Members Privacy Notice

 

Introduction

Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) is the controller of your personal information.  We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it.

Personal information means any information about you from which you can be identified, but it does not include information where your identity has been removed (anonymous data).

As the controller of personal information, we are responsible for how that data is managed. This Notice sets out how AREG may collect, use and share information and describes:

  • Principles of data protection;
  • What information we collect about you;
  • What our responsibilities to you are;
  • How we may use and share the information we collect;
  • Whether information has to be provided by you;
  • Legal grounds for using personal information;
  • The measures we have in place to protect and safely store the information we collect;
  • Retention of the information we collect;
  • Your choices and rights in respect of the information we hold;
  • How to contact us;
  • How to make a complaint; and
  • Changes to our privacy policy.

You’ll also find a note of defined words and terms at the end of this Notice.

 

Principles of Data Protection

As the ‘controller’ of your personal information, we have adopted the following principles to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is:

  • Processed fairly and lawfully, and where applicable,  and with valid and informed consent;
  • Obtained for specific and lawful purposes;
  • Kept accurate and up to date;
  • Adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is used;
  • Not kept for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is used;
  • Processed in accordance with the rights of individuals;
  • Kept secure to prevent unauthorised processing and accidental loss, damage or destruction; and
  • Not transferred to any subsidiary or service provider appointed by  AREG where these core principles cannot be met.

 

What information do we collect about you? 

Information collected by us

We collect personal information about you when you join Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) or enquire about membership, contact or meet with us, book for or attend our events, exhibit or participate with us in third party events. The information about you which we will collect may include:

Name, employer, job title, office and mobile number, email and office address, company website address

When using our website, we collect standard internet log information including:

  • IP address
  • Details of the pages you visit
  • General details about the type of computer or device that you are using

 

This is statistical information only which we collect in order to find out the numbers of visitors to our site and the pages they have visited. This information is collected in such a way that it is not used to identify individuals. Where we do collect personal information on the website, this will be made obvious to you through the relevant pages.

Please be aware that our website may provide you with links to other websites. If you follow a link to any other website please note they have their own privacy notices. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy and security practices of such third-party websites and your use as such is at your own risk.

 

What are our responsibilities to you?

As a data controller, we are responsible for ensuring our systems, processes, people and suppliers comply with data protection laws in relation to the information we handle.

All of our people must abide by this Notice when handling personal data and must take part in any required data protection training. Any breach will be taken seriously and may result in disciplinary action.

We currently have a Data Protection Leader to oversee our compliance with data protection laws and this Notice, and provide guidance and advice to  AREG  and our people as required.  Our Data Protection Leader will be responsible for reporting any failures to comply with the data protection legislation.

 

How we may use and share the information we collect

We may use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To send news and market intelligence which we believe is of interest to you
  • To inform you about our and third party events
  • To inform you about our other activities that we believe will be of interest to you
  • Send membership updates, information on services and benefits, renewal notices and invoices, and requests for updated information, contact details, company profile and news
  • To inform you about sponsorship and other activities above and beyond membership

 

How we may share the information we collect

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes described above:

  • Other businesses, trade enquirers, renewable energy publications, directories and support and development agencies and contractors to the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) responsible for maintaining the website, databases and financial processing.
  • If the business of  AREG  is sold or integrated with another business your details may also be disclosed to our advisors and any prospective purchasers and their advisors and will be passed on to the new owners of the business. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this Notice.

For the avoidance of doubt, we will not share, sell or trade your personal information with any other third party without your consent.

 

Whether information has to be provided by you

The provision of your personal information is necessary to enable us to provide services to you. Without this information, we will not be able to fulfil our legal and contractual oblations or provide services to you.

