We would like to thank the participating companies, listed below, for their co-operation in the construction of the Sounding Soil website.
© 2023 Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development
Biovision Foundation, Zürich
Marcus Maeder, Zürich
In this privacy policy, we inform you about the personal data we process in connection with our activities and services, including our https://www.biovision.ch/ website. In particular, we provide information on why, how and where we process which personal data. We also inform you of the rights of persons whose data we process. Supplementary privacy policies and other legal documents such as general terms and conditions (GTC), terms of use or conditions of participation may apply to individual or additional activities and services.
Responsibility for the processing of personal data:
Biovision – Foundation for Ecological Development
Heinrichstrasse 147
8005 Zurich, Switzerland
We indicate any other persons responsible for processing personal data in individual cases.
Personal data is defined as any information relating to an identified or identifiable person. A data subject is a person about whom we process personal data.
Processing includes any handling of personal data, regardless of the means and procedures used, such as retrieving, comparing, adapting, archiving, retaining, reading, disclosing, procuring, recording, collecting, deleting, sharing, sorting, organising, storing, modifying, distributing, linking, destroying and using personal data.
We process personal data in accordance with Swiss data protection law, in particular the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and the Ordinance to the Federal Act on Data Protection.
We process personal data that is required to provide our activities and services in a permanent, user-friendly, secure and reliable manner. In particular, such personal data may fall into the categories of inventory and contact data, browser and device data, content data, metadata or marginal data and usage data, location data, sales data, as well as contract and payment data.
We process personal data for the duration that is necessary for the respective purpose(s) or that is required by law. Personal data that is no longer required for processing is anonymised or deleted.
We may have personal data processed by third parties. We may process personal data jointly with third parties or transfer it to third parties. Such third parties are in particular specialised providers whose services we make use of. We also ensure data protection with regard to such third parties.
In principle, we process personal data only with the consent of the data subject(s). If and to the extent that the processing is permitted for other legal reasons, we may waive the need to obtain consent. For example, we may process personal data without consent in order to fulfil a contract, to comply with legal obligations or to protect overriding interests.
In this context, we process in particular information provided voluntarily by data subjects when they contact us – for example by letter, e-mail, instant messaging, contact form, social media or telephone – or when they register for a user account. We may store such data, for example, in an address book, in a customer relationship management system (CRM system) or with comparable tools. If we receive data about other persons, the persons transmitting the data are obliged to ensure data protection with regard to the persons concerned and to verify the accuracy of this personal data.
We also process personal data that we receive from third parties, obtain from publicly accessible sources or collect when carrying out our activities and services, if and to the extent that such processing is permitted for legal reasons.
We process personal data about applicants to the extent that it is necessary for the assessment of suitability for an employment relationship or for the subsequent implementation of an employment contract. The personal data required depends in particular on the information requested, for example in a job advertisement. We also process personal data that applicants voluntarily provide or publish, in particular in cover letters, CVs and other application documents or in online profiles.
We use third-party services to recruit for jobs via e-recruitment and to facilitate and manage applications.
We use in particular:
In principle, we process personal data in Switzerland. However, we may also disclose or export personal data to other countries, in particular in order to process it or to have it processed there.
We can transfer personal data to all states and territories around the world and elsewhere in the universe provided that, according to a decision of the Swiss Federal Council, the legislation in force there guarantees an adequate level of data protection.
We may disclose personal data to countries whose laws do not ensure adequate data protection provided that appropriate data protection is ensured for other reasons, for example through corresponding contractual agreements, on the basis of standard data protection clauses or with other suitable safeguards. By way of exception, we may export personal data to countries without adequate or appropriate data protection if the specific requirements under data protection law are met, such as the express consent of the data subjects or a direct connection with the conclusion or performance of a contract. We will be happy to provide data subjects with information about any guarantees or provide a copy of such guarantees on request.
We grant data subjects all rights according to applicable data protection law.
