Knowledge is power
Evergreen Consulting Group (Evergreen, “we,” “us,” etc.) works with utility and energy efficiency organizations to provide innovative solutions that decrease their energy consumption, improving operations while reducing costs and help their customers be more energy efficient. As part of this our mission, we have established a variety of services including digital management, communication and training tools that help our partners meet their energy program goals.
Working with partners in this way requires the collection, sharing, and use of personal information to meet those goals. When it comes to handling personal information, we want to be as transparent as possible. This Privacy Notice is part of our effort to achieve that.
We want you to be confident that we are handling your personal information with care and respect, whether you’re inquiring about our services, working with us to develop better plans to save energy, or using our training to reach your (and your employer’s) goals. We also want to give you the necessary tools and options to manage and protect that information within the bounds of law and your rights.
As you interact with us online or face to face, you will share your personal information in various ways. Sometimes we collect it directly from you on a voluntary basis. Other times, we use technology to automatically collect personal information. In some cases, we share information with third parties with whom we work. The ways in which we collect and share personal information are detailed in this Notice.
This Notice applies to our Website (https://evergreen-efficiency.com) and any sites or products that display or link to these terms. It does not apply to any website, mobile app, service, or product that does not display or link to this Privacy Notice or that contains its own privacy notice. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services. By accessing the Website or using its services, you agree to this Notice.
How we collect personal information
We may collect personal information from you directly or indirectly. When you fill out a web form to inquire about our services, take part in our online training or meet with us at industry events and tradeshows, you provide personal information directly to us. Other times, personal information is collected automatically as you use our Website or our online training. In addition, we also may receive personal information from third parties, including your organization, with whom we work.
We collect personal information when you provide it
• You may provide certain kinds of personal information directly by interacting with Evergreen online and offline; via social media, Web forms, commenting on our blog, by phone, email, in person – or even through regular old postal mail…
• When commenting on one of our articles or blog posts, you must provide your name, email address, and may provide other identifying information associated with your comments.
• When you take part in training we’ve developed, for example, you typically provide your name and email address. You will create a username and password, information that on subsequent visits helps us confirm your identity and makes it easier to use our services.
• We also sometimes collect personal information, typically name and contact information, on a voluntary basis at industry events to facilitate marketing efforts.
We collect personal information from third-party sources
• We may collect personal information about you from third parties, such as your employer, in order to provide you with access to our training program content and analyze training completion rates. Such information may include your name, work location, job title, department, and supervisor’s name. In some cases, our customers may provide us with personal information in order to leverage a customer’s “single sign on” process and authenticate users; typically, the information we receive is limited to your username and password. Anonymized and aggregated information may also be used by us to create benchmark reporting on the effectiveness of our training platform.
• Evergreen also uses third parties to host its servers, analyze traffic on the Website, confirm the validity of email addresses, and provide a platform for our training services.
• We also may collect personal information from online social networks if you take part in a forum, for example, on LinkedIn. We may collect personal information when you click the Facebook or LinkedIn buttons on our Website or otherwise use social media buttons or plug-ins.
We collect personal information using automated technologies
• Sometimes personal information is collected by automated technologies and shared with us when Website visitors navigate through our services online. We may track browsing actions and log IP addresses. We track users’ online training progress to make learning more efficient. When organizations and companies request it, we provide training completion rates.
• Other automated collection technologies – such as cookies, beacons, tags, and scripts – are used by us to analyze trends, administer the Website, and track users’ movements around the Website.
• A “cookie” is a small text file that is stored on an individual’s computer or mobile device after being downloaded when he or she visits a website or uses an app. Cookies then send information back to the originating website or app on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognizes that same cookie.
• Cookies perform different jobs, such as authenticating the identity of users, allowing Website visitors to navigate between pages efficiently, and generally improving the experience on the Website.
• If you wish to opt out of allowing certain cookies, you may do so by changing your browser settings so that cookies from our Website cannot be set. Please note that if you delete, block, or otherwise restrict cookies, or use a different computer or Internet browser, you will need to renew your cookie management choices.
Also note that certain cookies are necessary for our Website to function properly and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you that amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of our Website, or our training courses, will not work if you block them.