 

Legal grounds for using personal information

We rely on the following legal grounds to process personal information, namely:

  • Performance of a contract: we may need to collect and use personal information to enter into a contract with members or to perform the contract with members i.e. provide our services to you.
  • Consent: on occasion we may rely on the consent for the purposes of marketing and providing other information we believe may be relevant but this will only be done where you have provided consent for these purposes.  To withdraw your consent to such use, please email at any time saying “unsubscribe” to [email protected].
  • Legitimate interests:  we may use your personal information for our legitimate interests to provide information we believe is relevant to you and to market and improve our services.

 

The measures we have in place to protect and safely store the information we collect

The confidentiality and security of your information is of paramount importance to us. We have appropriate organisational and technical security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or accessed in an unauthorised way. However, no information system can be 100% secure. So, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. We are not responsible for the security of information you transmit to us over networks that we do not control, including the internet and wireless networks.

We have taken appropriate steps to ensure that that there are adequate procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Retention of the information we collect

We retain the information we collect for no longer than is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collect the information and to comply with our legal obligations

We retain the information we collect for no longer than is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collect the information and to comply with our obligations.

In relation to members we retain  personal information while membership continues. Thereafter we retain the information for 6 years in case any legal issues arise during that period.

In relation to cases where consent is relied on we retain information until consent is withdrawn . In such cases we will seek to delete the information held within 1 month.

As set out above where personal data is retained for the purposes of marketing or sharing information and you no longer want to be contacted by us, please email at any time saying “unsubscribe” to [email protected].

 

Your choices and rights in respect of the information we hold

Personal data must be processed in line with individuals’ rights, including the right to:

  • Access your personal information and request a copy of it;
  • Require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold;
  • Require the erasure (i.e. deletion) of personal information concerning you, in certain situations. Please note that if you ask us to delete any of your personal information which we believe is necessary for us to comply with our contractual or legal obligations, we may no longer be able to provide services to you;
  • Opt out at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing;
  • Restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
  • In limited circumstances, request the transfer of your personal information to another party.

 

If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal data, please email or write to us at:

Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG), Johnstone House 52-54 Rose Street, Aberdeen AB10 1HA, 01224 868168, [email protected].

 

How to make a complaint

If you have any queries concerning your personal information or any questions on our use of the information, please contact AREG by email or at the address above.

You also have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues.

 

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep this Notice under regular review and we will notify you by posting notice of the changes in a clear and conspicuous manner on our website www.aberdeenrenewables.com

This Notice was last updated 17.11.20

 

More information

Detailed information about your rights under Data Protection legislation can be found on the website of the United Kingdom Information Commissioner, the address of which is (as at the date of this policy) www.ico.org.uk.

 

Defined words

In this Privacy Notice, the following terms have the following meanings:-

“client” any person or organisation to whom  AREG provides a service to;
“contact”  an individual who is a contact of AREG including any client, any potential or former client, any supplier, any consultant, or any another professional advisor and any other contact of AREG;
“data” recorded information whether stored electronically, on a computer, or in certain paper-based filing systems;
“data controller” a person who or organisation which determines how personal data is processed and for what purposes;
“data protection leader” the person designated as the Data Protection Leader of AREG
“data protection officer” the person designated as the Data Protection Officer of AREG from time to time;
“individual” or “you” the person whose personal data is being collected, held or processed;
“personal data” Information which relates to an individual and from which he or she can be identified either directly or indirectly through other data which AREG  has or is likely to have in its possession. These individuals are sometimes referred to as data subjects.
“our people” means members, consultants, employees, temporary workers and those on work placements providing services to/working for AREG ;
“notice” this Privacy Notice as amended from time to time;
“member” any person or organisation who has joined AREG ;
“principles” the core data protection principles set out in this Privacy Notice;
“process” or “processing”  

any activity that involves use of personal data, including:  obtaining, recording or holding personal data, or carrying out any operation or set of operations on personal data including organising, amending, retrieving, using, disclosing, erasing or destroying it.  Processing also includes transferring personal data to third parties or allowing them access to it as set out in this Notice;

 
“Retention Period” period of time that AREG  retains personal data

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AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
“

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
“

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
“

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
“

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise