Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection

 

General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit this website. The term "personal data" comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Declaration, which we have included beneath this copy.

 

Data recording on this website

 

Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e. the "controller")?

The data on this website is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section "Information Required by Law" on this website.

How do we record your data?

We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance be information you enter into our contact form. Other data shall be recorded by our IT systems automatically or after you consent to its recording during your website visit. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g. web browser, operating system or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access this website.

What are the purposes we use your data for?

A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyze your user patterns.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?

You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified or eradicated. If you have consented to data processing, you have the option to revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future data processing. Moreover, you have the right to demand that the processing of your data be restricted under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time under the address disclosed in section "Information Required by Law" on this website if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues.

 

Analysis tools and tools provided by third parties

There is a possibility that your browsing patterns will be statistically analyzed when your visit this website. Such analyses are performed primarily with what we refer to as analysis programs. For detailed information about these analysis programs please consult our Data Protection Declaration below.

 

2. Hosting and Content Delivery Networks (CDN)

 

External Hosting

This website is hosted by an external service provider (host). Personal data collected on this website are stored on the servers of the host. These may include, but are not limited to, IP addresses, contact requests, metadata and communications, contract information, contact information, names, web page access, and other data generated through a web site. The host is used for the purpose of fulfilling the contract with our potential and existing customers (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR) and in the interest of secure, fast and efficient provision of our online services by a professional provider (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). Our host will only process your data to the extent necessary to fulfil its performance obligations and to follow our instructions with respect to such data.

 

3. General information and mandatory information

 

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Declaration. Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Declaration explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected. We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e. through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third party access.

 

Information about the responsible party (referred to as the "controller" in the GDPR)

 

The data processing controller on this website is:

 

Dr. Jan-Gisbert Schultze

Möhlstr. 41

81675 München

 

Phone: +49 89 242 18 87 10

E-mail: info@soilalliance.org

 

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

 

Revocation of your consent to the processing of data

A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

 

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

 

IN THE EVENT THAT DATA ARE PROCESSED ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6 SECT. 1 LIT. E OR F GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BASED ON GROUNDS ARISING FROM YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ANY PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL BASIS, ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING OF DATA IS BASED, PLEASE CONSULT THIS DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION. IF YOU LOG AN OBJECTION, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE ARE IN A POSITION TO PRESENT COMPELLING PROTECTION WORTHY GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA, THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR IF THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IS THE CLAIMING, EXERCISING OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21 SECT. 1 GDPR).

 

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING PROCESSED IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUCH ADVERTISING. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21 SECT. 2 GDPR).

 

Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory agency, in particular in the member state where they usually maintain their domicile, place of work or at the place where the alleged violation occurred. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.

 

Right to data portability

You have the right to demand that we hand over any data we automatically process on the basis of your consent or in order to fulfil a contract be handed over to you or a third party in a commonly used, machine readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

 

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption program. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from "http://" to "https://" and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line. If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

 

Information about, rectification and eradication of data

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time at the address provided in section "Information Required by Law."

 

Right to demand processing restrictions

You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time at the address provided in section "Information Required by Law." The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases: In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data. If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data in lieu of demanding the eradication of this data. If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication. If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21 Sect. 1 GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data. If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

 

Rejection of unsolicited e-mails

We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in section "Information Required by Law" to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.

 

4. Recording of data on this website

 

Cookies

Our websites and pages use what the industry refers to as "cookies." Cookies are small text files that do not cause any damage to your device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or they are permanently archived on your device (permanent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted once you terminate your visit. Permanent cookies remain archived on your device until you actively delete them or they are automatically eradicated by your web browser. In some cases it is possible that third party cookies are stored on your device once you enter our site (third party cookies). These cookies enable you or us to take advantage of certain services offered by the third party (e.g. cookies for the processing of payment services).

