The VSef website and data is managed on a not-for-profit basis on behalf of VSEF Ltd by the team at BPA Worldwide.

BPA WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING BPA ICOMPLI

Effective Date: January 1, 2022

At BPA Worldwide, we respect your personal privacy and adhere to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Program and the following terms and conditions that govern your use of this website. Because we are dedicated to serving your needs and respecting your preferences, we have adopted the policies and practices described in this Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use.

OUR COLLECTION AND USE OF YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

You are not required to provide information about yourself when you visit the BPA Worldwide website.

We may ask you for general contact information such as name, company name, job title, postal address, email address, telephone and facsimile number when you register for certain services, access various content or features, or directly contact the website. No sensitive data is collected.

In general, we collect and use information about you for membership administration, to deliver member services (e.g., access to reports, press releases, etc.) and to inform you of BPA Worldwide events, notices and membership-related activities. Except as described herein, we do not sell, rent or otherwise share or disclose your private, personally identifiable information to third parties.

You can opt out of receiving email messages by following the instructions contained in any such message. Please note that even if you unsubscribe, we still may need to send you communications relating to your use of the BPA Worldwide website.

Because of the nature of our business, our services and benefits are not designed to appeal to minors. We do not knowingly attempt to solicit or receive any information from children.

In certain contexts and jurisdictions, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other pseudonymous information may be considered personal data.

BPA Worldwide specifically collects information from you at several different points, including, but not limited to the following:

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO US

BPA Worldwide is committed to maintaining your trust and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share information collected about you.

BPA Worldwide primarily collects information in connection with membership, services, and activities requiring registration. BPA Worldwide will treat any information of its members and event attendees as confidential and will not disclose it to any third party (other than in connection with BPA Worldwide events as described below) without consent. We do not rent, sell or otherwise disclose personal information to third parties.

In connection with BPA Worldwide events (e.g., webinars) supported by a sponsor, we provide a registration list to the sponsor(s). We may also make available (through a third-party mailing service) addresses for use by the sponsor(s). If you do not wish to receive the information from such sponsor(s), you may express your preference to not be contacted by checking the appropriate box on the registration form at the time of registration. You can also opt out of receiving email messages from third parties by following the instructions contained in any such message.

CORRESPONDENCE

If you correspond with BPA Worldwide via e-mail, the postal service, or other form of communication, we may retain such correspondence and the information contained therein to respond to your inquiry and/or notify you of BPA Worldwide events, notices and activities. Importantly, e-mail and postal address information is never sold, given, or otherwise shared or disclosed to third parties except as set forth herein.

URL AND IP ADDRESS

Like many other websites, we collect information about our users’ utilization and navigation of our site. This information helps us to design our site to better suit our users’ needs. We may also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our site, analyze trends, track visitor movements, and gather usage information that assists us in identifying visitor preferences.

COOKIES AND WEB BEACONS

Cookies are pieces of data that a website transfers to a user’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Web beacons are transparent pixel images that are used in collecting information about e-mail response and tracking.

The site uses cookies and web beacons to provide enhanced functionality on the site (e.g., user ID and password prompts) and aggregate traffic data (e.g. what pages are the most popular). These cookies may be delivered in a first-party or third-party context. Our site also captures limited information (user-agent, HTTP referrer, last URL requested by the user, client-side and server-side clickstream) about visits to our site; we may use this information to analyze general traffic patterns and to perform routine system maintenance. You have many choices with regards to the management of cookies on your computer. All major browsers allow you to block or delete cookies from your system. To learn more about your ability to manage cookies and web beacons, please consult the privacy features in your browser.

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies,” which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser; however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. BPA Worldwide does not control or exert influence on the collection, processing, reporting and usage of data by Google.

RESTRICTIONS ON DISCLOSING INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES

When downloading or viewing a media owner’s report from the online Reports Library, information regarding your access to that report is available, upon request, to that media owner only. No other information regarding your use of the site is available to that media owner or other party. This is an extension of BPA Worldwide’s longstanding policy for hardcopy reports.

We may disclose all of the information that we collect, as stated above and in accordance with the terms set forth in this section. We do not reveal personally identifiable information about you to third parties for their independent use unless: (1) you request or authorize; (2) in connection with BPA Worldwide events supported by a sponsor as described above; (3) the information is provided to comply with the law (for example, to comply with a search warrant, subpoena or court order), enforce an agreement we have with you, or to protect our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of our employees or others; (4) to address emergencies or acts of God; or (5) to address disputes, claims, or to persons holding a legal or beneficial interest. We may also gather aggregated data about our members and site visitors and disclose the results of such aggregated (but not personally identifiable) information.

From time to time we may partner or enter into arrangements with another party to provide specific benefits and/or services to our members. We will provide to such partners the information that we believe is reasonably necessary for them to provide such benefits or services to you. If you do not wish to receive marketing communications from our partners or us, you may express your preference to not be so contacted by e-mailing BPA Worldwide at the contact information below informing us of your preference.

OUR SECURITY MEASURES TO PROTECT INFORMATION

To help protect the privacy of data and personally identifiable information you transmit through use of this site, we maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards which are consistent with ISO 27001 guidelines. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis. We restrict access to your personally identifiable information to those employees who need to know that information to provide benefits or services to you. In addition, we train our employees about the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the privacy and security of your information. We commit to taking appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce our employees’ privacy responsibilities.