We will not knowingly collect information from anyone younger than 16 years
• Our services are not intended for use by anyone younger than 16 years old, and we will never knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger than that. If we become aware that personal information of anyone younger than 16 has been provided to us, for any purpose, we will delete the information from our files.
Do-not-track requests
• Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” privacy preference. Generally, when a user turns on the Do Not Track Signal, their browser sends a message to websites requesting that the user not be tracked. Our Website currently does not respond to “Do Not Track” signals.
How we use personal information
We know your personal information is important to you, so we want to be transparent about our use of that information. As mentioned above, users participating in the training courses we offer must create an account and provide their name and email address and create a password. Account usernames and passwords are used by us to make it easier to authenticate learners who are taking part in training.
This also allows us to secure the information you have provided. As users navigate through the Website (or sites we’ve developed in partnership with utilities and other energy efficiency organizations), their movements will be tracked and analyzed. Using this information allows us to analyze what content is useful, to make our training better and their experiences easier. We also use personal information:
• To send marketing communications, typically through email.
• To communicate with customers about their orders.
• To respond to support requests.
• To provide access to and maintain the security and integrity of the Website
• To provide access to the training content we deliver as a service to our customers.
• To provide updates regarding the Website and marketing information, such as special promotions or surveys, etc.
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements applicable to our business and internal policies for maintaining records.
• To protect all parties in the event of disputes.
• To comply with court orders and legal processes, and to enforce our Terms of Use and this Privacy Notice.
• For any other legal, business, or marketing purposes that comply with the practices described in this Notice.
Please note that personal information is never sold, rented, traded, shared, or leased by Evergreen, other than as outlined in this Privacy Notice.
When we share personal information
Once your personal information is collected, as detailed above, we may share it with third parties for various reasons: web hosting, email authentication and dissemination (for marketing purposes), site analytics, to provide access to training content through a learning management system, and of course utilities and other organizations who have hired us to train their vendors, employees and trade allies.
Analytics services may collect browsing data that includes IP addresses, referring pages, and users’ movements as they navigate the Website. Other third parties help us analyze our marketing email efforts by measuring whether recipients have opened an email and clicked on any content within it.
When we share your personal information with a third party, we require that third party to protect the information consistent with this Notice and limit its use of the information to performing the services they provide to us.
If you make a public post, other users may see it
If you make a post on a third-party social media site, such as LinkedIn, or by identifying us in your social media feed by tagging us using a hashtag (#) or “at” (@), your personal information may be publicly available and is subject to the privacy policies of those third-party social media sites. As a reminder, this Notice describes how we will treat your personal information once it is in our possession.
We recommend you review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit to understand their data collection and practices.
We may share feedback you provide to us
We want to hear how we’re doing. If you have suggestions for improving our services, we want those as well. Please be aware that any feedback relating to our services or Website may be publicly shared.
Eventual successors may access information
In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or other sale of all or a portion of our assets, any personal information owned or controlled by us may be among the assets transferred to third parties as successors in interest. As part of this type of transaction, we reserve the right to transfer or assign your personal information to third parties. Other than to the extent ordered by a bankruptcy or other court, or as otherwise agreed to by you, the use and disclosure of all transferred user information will be subject to this Notice.
We need to comply with legal requirements
We may disclose your information to government authorities or other third parties if any lawful circumstances arise, including when:
• You have given us permission to share your information.
• We are required to do so by law, or in response to a subpoena or court order.
• We believe in our sole discretion that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect against fraud, or to protect our property or other rights or those of other users of the Website, third parties, or the public at large.
• Or we believe that you have misused the Website, or the training platform, by using it to attack or gain unauthorized access to a system or to engage in spamming or other conduct that violates applicable laws or our Terms of Use.
How we secure personal information
We have implemented industry-accepted administrative, physical, and technology-based security measures to protect against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, and alteration of personal information in our systems. We ensure that any employee, contractor, corporation, organization, or vendor who has access to personal information in our systems is subject to legal obligations to safeguard that personal information.
While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or form of electronic storage is 100 percent secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Questions or concerns about security or privacy protocols.
If you have received unwanted or unsolicited e-mail from us or purporting to be sent by us, please forward a copy of that e-mail with your comments to privacy@evergreen-efficiency.com for our review. (See Contact Us at the end of this Notice for other ways to reach us with questions or concerns.)
