Pecan Street Privacy Policy

Last Updated on 4/21/2021

I. Overview

Pecan Street Inc. is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes what data Pecan Street (“we” or “us” or “our”) collects and explains how Pecan Street collects, uses, shares, stores and safeguards the information we collect from you as a research participant and/or user of any of our Sites (“Sites” as used here, refers to our websites, mobile websites, microsites, mobile applications, Pecan Street profiles on Pecan Street social media sites and any other digital services and platforms officially operated or used by Pecan Street from time to time). In this privacy policy, we sometimes refer to “you” (or “your”). “You” may be a visitor to or a user of one or more of our Sites (“User”), or participant in one or more of our research programs (“Research Participant”). By using any of our Sites and/or submitting any personal information, you agree to the use by Pecan Street of such data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

II. Scope of the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy does not address third-party websites, products, or services even if they link to our Sites. If you disagree with the practices described in this Privacy Policy, you should (a) take the necessary steps to remove cookies from your computer after leaving our Site, and (b) discontinue your use of our Sites.

III. Changes to the Privacy Policy

As Pecan Street’s products and services change from time to time, this Privacy Policy is expected to change as well. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy at any time, for any reason. The date of the last revision to the Privacy Policy will be indicated by the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

IV. Information We Collect

1. Personal Data: we collect information (whether online, by phone, or by paper) that identifies or that could reasonably be used to identify you (“Personal Data”) when you provide such information on our Sites or otherwise interact with Pecan Street, including, but not limited to, as a Research Participant, in applying for data licenses, or purchasing Pecan Street’s products or services. The types of Personal Data collected may include your name, address, phone number, billing and delivery information, and email address.
2. Other Data: We refer to all other data other than Personal Data as “Other Data”. We collect Other Data through a variety of sources including, but not limited to, data streams from our field sensors installed on your premises (applicable to Research Participants), cookies and other technologies that record data about your use of our Sites. Other Data that we may collect include:

• Field sensors data (applicable to Research Participants only): this data includes, but is not limited to, information from energy monitoring sensors, volumetric water sensors, volumetric natural gas sensors, temperature sensors, and other instrumentation installed by us (or our designee) on your premises (collectively, “field sensors” or “devices”);
• Browser, cookie and tracking technology data: this data includes, amongst others, information about your browser, Internet Protocol (IP) address, operating system, internet browser type, cookies, tags, web beacons and other tools. Cookies are small text files that are stored in a computer’s web browser memory. They help website providers with things like understanding how people use a website, remembering a user’s login details, and storing website preferences. Cookies do not enable us to identify you, but are used to record information about the pages you have viewed on our website, the date and time of your visit to the site, etc. Cookies may be placed on our Site by us or third-party entities. Tags and web beacons refer to code scripts that are primarily used to track visitors’ activities on our Sites by web analytics software. Specifically, the types of Other Data we collect on our Sites through the use of the aforementioned, and other tools, from time to time, may include: the search terms you used, new or returning user information, browser information, computer type, operating system, internet service providers, website usage, referring or exit pages, platform type, date or time stamp, number of clicks, and similar other information. Additionally, cookies, tags and other tools placed by third parties may collect other information about you and your visits to sites and elsewhere on the internet including, but not limited to, your business or academic institution, business size, title, and other similar information. You can disable cookies in your web browser. However, this will disable all cookies used by your browser, including those from other websites, which may cause certain settings or information to be altered or lost. Disabling cookies may change your browsing experience on our website or may make navigating around the site more difficult.

V. How We Use and Share Personal Data

We do not sell Personal Data or make it available to third parties without your express permission. Pecan Street may disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process served on Pecan Street; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of the Pecan Street; or (c) protect the personal safety of Pecan Street personnel or members of the public in appropriate circumstances. In addition, if Pecan Street and/or its assets (or a portion of its assets) is/are sold, assigned, transferred, or merged, or if it undergoes some other change including a change to its corporate form as part of a bankruptcy proceeding or otherwise, information may be transferred as part of that transaction or change.

VI. How We May Use and Share Other Data

Through the use of various technological tools, we may collect Other Data to improve the usability of our Sites/Services and for other business reasons. We use Other Data for a range of purposes, provided we comply with applicable law and our contractual commitments. For example, we make Other Data available, through our Dataport web portal and other external dispatch methods, to researchers and other partners under free and paid data licensing agreements. Other Data may also be included in reports, proposals, presentations, amongst others, to funders and other entities as needed to further Pecan Street’s mission.

VII. You Can Manage the Collection of Data

All mailings from us will provide a link to allow you to unsubscribe. Beyond unsubscribing, you are also entitled to access, correct and delete personal data which relates to you, and to object to further collection of such data. You may exercise this right at any time by contacting us via the following methods:

• Send an email to: info@pecanstreet.org
• Write to: Pecan Street Inc., 3924 Berkman Dr., Austin TX United States.

Once we receive a data deletion request, we will undertake to delete all data within one week of the request. Third party advertising companies may collect data about your visit to our Sites and others to provide you more relevant advertising here and elsewhere on the Internet. This type of advertising is known as Online Behavioral Advertising. You can stop this collection and use of data for these purposes by companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) by visiting the “Opt Out From Online Behavioral Advertising” website. By opting out, the ads you see may be less relevant, and you may still continue to see other non-targeted advertisements on our Sites and elsewhere.

VIII. Information Security

Pecan Street implements commercially reasonable security measures to help protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction of data. Except for the sharing of information as set forth in this Privacy Policy, we restrict access to personal information to certain service providers who may need to know that information in order to help us provide our services (for example, website hosting, data storage, information technology and related infrastructure, customer service, email delivery). These are bound by confidentiality obligations and are subject to discipline, including termination and criminal prosecution, if they fail to meet these obligations.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, and despite our efforts, Pecan Street cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. We do not control every risk related to the use of the Internet, and therefore warn visitors of the potential risks involved in the functioning and use of the Internet. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of your account has been compromised), please contact us immediately: info@pecanstreet.org.

IX. User ID and Password

Certain areas of the Sites may require the use of a user ID, email address, or password as an additional security measure that helps protect your information. To help you protect your privacy, the Sites have tools to help you log in and log out.

X. Linking to Other Internet Sites

You should be aware that other Internet sites that are linked from the Sites or from a Pecan Street email message may contain privacy provisions that differ from the provisions of this Privacy Policy. To ensure your privacy is protected, we recommend that you review the privacy statements of these other linked sites, applications, or other digital platforms.

XI. How You Can Access and Change Information

If you would like to review, correct, or update Personal Data that you have previously disclosed to us, you may do so by signing in to your user account or by contacting us at: info@pecanstreet.org.

XII. Your Data Protection Rights

Pecan Street would like to reiterate and make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

1. The right to access – You have the right to request Pecan Street for copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service.
2. The right to rectification – You have the right to request that Pecan Street correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request Pecan Street to complete information you believe is incomplete.
3. The right to erasure – You have the right to request that Pecan Street erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
4. The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that Pecan Street restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
5. The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to Pecan Street’s processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
6. The right to data portability – You have the right to request that Pecan Street transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you make a request, we have one week to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please:

• Send an email to: info@pecanstreet.org
• Write to our mailing address at: Pecan Street Inc., 3924 Berkman Dr., Austin TX United States.

XII. Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Steve Mock. You can contact him at dpo@pecanstreet.org or via our mailing address. Please address the mailing envelope to ‘Data Protection Officer’.