Cookies have a variety of functions. Many cookies are technically essential since certain website functions would not work in the absence of the cookies (e.g. the shopping cart function or the display of videos). The purpose of other cookies may be the analysis of user patterns or the display of promotional messages.

Cookies, which are required for the performance of electronic communication transactions (required cookies) or for the provision of certain functions you want to use (functional cookies, e.g. for the shopping cart function) or those that are necessary for the optimization of the website (e.g. cookies that provide measurable insights into the web audience), shall be stored on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR, unless a different legal basis is cited. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure the technically error free and optimized provision of the operator's services. If your consent to the storage of the cookies has been requested, the respective cookies are stored exclusively on the basis of the consent obtained (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR); this consent may be revoked at any time. You have the option to set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified any time cookies are placed and to permit the acceptance of cookies only in specific cases. You may also exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain cases or in general or activate the delete function for the automatic eradication of cookies when the browser closes. If cookies are deactivated, the functions of this website may be limited. In the event that third party cookies are used or if cookies are used for analytical purposes, we will separately notify you in conjunction with this Data Protection Policy and, if applicable, ask for your consent.

 

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

    The type and version of browser used
    The used operating system
    Referrer URL
    The hostname of the accessing computer
    The time of the server inquiry
    The IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data is recorded on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error free depiction and the optimization of the operator's website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.

 

Contact form

If you submit inquiries to us via our contact form, the information provided in the contact form as well as any contact information provided therein will be stored by us in order to handle your inquiry and in the event that we have further questions. We will not share this information without your consent.

The processing of these data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) or on your agreement (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR) if this has been requested.

The information you have entered into the contact form shall remain with us until you ask us to eradicate the data, revoke your consent to the archiving of data or if the purpose for which the information is being archived no longer exists (e.g. after we have concluded our response to your inquiry). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods.

 

Request by e-mail, telephone or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent. These data are processed on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR if your inquiry is related to the fulfilment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the data are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR) if it has been obtained. The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular statutory retention periods - remain unaffected.

 

Registration on this website

You have the option to register on this website to be able to use additional website functions. We shall use the data you enter only for the purpose of using the respective offer or service you have registered for. The required information we request at the time of registration must be entered in full. Otherwise we shall reject the registration. To notify you of any important changes to the scope of our portfolio or in the event of technical modifications, we shall use the e-mail address provided during the registration process. We shall process the data entered during the registration process on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). The data recorded during the registration process shall be stored by us as long as you are registered on this website. Subsequently, such data shall be deleted. This shall be without prejudice to mandatory statutory retention obligations.

 

5. Social media

 

Instagram plug-in

We have integrated functions of the public media platform Instagram into this website. These functions are being offered by Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. If you are logged into your Instagram account, you may click the Instagram button to link contents from this website to your Instagram profile. This enables Instagram to allocate your visit to this website to your user account. We have to point out that we as the provider of the website and its pages do not have any knowledge of the content of the data transferred and its use by Instagram. Data are stored and analyzed on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the highest possible visibility on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data will be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a DGDPR. Any such consent may be revoked at any time. For more information on this subject, please consult Instagram's Data Privacy Declaration at: https://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

 

LinkedIn plug-in

This website uses functions of the LinkedIn network. The provider is LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Any time you access a page of this website that contains functions of LinkedIn, a connection to LinkedIn's servers is established. LinkedIn is notified that you have visited this website with your IP address. If you click on LinkedIn's "Recommend" button and are logged into your LinkedIn account at the time, LinkedIn will be in a position to allocate your visit to this website to your user account. We have to point out that we as the provider of the websites do not have any knowledge of the content of the transferred data and its use by LinkedIn. The use of the LinkedIn plug-in is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained, the data shall be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR. This declaration of consent may be revoked at any time.

