General Provisions
The Information We Collect
Use of Cookies and Similar Technologies
How We Use Collected Information
Disclosures of Personal Data
Interest-Based Advertising
Do-Not-Track
Information from Children Under 16 Years of Age
De-Identified or Anonymous Data
Links to Other Sites
Data Subject Rights
Withdrawing your Consent and Opting-Out of Marketing Communications
Retention of Data
Security
Transfer of Data
California Privacy Rights
Contact Information
LAST UPDATED: This Privacy Notice was last updated on August 13, 2019.
General Provisions
Thank you for visiting a member of the American Chemistry Council® family of websites. The American Chemistry Council, its subsidiaries, and affiliated companies (referred to herein as "Council," "we," "us," or "our") maintain these sites (each a "Council Site" and collectively "Council Sites"). This Privacy Notice applies to the Council Sites that incorporate this Notice. Please note that this Notice does not apply to other sites affiliated with the Council, our members, other companies' or organizations' websites to which we link, third party sites that link to us, or to our off-line activities.
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The most recent version of the Privacy Notice is reflected by the version date located at the top of this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice often to stay informed of how we may process your information.
THIS PRIVACY NOTICE DISCLOSES HOW WE COLLECT, USE, SHARE, AND PROTECT INFORMATION GATHERED FROM PARTICIPATING COUNCIL SITES. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY TERMS OR PRACTICES DESCRIBED IN THIS PRIVACY NOTICE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE COUNCIL SITES. IN ADDITION, PLEASE REVIEW OUR TERMS & CONDITIONS, WHICH GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE COUNCIL SITES.
The Information We Collect
“Personal Data,” for purposes of this Privacy Notice, means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. As described in detail below, we may collect certain Personal Data from or about you in connection with your use of, or your submissions to, the Council Sites, such as your name, position, company, street address, telephone number, fax number, date of birth, e-mail address, and payment information.
“Services,” for purposes of this Privacy Notice, means any of our products, services, or deliverables offered by the Council on or via Council Sites, including, but not limited to, our emergency response and incident support services.
We may collect Personal Data as follows:
- When you register for an account or interact with or utilize our Products or Services. We collect Personal Data, such as your name, address, phone number, username and password, email address, company information, date of birth, location data, and payment information, when you use or interact with our Council Sites and Services, including when you register or create an account with us, browse our products or Services online, make purchases from us, or utilize features on our Council Sites. When you make a purchase, or sign up for a paid service, we will process payment information only as necessary to complete the transactions you have requested or to otherwise provide the Services.
- When you communicate with us or sign up for promotional materials. We collect Personal Data, such as your name, email address, and other contact information, when you communicate with us, including when you submit information through the Council Sites, utilize our chat functions, or when you sign up to receive publications, subscriptions, promotional materials, or information.
- When you enroll or participate in offers, events, special programs, contests, sweepstakes, and promotions. We may request or otherwise collect Personal Data, such as your name, email address, and other contact information, when you enroll or participate in our offers, events, or programs. Participation in these offers, events, special programs, contests, sweepstakes, and promotions is voluntary; you have a choice about whether or not to disclose information required to enter or participate.
- When you engage with our online communities and forums. We provide certain online forums on the Council Sites in an effort to provide an interactive experience. We may collect Personal Data when you engage with our online communities and forums. Please note that online forums may be publicly accessible and other users may view information you post in the forums. We recommend that you exercise care in deciding what information and content you wish to disclose on the areas of the Council Sites that are accessible to the general public.
- When we collect data from third parties or publicly-available sources. We may obtain certain data about you from third-party sources to help us provide and improve the Services and for marketing and advertising. We may combine your Personal Data with data we obtain from our Services, other users, or third parties to enhance your experience and improve the Services.
