Privacy Policy

Environmental Professionals Network respects your right to privacy. Environmental Professionals Network, hereinafter referred to as EPN, will only collect Personal Information (defined below) that you voluntarily provide to us and will only disclose it or use it for purposes as disclosed in this Privacy Policy or as disclosed by us at the time information is requested from you.

 

When you visit our website, EPN does not automatically collect any information that could personally identify you. Personal information includes your name, street address, email address, billing information, credit card number and expiration date, and any other personally identifying information you may provide ("Personal Information"). Your Personal Information is only collected when you voluntarily submit it, for example, when you order services or products through the EPN website, subscribe to our email updates through EPN Connect, participate in online interactive activities such as topic area postings and responses, endorse our EPN, sign up as a volunteer, list your event or group, make a donation, or submit content or suggestions.

 

In addition to the ways described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy or at the time information is requested, we may use Personal Information received from visitors to our website for any of the following purposes: (1) to confirm, process and fulfill service or product orders; (2) to respond to specific requests made by the visitor; (3) to demonstrate public support for EPN; (4) to provide to other EPN participants for use in collaborative networking efforts; (5) to obtain parental consent for visitors under eighteen (18) years of age, when necessary; or (6) to protect the security or integrity of our website when necessary.

 

With the exceptions noted above, any Personal Information received from you will be retained by EPN and will not be sold, transferred or otherwise disclosed to any third party, unless such disclosure is required by law or court order.

 

Each time you come to the EPN website, our web server (like most on the web) collects some basic technical information, including your IP address, your domain name, referral data (for example, the address of the last URL you were at before clicking through to our website) and browser and platform type ("Technical Information"). EPN may use this Technical Information to improve our website and make it more responsive to our visitors (see "Cookies" below). The Technical Information provided by our server is not linked to any of your Personal Information.

 

We also count, track, and aggregate your activity on the website into our analysis of general traffic flows at the site, allowing us to identify broad demographics about who uses the EPN website ("Traffic Data"). This Traffic Data is kept anonymously so that any such information does not personally identify you. We may share this Traffic Data with others. For example, we may report to third parties, such as the press, that a certain number of our volunteers come from a specific geographic area.

 

A "Cookie" is a short line of text stored on your computer by a website to differentiate between one anonymous visitor and another. For the EPN website we only use Cookies for the limited purpose of counting the number of anonymous visitors to our site; we do not collect or store any personal information about you using Cookies.

 

Our website provides a variety of opportunities for your involvement with the EPN services and features. These opportunities and the ways in which your Personal Information is used, as expressly permitted by you upon your voluntary submission of such, are described below.

 

To register as an EPN participant and receive emails and other communication from EPN and EPN participants, you must submit your email address and other minimum basic information as noted on the account participant sign-up page, and you will be asked for additional information which you may elect to include at the time you create your participant profile. For purpose of illustration but not limitation, such additional information may include categorical selections of topical interests, county of residence, county/counties of work, organizational affiliation, and public-facing projects. You determine which such information to submit initially, and may add to or delete information you provided at any time thereafter. You will then start receiving email updates on a regular basis. You agree that we may share the Personal Information you entered when creating your EPN participant profile, and as later amended, with other EPN participants and on and through the portion of the EPN website open to participants.

 

You can unsubscribe from EPN emails and topic area groups by following the unsubscribe instructions on the EPN participant and profile sign-up page.

 

To list your event, resource, or job opportunity on EPN Connect, you must be logged-in to your approved EPN membership account and provide us with a description the specifics about your event, resource, or job opportunity. By posting your event, resource, or job opportunity, you agree that we may publish this information on our EPN Connect website in the events calendar, resource list, or jobs list. EPN will not publish contact information of individual contacts without the express permission of the individual involved.

 

If you wish to have your event, resource, or job opportunity edited or removed from our website and the events calendar, you must log in to the same approved EPN membership account from which you posted the original opportunity, navigate to the post, and select "edit" or "remove." Alternatively, you can contact EPN staff to request an edit or removal of your posted event, resource, or job opportunity.

 

If you wish to register with and/or purchase a registration and breakfast for EPN events or other services or items that EPN might make available, you agree to provide us with your name, address, email address, and credit card billing information. No orders will be accepted from persons under eighteen (18) years of age. Your Personal Information will only be collected on a voluntary basis for the purpose of fulfilling orders. By placing an order through the EPN, you agree that we may share this information with the third-party company directly involved in helping us complete the transaction and deliver the order. Your Personal Information will not be used for any other purpose by the third-party company contracted to fulfill online orders. Both the third-party company and EPN store your Personal Information so we can keep responsible records to handle your order. Unless otherwise described in this Privacy Policy, your Personal Information will not be released to any other party nor will it be used to compile email lists.

 

If and when EPN creates the opportunity to make donations to it, to make a donation to EPN you agree to submit your Personal Information so that we may collect it only for the purpose of processing donations. You also agree that we may store this information to keep responsible records. We do not share this information with anyone without your or your organization's permission.

 

Except for the circumstances described in this Privacy Policy, EPN will not otherwise use or disclose your Personal Information to third parties unless we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the EPN website; or (4) to protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public.

 

EPN uses all reasonable security safeguards to protect the information obtained against such risks as loss or unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure by storing it on secure servers, which cannot be accessed over the Internet.

 

This policy does not protect information you may post to any online public forum within our website.

 

If you would like to unsubscribe from any of the EPN website services and features as described in this Privacy Policy, please follow the instructions within each listing or at the bottom of the emails you receive once signed up for the EPN service or feature.

 

Where necessary, you may correct or update any Personal Information that you have provided to us by following the instructions at the sign-up page for each of the services or features described above or by following the instructions listed on the emails you receive from us.

 

EPN contains many links to other sites on the web. We cannot control and are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these other websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies for these websites before you submit any Personal Information.

 

By accessing and using our website, you consent to the collection and use of information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If EPN revises its Privacy Policy, we will post the changes in our website. In the event you do not consent to these revisions, you may discontinue use of our website, or unsubscribe to our services or features.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns about EPN's Privacy Policy and use of Personal Information, please send them to

 

Environmental Professionals Network

The Ohio State University

2021 Coffey Rd. 210 Kottman Hall

Columbus, OH 43210