete your personal data from our systems. We do not store any personal data longer than strictly necessary.

3.2 Storage of non-personal data. We retain non-personal data pertaining to you for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. This may include storing non-personal data for the period of time needed for us to examine our activities, fulfill our contractual obligations, pursue our legitimate interests, conduct audits, comply with (and demonstrate compliance with) legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

3.3 Storage as required by law. In seldom instances when we are obliged by law to store your personal data for a certain period of time, we will store your personal data for the time period stipulated by the applicable law and delete the personal data as soon as the required retention period expires.

 

4. HOW DO WE DISCLOSE YOUR DATA?

Here you can find information about third parties that may have access to your personal data.

4.1 Disclosure to data processors. We keep your personal data in strict confidentiality. However, if necessary for the intended purpose of your personal data, we will disclose your personal data to entities that provide services on our behalf (our data processors). Your personal data may be shared with entities that provide technical support services to us, such as hosting and email distribution services. We do not sell your personal data to third parties and do not intend to do so in the future. The disclosure of your personal data is limited to the situations when it is required for the following purposes:

  • Ensuring the proper operation of the Website;
  • Ensuring the delivery of your orders;
  • Responding to your enquiries;
  • Pursuing our legitimate interests;
  • Enforcing our rights, preventing fraud, and security purposes;
  • Carrying out our contractual obligations;
  • Law enforcement purposes; or
  • If you provide your prior consent to such a disclosure.


4.2 List of data processors. We choose our data processors carefully and make sure that they ensure an adequate level of protection of personal data that is consistent with this Privacy Policy and the applicable data protection laws. The data processors that will have access to your personal data are:

  • Our hosting service provider Zoom located in the United States;
  • Our database service provider Typeform located in Spain;
  • Our analytics service provider Google Analytics located in the United States;
  • Our email service provider Moosend located in the United Kingdom (hosting in the Netherlands);
  • Our survey service provider SurveyMonkey located in the United States; and
  • Our independent contractors and consultants.

4.3 International transfers. We and some of our data processors may be based outside the country where you reside. For example, if you reside in a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA), we may need to transfer your personal data outside the EEA. In case it is necessary to make such a transfer, we will make sure that the country in which our data processor is located guarantees an adequate level of protection for your personal data or we conclude an agreement with it that ensures such protection (e.g. a data processing agreement based pre-approved standard contractual clauses).

4.4 Disclosure of non-personal data. Your non-personal data may be disclosed to third parties for any purpose as it does not identify you as a natural person. For example, we may share it with prospects or partners for business or research purposes, for improving the Website, responding to lawful requests from public authorities or developing new products and services.

4.5 Legal requests. If requested by a public authority, we will disclose information about the users of the Website to the extent necessary for pursuing a public interest objective, such as national security or law enforcement.

4.6 Change of controller. In case the owner of the Website or The Earth Foundation changes (e.g. if there is a transfer of activities), we will provide your personal data to the new data controller and request it to handle your personal data in line with this Privacy Policy.

 

5. HOW DO WE PROTECT YOUR DATA?

Here you can find information on how we protect your data against breaches.

5.1 Security measures. We implement technical and organizational information security measures that protect your personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access and disclosure. The security measures taken by us include secured networks, strong passwords, limited access to your personal data by our staff, anonymization of personal data (when possible), and carefully selected data processors.

5.2 Security breaches. Although we put our best efforts to protect your personal data, given the nature of communication and information processing technology and the Internet, we cannot be liable for any unlawful destruction, loss, use, copying, modification, leakage, and falsification of your personal data caused by circumstances that are beyond our reasonable control. In case a serious breach occurs, we will take reasonable measures to mitigate the breach, as required by the applicable law. Our liability for any security breach will be limited to the highest extent permitted by the applicable law.

 

6. HOW CAN YOU MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

Here you can find detailed information about the rights that you have with regard to your personal data and how to exercise those rights.

    6.1 The list of your rights. You have the right to control how we process your personal data. Subject to any exemptions provided by law, you have the following rights:

    • Right of access: you can get a copy of your personal data that we store in our systems and a list of purposes for which your personal data is processed;
    • Right to rectification: you can rectify inaccurate personal data that we hold about you;
    • Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’): you can ask us to erase your personal data from our systems;
    • Right to restriction: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data;
    • Right to data portability: you can ask us to provide you with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and move that personal data to another processor;
    • Right to object: you can ask us to stop processing your personal data;
    • Right to withdraw consent: you have the right to withdraw your consent, if you have provided one; or
    • Right to complaint: you can submit your complaint regarding our processing of your personal data.

    6.2 How to exercise your rights? If you would like to exercise any of your legitimate rights, please contact us by using our contact details available at the end of the Privacy Policy and explain in detail your request. In order to verify the legitimacy of your request, we may ask you to provide us with an identifying piece of information, so that we can identify you in our system. We will answer your request within a reasonable time frame but no later than 30 days.

    6.3 Complaints. If you would like to launch a complaint about the way in which we handle your personal data, we kindly ask you to contact us first and express your concerns. After you contact us, we will investigate your complaint and provide you with our response as soon as possible (no later than 2 weeks). If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

     

    7. CONTACT

    If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your rights, or our data protection practices, please contact us by using the following contact details:

    Email: info@earth-foundation.org

    Postal address:
    The Earth Foundation
    Boulevard du théâtre 5
    1204 Genève
    Switzerland