- When we leverage and/or collect cookies, device IDs, Location, data from the environment, and other tracking technologies. We may collect certain Personal Data using cookies and other technologies, such as web beacons, device IDs, geolocation, HTML5 local storage, Flash cookies, and IP addresses. We specifically use browser cookies for different purposes, including cookies that are strictly necessary for functionality and cookies that are used for personalization, performance/analytics, and advertising. Our Use of Cookies and Similar Technologies section contains more information and options to control or opt-out of certain data collection or uses.
- Special Categories of Personal Data. In certain circumstances, as necessary for providing a specific service to you, we may process certain special categories of Personal Data, such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health information, biometric data, or sexual orientation.
You are not required to provide all Personal Data identified in this Privacy Notice in order to use the Council Sites; however, if you do not provide the Personal Data requested, we may be unable to provide some or all of the Services to you.
Use of Cookies and Similar Technologies
The Council Sites use cookies and similar technologies to improve user experience, system optimization, analytics, to personalize your experience while visiting the Council Sites, and to improve our content, products, and Services. For example, we may use cookies to enable use of shopping carts or forms on Council Sites. We also use cookies and similar technologies for purposes of marketing and advertising, including interest-based advertising. For more information on interest-based advertising, see the Interest-Based Advertising section. In those jurisdictions that require it, we allow the data subject to give explicit permission or to deny the use of certain categories of cookies.
A “cookie” is a small text file that a web server stores in browser software. A browser sends cookies to a server when the browser makes a connection to the server (for example, when requesting a web page from the same domain that created the cookie). The purpose of cookies is to remember the browser over time and distinguish one browser instance (or user) from all others. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to track Personal Data previously entered by a web user on Council Sites. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, including whether or not to accept them, and how to remove them. Cookies can remember login information, preferences, and similar information.
Cookies, as well as other tracking technologies, such as HTML5 local storage, and Local Shared Objects (such as “Flash” cookies), and similar mechanisms, may record information such as a unique identifier, information you enter in a form, IP address, and other categories of data.
We also use web beacons or “pixels,” and in certain circumstances, may collect IP address, screen resolution and browser software, and operating system types, clickstream patterns; dates and times that our Site is accessed, and other categories of data.
If you want to block the use and saving of cookies from the Council Sites on to the computer’s hard drive, you should take the necessary steps within your web browser’s settings to block all cookies from the Council Sites and its external serving vendors. Please be aware that this may disable all cookies delivered to your browser; not just the ones that may be delivered by our Council Sites. Please note that if you choose to erase or block your cookies, certain parts of the Council Sites may not function correctly. For information on how to disable cookies, refer to your browser’s documentation.
How We Use Collected Information
We may use your Personal Data for a variety of different purposes as set out in further detail below. In some cases, we will ask for your consent so that we may process your Personal Data. However, in certain circumstances, applicable data protection laws allow us to process your Personal Data without needing to obtain your consent. Subject to applicable law, the purposes for which we use and process your Personal Data, and the legal basis for such processing, are set forth below.
In certain cases, subject to applicable law, separate consent is not required, including:
- For the performance of a contract. To perform our contractual obligations to you, including to fulfill your request for our products, programs, or services or orders or purchases you have made, contact you in relation to any issues with your order, in relation to the provision of the Services, or where we need to provide your Personal Data to our service providers, or to take steps in response to information or inquiries you may submit prior to entering into a contract with us, such as to fulfill your request for a quote for services or when you utilize features of the Council Sites designed to help you determine which contractual services may be most relevant to your business.
- To comply with legal obligations. To comply with laws, regulators, court orders, or other legal obligations, or pursuant to legal process.