For further information on this subject, please consult LinkedIn's Data Privacy Declaration at: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

 

6. Analysis tools and advertising

 

Google DoubleClick

This website uses features of Google DoubleClick. The provider is Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, (hereinafter "DoubleClick"). DoubleClick is used to show you interest-based ads across the Google Network. Advertisements can be tailored to the interests of the viewer using DoubleClick. For example, our ads may appear in Google search results or in banners associated with DoubleClick. To be able to display interest adequate promotional content to users, DoubleClick must recognize the respective visitor so that it can allocate the websites visited, the clicks and other user pattern information to the user. To do this, DoubleClick deploys cookies or comparable recognition technologies (e.g. device fingerprinting). The recorded information is consolidated into a pseudonym user profile so that the respective user can be shown interest adequate advertising. The use of Google DoubleClick takes place in the interest of targeted advertising measures. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time. For further information on how to object to the advertisements displayed by Google, please see the following links: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

 

7. Newsletter

 

Newsletter data

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter offered on this website, we will need from you an e-mail address as well as information that allow us to verify that you are the owner of the e-mail address provided and consent to the receipt of the newsletter. No further data shall be collected or shall be collected only on a voluntary basis. We shall use such data only for the sending of the requested information and shall not share such data with any third parties.

The processing of the information entered into the newsletter subscription form shall occur exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). You may revoke the consent you have given to the archiving of data, the e-mail address and the use of this information for the sending of the newsletter at any time, for instance by clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link in the newsletter. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place to date. The data deposited with us for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter or the newsletter service provider and deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe from the newsletter. Data stored for other purposes with us remain unaffected.

After you unsubscribe from the newsletter distribution list, your e-mail address may be stored by us or the newsletter service provider in a blacklist to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist is used only for this purpose and not merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with the legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). The storage in the blacklist is indefinite. You may object to the storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

 

8. Plug-ins and Tools

 

YouTube with expanded data protection integration

Our website embeds videos of the website YouTube. The website operator is Google Ireland Limited

("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. We use YouTube in the expanded data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode ensures that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the sharing of data with YouTube partners can be ruled out as a result of the expanded data protection mode. For instance, regardless of whether you are watching a video, YouTube will always establish a connection with the Google DoubleClick network. As soon as you start to play a YouTube video on this website, a connection to YouTube's servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server will be notified, which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly allocate your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account. Furthermore, after you have started to play a video, YouTube will be able to place various cookies on your device or comparable technologies for recognition (e.g. device fingerprinting). In this way YouTube will be able to obtain information about this website's visitors. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud.

Under certain circumstances, additional data processing transactions may be triggered after you have

started to play a YouTube video, which are beyond our control. The use of YouTube is based on our interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner. Pursuant to Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR, this is a legitimate interest. If a corresponding agreement has been requested, the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.

For more information on how YouTube handles user data, please consult the YouTube Data Privacy Policy under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

 

Google Web Fonts

To ensure that fonts used on this website are uniform, this website uses so-called Web Fonts provided by Google. When you access a page on our website, your browser will load the required web fonts into your browser cache to correctly display text and fonts. To do this, the browser you use will have to establish a connection with Google’s servers. As a result, Google will learn that your IP address was used to access this website. The use of Google Web Fonts is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in a uniform presentation of the font on the operator's website. If a respective declaration of consent has been obtained (e.g. consent to the archiving of cookies), the data will be processed exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR. Any such consent may be revoked at any time. If your browser should not support Web Fonts, a standard font installed on your computer will be used. For more information on Google Web Fonts, please follow this link: https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and consult Google's Data Privacy Declaration under: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

Contact form

If you submit inquiries to us via our contact form, the information provided in the contact form as well as any contact information provided therein will be stored by us in order to handle your inquiry and in the event that we have further questions. We will not share this information without your consent.

The processing of these data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) or on your agreement (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR) if this has been requested.

The information you have entered into the contact form shall remain with us until you ask us to eradicate the data, revoke your consent to the archiving of data or if the purpose for which the information is being archived no longer exists (e.g. after we have concluded our response to your inquiry). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions – in particular retention periods.