Data subjects have the following rights in particular:
We may suspend, restrict or refuse the exercise of the rights of data subjects to the extent permitted by law. We can inform data subjects of any requirements they may have to fulfil in order to exercise their rights under data protection law. For example, we may refuse to provide information in whole or in part on the grounds of professional secrecy or the protection of others, or we may refuse to delete personal data in whole or in part with reference to a statutory duty to preserve data.
We may, exceptionally, charge a data subject for the exercise of their rights. We will inform the data subjects in advance about any costs. We are obliged to take reasonable steps to identify data subjects who request information or assert other rights. Data subjects are obliged to cooperate.
Data subjects have the right to enforce their data protection rights through legal channels or to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority. The data protection supervisory authority for private data controllers and federal bodies in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure data security in line with the associated risks. We cannot therefore guarantee absolute data security.
Our website is accessed via transport encryption (SSL/TLS, in particular with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, HTTPS for short). Most browsers indicate transport encryption by displaying a padlock icon in the address bar.
Our digital communications – like all digital communications in principle – are subject to mass surveillance with no basis in cause or suspicion as well as to other surveillance by security authorities in Switzerland, in the rest of Europe, in the United States of America (USA) and in other countries. We cannot directly influence the corresponding processing of personal data by intelligence services, police forces and other security authorities.
We may use cookies. Cookies, whether they are our own cookies (first-party cookies) or cookies from third parties whose services we use (third-party cookies), are pieces of data that are stored in the browser. The data that is stored need not be limited to traditional cookies in text form.
Cookies may be stored temporarily in your browser as “session cookies” or for a certain period of time, whereby they are known as permanent cookies. “Session cookies” are automatically deleted when you close your browser. Permanent cookies have a specific storage period. In particular, they make it possible to recognise your browser the next time you visit our website, thereby measuring the reach of our website, for example. However, permanent cookies can also be used for online marketing, for example.
You can deactivate or delete cookies completely or partially in your browser settings at any time. Without cookies enabled, our website may no longer be fully available. If and to the extent necessary, we actively request your express consent to the use of cookies.
In the case of cookies that are used for performance and reach measurement or for advertising, a general objection (“opt-out”) is possible for numerous services via AdChoices (Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada), the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), YourAd-Choices (Digital Advertising Alliance) or Your Online Choices (European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance, EDAA).
We may collect the following information on each occasion you access our website, provided that it is transmitted from your browser to our server infrastructure or can be detected by our web server: date and time including time zone, Internet Protocol (IP) address, access status (HTTP status code), operating system including user interface and version, browser including language and version, individual sub-pages of our website accessed including the amount of data transmitted, last website accessed in the same browser window (referrer).
We store such information, which may also include personal data, in server log files. We require this information in order to provide our website in a permanent, user-friendly and reliable manner and to ensure data security and thus, in particular, to guarantee the protection of personal data – including by third parties or with the help of third parties.
We may use tracking pixels on our website. Tracking pixels are also called web beacons. Tracking pixels – including those of third parties whose services we use – are small, usually invisible images that are automatically generated when you visit our website. Tracking pixels allow the same data to be recorded as in server log files.
We may send notifications and messages by e-mail and through other communication channels such as instant messaging or SMS.
Notifications and messages may contain web links or tracking pixels that log whether an individual message has been opened and which web links were clicked on. Such web links and tracking pixels may also record the use of notifications and messages in a way that can be attributed to the individual person. We need this statistical recording of usage for performance and reach measurement in order to be able to offer notifications and messages based on the needs and reading habits of the recipients in an effective, user-friendly, permanent, secure and reliable manner.
In principle, you must expressly consent to the use of your e-mail address and your other contact addresses, unless such use is permitted for other legal reasons. Where possible, we use “double opt-in” to obtain consent, i.e. you receive an e-mail with a web link which you must click on to confirm your agreement so that no misuse by unauthorised third parties can take place. We may log such declarations of consent, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address and the date and time, for reasons of security and documentation.