- Legitimate Interests. To operate our business and provide the Services, other than in performing our contractual obligations to you, for our “legitimate interests” for the purposes of applicable law, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data. Legitimate interests may include:
- To maintain the Council Sites and provide the products and Services, including for technical support;
- To administer your account, verify your age, identity, and/or payment details, and to authenticate and authorize access to the Council Sites and our products and Services;
- To communicate with you regarding the Services, including to provide you important notices regarding changes to our Terms and Conditions and to address and respond to your requests, inquiries, and complaints;
- To protect the confidentiality or security of information;
- To develop, provide, and improve the Council Sites and Services, including to better tailor the features, performance and support of our products, services, and Council Sites, and for statistical and analytics purposes;
- For our direct marketing purposes;
- To send surveys in connection with our services;
- For fraud, loss, and other crime prevention purposes;
- To assist in the investigation of suspected illegal or wrongful activity, and to protect and defend our rights and property, or the rights or safety of third parties;
- To enforce our Terms and Conditions, this Privacy Statement, or agreements with third parties;
- To comply with laws, regulators, court orders, or other legal obligations, or pursuant to legal process; or
- Subject to applicable contractual or legal restrictions, in connection with a contemplated reorganization or an actual reorganization of our business, in connection with financing, a sale or other transaction involving the disposal of all or part of our business or assets, including for the purpose of permitting the due diligence required to decide whether to proceed with a transaction.
- To protect data subjects’ vital interests. To protect the vital interests of you or of another person, such as in the provision of our emergency response and incident support services.
In some cases where we are not already authorized to process the Personal Data under applicable law, we may ask for your consent to process your Personal Data, including:
- Marketing. Where we are not relying on our legitimate interests or another legal basis for processing Personal Data, we may ask for your consent to contact you by telephone, SMS, post and/ or email about other offers, products, promotions, developments or services which we think may be of interest to you and for other marketing purposes.
- Special Categories of Personal Data. In limited circumstances, as necessary for providing a specific service to you, we may process certain Sensitive Personal Data, such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health information, biometric data, or sexual orientation. If we collect such Sensitive Personal Data directly from you, we will obtain your consent as required by law. In certain circumstances, subject to applicable law, we may process or otherwise disclose special categories of Personal Data without your consent, such as to protect the vital interests of you or of another person (e.g., in the provision of our emergency response and incident support services).
- Cookies. We may also request consent for some cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Disclosures of Personal Data
We may share Personal Data within the Council, its parent, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, and with third parties as described in this Privacy Notice, including:
- Affiliates. We may disclose some or all of your Personal Data to our subsidiaries, joint ventures, and other companies under our common control (collectively, "Affiliates"), for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. Where we share Personal Data with our Affiliates, we will require our Affiliates to honor this Privacy Notice.
- Service Providers and Vendors. We may disclose Personal Data to business partners, distributors, service providers, marketing partners, and vendors in order to maintain the Council Sites and provide, improve, and personalize the products and Services, including to fulfill a request for our products, programs, or services, to administer and deliver certain services (e.g., sweepstakes, surveys), and to perform other technical and processing functions, such as sending e-mails on our behalf, fulfilling orders, technical support, or otherwise operating the Council Sites, for analytics, and for marketing and advertising purposes. Such third parties may have access to Personal Data only as needed to perform their functions for us, and they may not use Personal Data for other purposes.
- Pursuant to Legal Process and Protection of Rights and Interests. We may also disclose Personal Data (1) when required by law, when the information is pertinent to judicial or government investigations or proceedings, or as otherwise pursuant to legal process; (2) to exercise, protect, and defend our rights and property, including to enforce our Terms and Conditions and to assert and defend against legal claims; or (3) when we believe in good faith disclosure is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding actual or suspected illegal or fraudulent activities or potential threats to our interests, Council Sites, our users, the public, or other third parties.
- Corporate Transactions. Subject to applicable law, the Council reserves the right to sell or transfer your information in the event that the Council is acquired by or merged with another company or in connection with the potential sale or transfer of some or all of the business assets of the Council Sites or the Council. If the sale occurs, the purchaser will be entitled to use and disclose the Personal Data collected by us, and the purchaser will assume the rights and obligations regarding your Personal Data as described in this Privacy Notice.