Your Rights
We understand that you want to protect and control your personal information. This section details how you may review, update, correct, or delete that information.
Viewing or updating your personal information
You may update your name, contact information, email preferences, and other business information by accessing your account on the Website or site we’ve developed in partnership with a utility or energy efficiency organization. Note that in some cases, users’ ability to modify their personal information is limited by the organization to which they relate.
Deactivating your account
You may deactivate your account at any time. To deactivate your account, please send an email to privacy@evergreen-efficiency.com with “Deactivate Account” in the subject line. Upon receiving your request, Evergreen will deactivate your account and delete personal information where allowed or required by applicable law. Note that in some cases, users’ ability to delete their personal information is limited by our customer (the organization for which they are training), so we strongly encourage you to contact the organization directly.
Opting out of promotional emails
If you do not wish to receive promotional e-mails from us, you may follow the unsubscribe process at the bottom of the promotional e-mail you received or by emailing us at privacy@evergreen-efficiency.com. Please keep in mind that you still may receive transactional e-mails from us (such as e-mails related to the completion of your registration, correction of user data, password reset requests, reminder e-mails you have requested, and other similar communications) that may be necessary for us to make the Website (or training content) available to you, or to respond to your inquiries and support requests.
European Economic Area, Switzerland, United Kingdom, or Canada rights
Evergreen currently does not market its services outside of the United States, specifically in the European Economic Area (including Switzerland and the United Kingdom), nor Canada. We do not intend for our Website or training content to be accessed by anyone in those jurisdictions. In the event we begin to tailor our services to people in those geographic areas, we will update these terms to ensure we reflect any additional rights reserved under applicable laws. Those updates will be made available within this Privacy Notice, in accordance with those regulations.
California Consumer Rights
The California Consumer Privacy Act provides specific rights to those who live in California. If you are a California-based consumer, as that term is defined under California law, this section shall apply in addition to all other applicable rights and information contained in this Notice.
• You have the right to request that we provide you with information about what personal information we collect, use, and disclose.
• You have the right to request that we delete personal information we, or our service providers, store about you.
• We will not discriminate or retaliate against you if you elect to exercise any rights under this section of our Privacy Notice.
• You may request that we not sell your personal information. We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal information with third parties, except as described in this Notice.
• You have the right to designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. Please see the Identity Verification Requirement below for information on our process for verifying that we have received a legally valid request.
If you are a California consumer and have additional questions based on this section of our Privacy Notice, email us at privacy@evergreen-efficiency.com or complete our online form here and include “Personal Information” request in the comment box. Be sure to check this Notice for updates, as we will review it at least once every 12 months and make necessary changes.
Identity verification requirement
The law requires us to verify that any request submitted was made by someone with the legal right to access the information. Therefore, before accessing or divulging any information pursuant to a data access request, we may request that you provide us with additional information so we can verify your identity and legal authority, particularly where the information provided with the request is insufficient to confirm legal authority and/or identity.
To make a request, please contact us at privacy@evergreen-efficiency.com with “Personal Information Request” in the subject line and provide full details about your request, including your contact information and anything you believe is relevant. We will provide a response to an access request within the timeframes required by law. If we cannot substantively respond in a timely manner, we will notify you and provide the reason for the delay.
Under certain circumstances, we may not fulfill your request, such as when doing so would interfere with our regulatory or legal obligations, when we cannot verify your identity, if your request involves disproportionate cost or effort, or when the law allows us to retain that information. But we will respond to your request within a reasonable time, as required by law, and provide an explanation.
Updates
This Privacy Notice will be updated to reflect our personal information handling practices. We reserve the right to amend this Notice at any time, for any reason, without additional notice to you, other than through posting the updated Privacy Notice on our Website. We invite you to return to this page to ensure you are informed of any updates we make about how we collect, use, and protect customer information. You can see when this Privacy Notice was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the beginning of this Notice.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the way we handle personal information, please contact us:
Evergreen Consulting Group
14845 SW Murray Scholls Drive, Suite 110, PMB #513
Beaverton, OR 97007-9237
info@evergreen-efficiency.com
Updated: July 22, 2021