Privacy Policy

Effective date: 23/2/2021

In this Privacy Policy, any use of the words “you”, “yours” or similar expressions shall mean any user of this website whatsoever.

Terms such as “we”, “us”, “our” or similar expressions shall mean the UK Divest coalition (hereafter referred to as « UK Divest »), which comprises Friends of the Earth Scotland, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Platform. UK Divest coordinates fossil fuel divestment activity across the UK by supporting local campaign groups, undertaking research, providing resources for campaigners, and acting as a central point of contact for anyone interested in fossil fuel divestment.

The website is owned and operated by Friends of the Earth Scotland, with registered offices located at Thorn House, 5 Rose St, Edinburgh EH2 2PR.

This Privacy Policy (together with our data processing agreement) explains the steps we will take in order to protect your privacy when using this website. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

By visiting www.divest.org.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy applies to information that we collect and use about you when you access or use the website, or other online services, such as our mailing list sign-up form. We refer to these services collectively as the « Services ».

UK Divest is committed to protecting your privacy, including online, and in the transparent use of any information you give us.

This page sets out what information we may hold about you and how that data will be used. No information will be shared more widely than is set out below unless it is required by law.

Our full Privacy Policy is explained below, but the main points to note are:

  • We will only ever ask for what we really need to know.
  • We will collect and use the personal data that you share with us transparently, honestly and fairly.
  • We will always respect your choices around the data and methods of communication you use with us.
  • We will put appropriate security measures in place to protect the personal data that you share.
  • We will never sell your data.

What we’ll do with your data

If you sign up to our mailing list:

We will record your first and last name, email address, address, postcode and country of residence (for the purpose of sending you geographically relevant information). We use the personal data we have collected to keep you informed about relevant fossil fuel divestment campaign news, events and activities, through the means of regular email updates.

This information is processed via MailChimp (an industry-standard bulk email system) in order to maintain your subscription on our mailing list. It is not used for any other purpose. The data controller (Friends of the Earth Scotland) may share personal data with Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Platform, as set out in our data processing agreement.

You can unsubscribe from our mailing list or update your information whenever you wish by clicking an unsubscribe link in any of our emails or by emailing rianna.gargiulo@foe.co.uk.

If you take an e-action with us:

UK Divest works with its partner organisations (FoE Scotland, FoE EWNI and Platform) to host and send e-actions (e.g. online petitions, email actions, etc.) on behalf of the coalition. We promote these actions on our website. Each organisation uses different third-party platforms (e.g. Impact Stack). Please refer to the privacy policies of the respective organisations as necessary.

If you book or attend an event:

UK Divest holds a record of people who have registered for our events securely on Google Drive for administrative communication. If you provide information about accessibility needs, we will only process this information in order to ensure accessibility and provide for your safety. We use Eventbrite to manage our event registrations and collect attendance fees. Event payments are processed securely either via Eventbrite (if paying by card) or PayPal (if this is the selected option). You will only be subscribed to our mailing list (see above) if you request it. You can update your communication preferences at any time. We may take photos or record videos at events to promote and archive our work. It is your responsibility to make it known to us if you do not wish to be in a photo or video.

Website, cookies and browsing

To make sure our website works properly, we need to place ‘cookies’ on your computer. Cookies are small pieces of information sent by a web server to a web browser, which enable the server to collect information from the browser. Like all websites, we use cookies to provide you with a personalised web service. This includes monitoring our website’s performance, profiling your use on our website and finding people with similar profiles, so we can provide personalised content on social media sites you visit.

We also use third party marketing cookies, which collect information about your browsing habits. This may also include your use of social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) or how you interact with our website which then shows you relevant content elsewhere on the internet. These may also be used to choose the advertisements that are displayed to you on our website and other websites.

You can choose to use our website anonymously without giving us any information. You can block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. If you have disabled one or more cookies or cookie categories, we may still use information collected from cookies prior to your disabled preference being set. However, we will stop using the disabled cookie to collect any further information.

This site will set anonymous cookies if your browser is set to accept them, and they will be used by Google Analytics to track page visits which helps us monitor how our website is performing. Please note that if you avoid the use of cookies, you may not be able to use the full functionality of our website.

Retention of data

UK Divest only retains personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes it was collected for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

When determining the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of personal data, the purposes for which the personal data is processed, whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

When you sign up to the UK Divest mailing list, we retain your data for as long as you wish to remain on the list. You can unsubscribe from the list at any time. In the event that the campaign is closed, all personal data relating to this list will be destroyed.

Data security

UK Divest has put in place appropriate security measures to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.

Data sharing

UK Divest requires our coalition partners and other third parties to respect the security of personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law (please see our data processing agreement for more detail). We may also need to share personal information with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law.

The following third-party service providers process personal information about members and contacts for the following purposes:

  • MailChimp: Sending email bulletins to subscribers
  • Eventbrite: Handling registrations and bookings for events
  • Friends of the Earth: Hosting and sending e-action messages
  • PayPal: Managing payments for event bookings
  • Airtable: Collecting personal details of candidates signing up to the UK Divest election pledge

The Services also contain links to third-party websites such as social media sites and third-party plug-ins (such as the Twitter “follow” button). If you choose to use these sites or features, you may disclose your personal data not just to those third-parties, but also to their users and the public more generally depending on how their services function. We are not responsible for the content or practices of those websites or services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data will be subject to the privacy policies of the third party websites or services, and not this Privacy Policy.

Transfer of data outside the EU

UK Divest, like all other organisations using these services, transfers personal information to the United States for processing by MailChimp and Eventbrite. International data transfers to these suppliers are covered by GDPR Standard Contract Clauses or other appropriate safeguards.

Data subject rights

You have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information that we hold about you (commonly known as a “data subject access request”).
  • Ensure that the information we hold about you is accurate and complete.
  • Complain to the Information Commissioner (www.ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113) if you think we have not treated your data properly within the law.

Under certain circumstances you also have the right to:

  • Request erasure of your personal information.
  • Object to the storage or use of your personal information.
  • Request the restriction of processing of your personal information.
  • Request the transfer of personal information to another party.

If you wish to make a request on any of the above grounds, please contact us using the information in the “Contact information” section below at any time.

Please note that, depending on the nature of the request, UK Divest may have good grounds for refusing to comply. If that is the case, you will be given an explanation by us.

Data security breaches

UK Divest has put in place measures to protect the personal data provided by the Services  from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We also have procedures in place to deal with any data security breach and will notify members and contacts and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where legally required to do so.

However, no Internet or email transmission is ever fully secure or error free. Please keep this in mind when disclosing any personal data to us via the Internet.

Changes to this Policy

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, the features of our Services, or advances in technology. We will make the revised Privacy Policy accessible through the Services, so you should review the Privacy Policy periodically. You can know if the Privacy Policy has changed since the last time you reviewed it by checking the “Effective Date” included at the beginning of the document. If we make a material change to the Policy, you will be provided with appropriate notice in accordance with legal requirements. By continuing to use the Services, you are confirming that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.

Contact information

The data controller is Friends of the Earth Scotland, with registered offices located Thorn House, 5 Rose St, Edinburgh EH2 2PR.

Questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to membership@foe.scot