Data Privacy Policy
We take data protection and confidentiality very seriously and adhere to the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR) as well as current national data privacy regulations. Please read this data privacy information carefully before submitting a report.
Responsible entity and data protection officer
The party responsible for data privacy in the whistleblowing system is:
Derichebourg Environnement
119 Avenue du Général Michel Bizot
75012 Paris
France
Our organisation has appointed a data protection officer. Questions on data protection and privacy can be sent to privacy@derichebourg.com.
The whistleblower system is operated on our behalf by a company specializing in this area, EQS Group, Bayreuther Str. 35, 10789 Berlin in Germany.
Personal data
Personal data and information entered into the reporting system are stored in a database operated by EQS Group in a high-security data centre. Only our organisation has access to the data. EQS Group and other third parties do not have access to the data. This is ensured in the certified process by comprehensive technical and organizational measures.
All data is stored in encrypted form with multi-level password protection and is subject to an authorisation concept so that access is restricted to a very narrow group of recipients who are expressly authorized.
Purpose of the whistleblowing system and legal basis
The whistleblower system (BKMS® System) is used to receive, process and manage reports on compliance and legal violations in a secure and confidential manner. We process your personal data insofar as this is necessary for the fulfilment of legal obligations. This includes, in particular, notifications of facts relevant under criminal, competition and labor law (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c DSGVO).
Finally, your personal data is processed if this is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the organization or a third party (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO). We have a legitimate interest in processing the personal data for the prevention and detection of violations within the organization, for the verification of internal processes for their lawfulness and for maintaining the integrity of the organization.
Type of the collected personal data
Use of the whistleblowing system takes place on a voluntary basis. If you submit a report via the whistleblowing system, we collect the following personal data and information:
- your name, if you choose to reveal your identity,
- whether you are employed at our organisation, and
- the names of persons and other personal data of persons that you name in your report.
Confidential handling of reports
Incoming reports are received by a small selection of expressly authorised and specially trained employees of the Compliance department and are always handled confidentially. The employees of the Compliance department will evaluate the matter and perform any further investigation required by the specific case.
During the processing of a report or As a basic principle the conduction of a special investigation, it may become necessary to share reports with additional employees of our organisation or employees of other group companies, e.g., if the reports refer to incidents in subsidiaries. The latter may be based in countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area with different regulations concerning the privacy of personal data. We always ensure that the applicable data privacy regulations are complied with when sharing reports.
All persons who receive access to the data are obligated to maintain confidentiality.
Information of the accused person
As a basic principle we are bound by law to inform the accused persons that we have received a report concerning them, unless this threatens further investigations into the report. In doing so, your identity as whistleblower is not revealed as far as is legally possible.
Rights of the data subjects
According to European data protection law, you and the persons named in the report have the right to inquiry, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and the right to object to processing of personal data concerning them. If the right of objection is claimed, we will immediately examine to what extent the stored data is still necessary for the processing of a report. Data that is no longer required is deleted immediately. In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
Retention period of personal data
Personal data is retained for as long as necessary to clarify the situation and perform an evaluation of the report or a legitimate interest of the organisation exists, or it is required by law. After the report processing is concluded, this data is deleted in accordance with the statutory requirements.
Use of the reporting portal
Communication between your computer and the reporting system takes place over an encrypted connection (SSL). Your IP address will not be stored during your use of the reporting system. To maintain the connection between your computer and the BKMS® System, a cookie is stored on your computer that merely contains the session ID (a so-called session cookie). This cookie is only valid until the end of your session and expires when you close your browser.
It is possible to set up a postbox within the reporting system that is secured with an individually chosen pseudonym/ username and password. This allows you to send reports to the responsible employee either by name or in an anonymous, safe way. This system only stores data inside the reporting system, which makes it particularly secure. It is not a form of regular e-mail communication.
Report submission via telephone
Your anonymity will also be protected by the BKMS® System when you submit your report via telephone. Neither our organisation nor EQS Group will have access to your telephone number. Your description of the incident will be recorded in the BKMS® System. Afterwards, the encrypted sound file is transcribed by the responsible employee. If you have set up a secured postbox at the end of the report submission by telephone, you can receive feedback in the form of a voice recording by the responsible employee, and you can add information to your report, if necessary. Alternatively, you can access your secured postbox via the web application, review feedback, and make additions in written form. To protect the confidentiality of your report or addition, you can neither listen to it on your telephone nor in the web-based secured postbox.
Note on sending attachments
When submitting a report or an addition, you can simultaneously send attachments to the responsible employee. If you wish to submit an anonymous report, please take note of the following security advice: Files can contain hidden personal data that could compromise your anonymity. Remove this data before sending. If you are unable to remove this data or are unsure how to do so, copy the text of your attachment into your report text or send the printed document anonymously to the address listed in the footer, citing the reference number received at the end of the reporting process.
Version: 29/02/2024
