Privacy policy

The Accountability Framework initiative (“AFi”) is led by a diverse coalition of organizations that are dedicated to protecting forests, natural ecosystems, and human rights (the “Coalition,” “we”, “us” and “our”). The Coalition includes the AFi Steering Group, Supporting Partners, Regional Teams, and Backbone Team, as listed on the Who’s Involved page of this website.  When you interact with the Coalition through this website, subscribe to our newsletter, participate in one of our events, or otherwise contact us, we may collect certain personal information about you.  This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how we handle the personal information we collect and process.  This Privacy Policy applies to the services provided by the Coalition as well as your use of this website (collectively, our “Services”).

What information do we collect?

We collect the following information about you:

• Information that you give to us directly, such as your name, email address, organization, and job title or role.
• Information we collect or receive automatically when you visit our website as part of general analytics on visitors to our website, such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address (the unique address of your computer which makes it possible to recognize your computer), the type of browser used to visit our website, the date and time of your visit, the duration of your visit, and the pages that you visit.

How do we collect your information?

We may collect and receive information directly from you when you, for example:

• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Participate in our webinars, trainings or events
• Send a message through one of our online contact forms
• Email us
• Contract with us, receive a grant from us, or make a grant to us

We also collect information from you automatically when you visit our website. For more information on the technologies used to collect website visit information, see our Cookie Notice below.

Additionally, we may collect information about you when you choose to communicate with us or share information about us on social media platforms and social networking services (such as LinkedIn and YouTube) – for example, when you “like”, comment, or send us a message.  For information on how your personal information is handled when you interact on social media platforms and networking services, please review the privacy policy of that platform or service.

How will we use your information?

We use the information we collect and receive about you for the following purposes:

• For the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract:
  • To meet our contractual obligations and manage our business relationship; or
  • To notify you about changes to our terms of service or Privacy Policy.
• For our legitimate business interests:
  • To provide you with or improve our Services;
  • To reply to your inquiries; or
  • To email you about news, information about webinars, trainings and other events, or new website features we think you might like.
• For compliance with a legal obligation, or
• Where you have otherwise given consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes.

Marketing

If you have agreed to receive marketing communications from us, we will email you information about events, activities, or materials of ours that we think you might like.  You may always opt out of marketing communications at a later date.

If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email us at contact@accountability-framework.org.

How will we share your information and with whom?

We share your information within the Coalition among its members and their affiliates to provide our Services, when we have your consent, or as described in this Privacy Policy.

We share your information with companies or individuals that provide services to us under contractual arrangements.  These companies are limited in their ability to use information they receive from us and may use information they receive only to the extent necessary for the purposes of providing the services for which we have engaged them.

We will also share your information in response to any legal process or when necessary to protect the Coalition or our Services. This includes where we have a good faith belief that:  (a) it is necessary to respond to lawful governmental requests or legal processes (for example, a court order, search warrant, or subpoena); (b) the information is relevant to a crime that has been or is being committed; (c) an emergency exists that poses a threat to your safety or the safety of another person; or (d) is necessary to protect the rights or property of AFi.

How do we store your data?

We apply all reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against loss or against any form of unlawful processing and shall impose such security obligations on any data processor we enlist.

We will keep records only for as long as they are needed for us to provide you with our Services, for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, and to comply with our legal obligations.

European Union (EU) Users

For data subjects whose data was collected or processed within the European Economic Area (“EEA”), please be advised that we may transfer your information to third countries outside of the EEA, which the European Commission (“EC”) may not have deemed “adequate” for information security purposes, including the United States.  That data is transferred under adequate data transfer mechanisms, including the Model Clauses, which were approved by the EC.  For questions regarding our data transfer mechanisms, please contact us at contact@accountability-framework.org.

If your data was collected or processed within the EEA, you have the following choices and rights, subject to exceptions or requirements under current laws, including the European Union (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”):

• Right of access. You have the right to request copies of your personal data from us.
• Right to rectification. You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate.  You also have the right to request that information you believe is incomplete be completed.
• Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”). You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
• Right to restrict processing. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
• Right to object to processing. You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
• Right to data portability. You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please email us at  contact@accountability-framework.org.  Upon your request, we will respond to you within one month by: (a) complying with your request as soon as practicable; or (b) providing to you an explanation regarding our inability to comply with your request based on our legal obligations.  If your request is complex, we may extend this period by an additional two months, and you will be informed about any such extension within the initial one-month period.

If you withdraw your consent to process your information, we will discontinue the processing of your information upon receipt of your withdrawal. However, any processing performed prior to your withdrawal remains a legitimate processing based on a valid consent at the time.  We will not be under the obligation to reverse the processing.

Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with an EU supervisory authority should you feel that we have violated any of your rights as provided under the GDPR.

Cookies Notice

What are cookies?

A cookie is a small amount of data generated by a website and saved by your web browser. When you visit our website, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies.

When you visit our website, you will receive a one-time cookie pop up consent wherein you are given the opportunity to consent to the use of cookies.  Should you decide not to consent to the use of cookies, some functionality and Services related to your use of our websites may not work properly.

What do we use cookies for?

We use cookies in a range of ways to improve your experience on our website, including:

• Understanding how you use our website, and
• To make our website easier to use and to better tailor the website to your interests and needs.

Cookies can also be used to improve the speed of your future activities and sessions on the Website.   We also use cookies to compile anonymous statistics with which we can gain insight into the way people use our website, so that, for example, the structure and content of our website can be improved.

What types of cookies do we use?

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

• Technically necessary. These cookies are essential to ensure that our website functions properly.  They allow you to navigate through the website and use our functionality.
• Analytics. These cookies help us understand, in the aggregate, how visitors interact with our website by providing information about the pages visited, the time spent on the website, and any problems encountered, such as error messages. This helps us improve website performance.  We use Google Analytics to collect analytics information; visitors can opt-out of Google Analytics using the Ads Settings and by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Functionality. We use functionality cookies to recognize you on our website and remember your previously selected preferences.  These could include language preferences and the region you are located in.

How can I manage or delete cookies?

Most Internet browsers are set up to automatically accept cookies.   You can change the settings on your browser to block cookies or remove cookies from your browser.  If you disable the cookies we use, please note that some of our website features may not function as a result.

For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit allaboutcookies.org.

Other Websites

Our website contains links to other websites.  Our Privacy Policy applies only to our website.  If you click on a link that takes you to another website, please read their privacy policy.

Children’s Privacy

Our Services are not directed toward children and we do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under the age of 16 without prior parental consent.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, so you should review it periodically.  If there are significant changes to AFi’s information practices, you will be provided with appropriate online notice.

How to contact us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email us at  contact@accountability-framework.org.