- Statement to Residents of the European Economic Area. We have developed data practices designed to assure information is appropriately protected but we cannot always know where personal information may be accessed or processed. While our primary data centers are in the United States, we may transfer personal information or other information outside of the United States. In addition, we may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. If we disclose personal information to a third party or to our employees outside of the United States, we will seek assurances that any information we may provide to them is safeguarded adequately and in accordance with this Privacy Notice and the requirements of applicable privacy laws.
If you are visiting from the European Union or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, please note that you are agreeing to the transfer of your personal data, potentially including sensitive data, by us from your region to countries which do not have data protection laws that provide the same level of protection that exists in countries in the European Economic Area, including the United States. By providing your personal information, you consent to any transfer and processing in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
Interest-Based Advertising
Interest-based advertising is advertising that is targeted to you based on your web browsing and app usage over time and across websites or apps. You have the option to restrict the use of information for interest-based advertising and to opt-out of receiving interest-based ads. Depending on from where you access the Council Sites, you may also be asked to consent to our use of cookies, including advertising cookies.
The opt-outs for interest-based advertising require that strictly necessary cookies are not blocked by the settings in your web browser. We support the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising of the Digital Advertising Alliance in the U.S., the Canadian Digital Advertising Alliance in Canada, and the European Digital Advertising Alliance in the EU. If you live in the United States, Canada, or the European Union, you can visit Ad Choices (US), Your Ad Choices (Canada), or Your Online Choices (EU) to find a convenient place to opt-out of interest-based advertising with participating entities for each region. These websites also provide detailed information about how interest-based advertising works. Opting out does not mean that you will no longer receive advertising from us, or when you use the Internet. It just means that the data collected from the Council Sites will not be used for interest-based advertising and that the advertising you see displayed on websites will not be customized to your interests.
Do-Not-Track
Do-Not-Track is a public-private initiative that has developed a “flag” or signal that an Internet user may activate in the user’s browser software to notify websites that the user does not wish to be “tracked” by third-parties as defined by the initiative. The online community has not agreed on what actions, if any, should be taken by the websites that receive the “do not track” signal, and therefore Do-Not-Track is not yet standardized. The Council Sites do not alter their behavior or change their services when they receives a “do-not-track” flag or signal from your browser.
Information from Children Under 16 Years of Age
We do not solicit or knowingly collect information from minors under the age of 16 years without parental consent. If you become aware that an individual under 16 years of age has provided us with Personal Data without parental consent, please contact us at privacy@americanchemistry.com. If we become aware that an individual under 16 years has provided us with Personal Data without parental consent, we will take steps to remove the data as permitted by law.
For more information about the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), please visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm.
De-Identified or Anonymous Data
We may create de-identified or anonymous data from Personal Data by removing data components (such as your name, email address, or linkable tracking ID) that makes the data personally identifiable to you or through obfuscation or through other means. We may use anonymous data to determine overall site traffic, popularity of areas of the Council Sites, and from where our users are navigating to Council Sites. This information may also be used for aggregate statistical reporting, to improve the design and content of the Council Sites. Our use of anonymized data is not subject to this Privacy Notice.
Links to Other Sites
Some of the Council Sites may contain links or otherwise provide access to another website, mobile application, or Internet location (collectively “Third-Party Sites”). We provide these links merely for your convenience. The Council has no control over, does not review, and is not responsible for Third-Party Sites, their content, or any goods or services available through the Third-Party Sites. Our Privacy Statement does not apply to Third-Party Sites. Third-Party Sites have their own information practices that may be different than ours. If you choose to engage with these links to navigate to Third-Party Sites, you will be leaving the Council Sites and going to a third party (external) website. Please note that Council Sites sometimes may offer content, contests, sweepstakes, or promotions that are sponsored by or co-sponsored with third parties. By virtue of their sponsorship, these third parties may obtain Personal Data that visitors submit when they voluntarily choose to participate in the contest, sweepstakes, or promotion. Personal Data submitted to those third parties will be subject to those third parties’ privacy policies as to the third parties’ use of the information. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any Third-Party Site with which you choose to interact.