INAPPLICABILITY OF PRIVACY STATEMENTS OF ANY LINKED SITES OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES

This Privacy Statement only addresses BPA Worldwide’s use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information. As this site may contain links to other websites, please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites, and we are not liable for their misuse of personally identifiable information. We encourage you to be aware that when you go to another website you should carefully read their privacy statement.

GENERAL LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

Access to the information contained on this website is provided by BPA Worldwide as a service to users/visitors. References to any product, process or service do not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by BPA Worldwide. While BPA Worldwide makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information on this site, we do not approve or certify non-BPA Worldwide information nor do we guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, timeliness or correct sequencing of such information. Use of such information is voluntary and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its applicability, accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness with regard to user’s specific needs and uses. BPA Worldwide (including its employees and agents) is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance on the information available through this site. No approvals, recommendations, endorsements, guarantees or warranties, including, but not limited to, any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular use or purpose of products or services named on this site are made by BPA Worldwide.

We are committed to protecting your information. We have adopted commercially reasonable technical, administrative, and physical procedures to help protect your information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, and alteration. Please note that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. We want you to feel confident using the BPA Worldwide website but we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. Please refer to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s website for information on how to protect yourself from identity theft.

YOUR ACCESS TO AND UPDATING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

To the extent we are legally permitted to do so, we will take reasonable steps to notify you in the event that we are required to provide your personal information to third parties as part of legal process.

If you choose to share your contact information with us, you may have the opportunity to update or amend your information by contacting us. If you ask us to shut down your account or delete your information, we will disable your account within a reasonable period of time. Please note that we may need to retain some information about you in order to satisfy our legal and security obligations. For example, some of your information may remain in back-up storage even if you ask us to delete it. In some cases, you may be entitled under local laws to access or object to the processing of information that we hold relating to you.

EU-U.S. PRIVACY SHIELD PROGRAM

BPA Worldwide complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union to the United States.  BPA Worldwide has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles.  If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern.  To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/.

BPA Worldwide is committed to subject all personal data received from the EU to the principles of Privacy Shield, including: Notice, Choice, Accountability for Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation, Access, and Recourse, Enforcement and Liability.

As required by the Privacy Shield Framework:

• BPA Worldwide is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
• Under certain conditions, individuals may invoke binding arbitration
• BPA Worldwide is required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements
• BPA Worldwide has responsibility for the processing of personal information it receives under the Privacy Shield and subsequently transfers to a third party acting as an agent on its behalf.  We shall remain liable under the Principles if our agent processes such personal information in a manner inconsistent with the Principles, unless the BPA Worldwide proves that it is not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

INDIVIDUAL ACCESS TO THEIR PERSONAL DATA

Users may review, edit, and limit the use and disclosure of their personal data by contacting BPA Worldwide at privacy@bpaww.com.

CONDITIONS OF USE, NOTICES AND CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY STATEMENT

BPA Worldwide is headquartered in the United States and has affiliate offices in other countries. Please be aware that information you provide to us or we obtain as a result of your use of the BPA Worldwide website may be collected in your country and subsequently transferred to the United States or another country in accordance with applicable law. The privacy and data protection laws in another country may not be equivalent to such laws in your country of residence. By using and participating in any BPA Worldwide website or providing us with your information, you consent to the collection, international transfer, storage, and processing of your information.

By using this site, you agree to the terms and conditions contained in this Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use and/or any other agreement that we might have with you. If you do not agree to any of these terms and conditions, you should not use this site or any BPA Worldwide services, events and activities. You agree that any dispute over privacy or the terms contained in this Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use, or any other agreement we have with you, will be governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut, USA. You also agree to arbitrate such disputes in Connecticut, and to abide by any limitation on damages contained in any agreement we may have with you.

As our organization, membership and services change from time to time, this Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use is expected to change as well. We reserve the right to amend the Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use at any time, for any reason, without notice to you, other than the posting of the amended Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use at this site. We may e-mail periodic reminders of our notices and terms and conditions and will communicate to BPA Worldwide members of material changes, but you should check our site frequently to see the current Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use that is in effect and any changes that may have been made to it. The provisions contained herein supersede all previous notices or statements regarding our privacy practices and the terms and conditions that govern the use of this site.

CHANGES TO THIS CUSTOMER PRIVACY STATEMENT

We may update this Customer Privacy Statement to reflect changes in our practices and service offerings. If we modify our Customer Privacy Statement, we will update the “Effective Date” and such changes will be effective upon posting. If we make any material changes in the way we use your information, we will notify you by sending an email message to the email address you most recently provided to us or by prominently posting a notice of the changes on the BPA Worldwide website.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CUSTOMER PRIVACY STATEMENT AND CONDITIONS OF USE

If you have any questions about our Customer Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use, or any concern about privacy at BPA Worldwide or the use of this site in general, please contact us and we will respond to your request in a reasonable period of time. You may e-mail us at info@bpaww.com or write to us using the postal address below:

BPA Worldwide
100 Beard Sawmill Road
Sixth Floor
Shelton, CT 06484
Attn: Communications Manager

In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, BPA Worldwide commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. Individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our Private Shield policy should first contact BPA Worldwide at the addresses stated above. 

BPA Worldwide has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to the European Data Protection Authorities as an alternative dispute resolution provider. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or if we have not addressed your complaint to your satisfaction, please contact or visit http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm  for more information or to file a complaint. The services of the European Data Protection Authorities are provided at no cost to you.

If the European Data Protection Authorities finds us to be in violation of any privacy principle, we will correct the situation and stop processing the data of the user bringing the complaint.