LEGAL & POLICIES
How Ecologos SRL uses and protects personal data in connection with The Climate Academy.
The Climate Academy is an educational programme and learning platform operated by Ecologos SRL, a company incorporated in Belgium. Ecologos SRL is the controller of personal data processed for Climate Academy purposes unless a particular service states otherwise.
Questions or data-protection requests may be sent to hello@theclimateacademy.org.
This Notice covers personal data collected through theclimateacademy.org, moodle.theclimateacademy.org, enquiries, Student Book requests, newsletter or update subscriptions, learner registration, parental authorisation, school registration processes, assessments, payments, certification, digital credentials, verification and related Academy administration. Personal data is processed in accordance with applicable data-protection law, including the EU GDPR and, where it applies, the UK GDPR.
We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis. Depending on the activity, this may include taking steps at your request or performing our agreement with you; complying with a legal obligation; our legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving the Academy, maintaining academic and credential integrity, preventing misuse and responding to enquiries; or consent where the law requires consent, including certain marketing or cookie activities.
Accepting the Terms of Use and acknowledging this Privacy Notice does not by itself opt you into optional marketing. Where we ask for consent to receive general news or promotional updates, that choice is recorded separately and can be withdrawn.
If you request the Student Book, submit an enquiry or use another website form, we may collect your name, email address and any information you choose to include in your message. We use those details to fulfil the request, respond to the enquiry, provide the information requested and maintain appropriate continuity of the resulting correspondence. We may keep a record of the form, source, timestamp and the legal-document version acknowledged at that interaction.
Where you separately ask to receive ongoing news or updates, we record that marketing choice independently from the legal acknowledgement. Optional mailing-list communications will include a straightforward way to unsubscribe, and you may withdraw that marketing consent at any time.
For registered learners we may process account and contact details, country and timezone, educational affiliation, optional demographic information, course participation, learning activity, assessment results, evidence records, certification history, support communications and security/audit information necessary to operate the learning platform.
The Academy uses 16 as its standard threshold for independent online registration. Where an independent learner is under 16, we collect the information necessary to obtain and record parent or guardian authorisation before completing registration. This may include the parent or guardian’s name, email address, relationship, authorisation reference, status and relevant timestamps.
Where learners are registered through an authorised school or organisation, the Academy may rely on the agreed institutional process and retain the school-supplied authorisation reference or related audit information rather than contacting each parent individually.
We process quiz scores, written work, peer or tutor assessment, evidence links and assessment decisions to deliver courses and determine eligibility for awards. Learners should not submit unnecessary sensitive information or confidential third-party information as evidence.
Where academic integrity concerns arise, relevant records may be reviewed and retained as necessary to investigate, resolve and document the matter.
We retain information necessary to issue and verify certificates and digital credentials and to preserve the integrity of the Academy’s award records. Verification services may display limited award information needed to confirm authenticity, current status and, where applicable, evidence or requirements associated with the award.
Learners should understand any public-verification or public-evidence requirement before submitting material for an evidence-based award.
Payment providers process payment information when a paid Academy service is purchased. The Academy may receive transaction references, payment status, amount, currency and related administrative information, but does not store full payment-card details.
Web servers and platforms may process IP addresses, device/browser information, timestamps, session identifiers, security logs and similar technical information to operate, protect and troubleshoot the services. Cookies are explained in the separate Cookie Policy.
We may use trusted service providers for website and Moodle hosting, email delivery and contact management, payment processing, file or cloud services, backup, technical support, security, analytics where enabled, and other services necessary to operate the Academy. Providers are permitted to process personal data only for authorised purposes and subject to appropriate contractual and security arrangements. The Academy does not sell personal data and does not share personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect legal rights or security, or in connection with a legitimate organisational restructuring.
Some service providers may process data outside Belgium or the European Economic Area. Where EU data-protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, Ecologos SRL will use an applicable lawful mechanism, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual safeguards.
We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, security, academic-integrity and dispute-resolution needs. Enquiry and correspondence records are reviewed periodically and inactive records are deleted, anonymised or reduced when they are no longer reasonably needed. Account data is normally retained while an account is active and then deleted, anonymised or reduced unless there is a reason to retain particular records.
Certificate, digital-credential and verification records may need to be retained for longer than ordinary account data so that awards can continue to be authenticated and their status accurately recorded. Consent and legal-acknowledgement records may also be retained as evidence of what was agreed or requested at the relevant time.
The Academy may consolidate historical records from earlier websites, email systems or contact-management systems. When this occurs, the original source, interaction date/time and available evidence of the person’s choices are preserved where reasonably possible. Importing a historical record does not convert an earlier acknowledgement into acceptance of a later version of the Terms or Privacy Notice.
Where historical records show that an earlier legal checkbox was ticked, that event remains associated with the version presented at the time. New acknowledgements are recorded against the new version from its effective cut-over date.
Subject to applicable law and any relevant exceptions, you may have rights to obtain access to your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion or restriction, object to certain processing, receive certain data in portable form, and withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal. We will respond to valid rights requests within the time required by applicable law.
You also have the right to complain to a competent data-protection supervisory authority. Ecologos SRL is established in Belgium, where the Belgian Data Protection Authority is the national supervisory authority.
The Academy does not use solely automated decision-making to determine whether a learner receives an Academy certificate or digital credential. Digital tools may support administration, but award decisions remain subject to the Academy’s published assessment and governance processes.
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. No internet service can guarantee absolute security, and users should also protect their account credentials and devices.
This Notice is version controlled. The version number and effective date are published with it. Where a form records acknowledgement of this Notice, the Academy aims to retain the version and timestamp associated with that interaction. Material changes will be communicated or re-acknowledged where appropriate or legally required.
For privacy questions or to exercise data-protection rights, contact hello@theclimateacademy.org.