Data Subject Rights
Data subjects in certain jurisdictions may have certain rights under applicable data protection law, including the right to request confirmation from us as to whether or not we are processing your Personal Data. Where we are processing your Personal Data, subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Request access to, modification or rectification, or erasure. You may have the right to request access to the Personal Data we hold about you, to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected or modified, or to have Personal Data we hold about you erased in certain circumstances (such as when it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected). If you need assistance or have questions about correcting information, please complete and submit your questions to us.
- Request restriction of processing. You may have the right to request that we restrict processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances (for example, where you believe that the Personal Data we hold about you is inaccurate or our processing is unlawful).
- Object to processing. In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we stop processing your Personal Data and/or stop sending you direct marketing communications. To opt-out of direct marketing communications, please see the instructions in the “Withdrawing Your Consent and Opting-out of Marketing Communications” section of this Privacy Notice.
- Data portability. In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we move your Personal Data to another data controller.
- Right to Lodge a Complaint. Additionally, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a government authority.
To exercise your rights, you may contact us as at privacy@americanchemistry.com. As permitted by law, certain data elements may not be subject to access, modification, portability, restriction, and/or deletion. Furthermore, where permissible, we may charge for this service. We will respond to reasonable requests as soon as practicable and as required by law. To protect your privacy and security, we may take steps to verify your identity in order to respond to your request.
Withdrawing your Consent and Opting-Out of Marketing Communications
In most cases, we need to process certain of your Personal Data in order to fulfill our contractual obligations to you, for our legitimate interests, or to protect individuals’ vital interests.
Where consent is the basis of processing, you may at any time withdraw the consent you provided for the processing of your Personal Data for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Notice by contacting us at privacy@americanchemistry.com, provided that we are not required by applicable law or professional standards to retain such information.
If you would like to stop receiving newsletters or other marketing or promotional messages, notifications, or updates about one of the offerings at our sites, you may do so by following the unsubscribe instructions that appear in these e-mail communications. Alternatively, you may contact us at privacy@americanchemistry.com to opt-out of direct marketing. Please be advised that you may not be able to opt-out of receiving certain service or transactional messages from us, including security and legal notices, and communications related to the provision of the products and Services.
Please note that if you do not provide consent or if you withdraw your consent, or if you choose not to provide certain Personal Data, we may be unable to provide you certain products or Services.
Retention of Data
We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as you maintain an account or for as long as is necessary to provide the products or Services, or for such longer period as may be required or permitted by applicable law. We will also retain your Personal Data as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Security
The Council implements technical and organizational security measures designed to secure and protect Personal Data. Please note, however, we cannot fully eliminate security risks associated with the storage and transmission of Personal Data.
Transfer of Data
If you are visiting the Council Sites, or any part thereof, from outside of the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and/or processed in the United States. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. If you are located outside of the United States, the transfer of Personal Data is necessary to provide you with the requested information, products, and Services and/or to perform any requested transaction. By using any portion of the Council Sites, you acknowledge and consent to the transfer of your information to our facilities in the United States.
California Privacy Rights
Under Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, residents of California have the right to request from a business, with whom the California resident has an established business relationship, certain information with respect to the types of personal information (as defined by California law) the business shares with third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes, and the identities of the third parties with whom the business has shared such information during the immediately preceding calendar year. To exercise your rights, as may be applicable, you may make one request each year by emailing us at privacy@americanchemistry.com with "Request for California Privacy Information" on the subject line and in the body of your message. Be sure to provide in the request sufficient information to properly identify you and/or the members of your family.
Contact Information
We welcome your feedback regarding this Privacy Notice. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about this Privacy Notice you may contact us at:
American Chemistry Council
700 Second St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
Tele: (202) 249-7000
Fax: (202) 249-6100