In principle, you can unsubscribe from notifications and messages such as newsletters at any time. By unsubscribing, you can at the same time object to the statistical recording of usage for performance and reach measurement. We reserve the right to send notifications and messages that are absolutely necessary for our online activities and services.
We send notifications and messages with the help of specialised service providers.
We use in particular:
We are present on social media platforms and other online platforms in order to communicate with interested persons and to inform them about our activities and services. Personal data may also be processed outside of Switzerland in connection with such platforms.
The general terms and conditions (GTC), terms of use, privacy policies and other provisions of the individual operators of such online platforms also apply in each case. These provisions include information about the rights of data subjects directly with regard to the respective platform, including, for example, the right of access.
We may use the services of specialised third parties in order to carry out our activities and services in a permanent, user-friendly, secure and reliable manner. Such services also serve to embed other features and content into our website. For technical reasons, such embedded services record the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user, at least temporarily.
For their own security, statistical and technical purposes, third parties whose services we use may also process data in an aggregated, anonymous or pseudonymised form in connection with our activities. This concerns performance or usage data in order to be able to offer the relevant service, for example.
We use in particular:
We use the services of specialised third parties to access the digital infrastructure required for our activities and services. These services include hosting and storage services from specialised providers, for example.
We use in particular:
We use specialised platforms to integrate and connect existing third-party apps and services. We can also use such “no-code” platforms to automate processes and activities with third-party apps and services.
We use in particular:
We use specialised audio and video conferencing services to communicate online. We may use such services for holding virtual meetings, for example, or for conducting online classes and webinars. For participation in audio and video conferences, the legal texts of the individual services, such as privacy policies and terms of use, also apply.
Depending on the user’s individual environment, we recommend muting the microphone by default when participating in audio or video conferences, as well as blurring the background or having a virtual background superimposed.
We use in particular:
We use third-party services to enable online collaboration. In addition to this privacy policy, any directly visible conditions of the services used, such as terms of use or privacy policies, also apply.
We use in particular:
We use third-party services to embed maps into our website.
We use in particular:
We use services from specialised third parties to enable the direct playback of digital audio and video content such as music or podcasts.
We use in particular:
We use specialised service providers to process our customers’ payments securely and reliably. The legal texts of individual service providers such as general terms and conditions (GTC) or privacy policies also apply.
We use in particular:
We take advantage of the opportunity to display targeted advertisements for our activities and services with third parties such as social media platforms and search engines. The aim of this advertising is to reach people who are already interested in our activities and services or who might be interested in them (remarketing and targeting). We may transmit relevant – possibly also personal – information to third parties that enable such advertising. Additionally, we are able to determine whether our advertising is successful, i.e. in particular whether it has resulted in visits to our website (conversion tracking).
Third parties with whom we advertise and with whom you are registered as a user may be able to assign the use of our online services to your profile there.
We use in particular:
We use extensions for our website in order to be able to use additional features.
In particular, we use:
To try and determine how our online services are used, we can, for example, measure the performance and reach of our activities and services as well as the impact of third-party links to our website.
However, we can also try out and compare how different parts or versions of our website are used (“A/ B test” method), for instance. The results of performance and reach measurement enable us in particular to correct errors, enhance popular content or make improvements to our website.
In most cases, the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of individual users are stored to measure performance and reach. In principle, IP addresses are shortened (“IP masking”) in order to follow the principle of data economy by means of the relevant pseudonymisation. Cookies may be used for measuring performance and reach, and user profiles may be created. User profiles include elements such as the pages visited or content viewed on our website, information on the size of the screen or browser window and the – at least approximate – location. In principle, any user profiles are created exclusively on a pseudonymous basis and are not used to identify individual users. Individual services of third parties to which users are logged in can at most assign the use of our website to the user account or user profile for the relevant service. We use in particular:
We may adapt and supplement this privacy policy at any time.
We will provide notification of any such modifications and additions in an appropriate form, in particular by publishing the currently applicable privacy policy on our website.