Privacy Policy
Last Updated: October 28, 2025
1. INTRODUCTION
This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how the Waste2Plate Project (“Project,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), supported by EIT Food, collects, uses, processes, stores, and protects your personal information (“Personal Data”) when you visit our website at www.waste2plate.com, use our community platform, or engage with our related services (collectively, the “Service”).
We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR – Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and other applicable data protection laws. This Policy explains what Personal Data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, your rights regarding your Personal Data, and how you can exercise them.
By accessing, registering for, or using our Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our data practices, please do not use the Service.
2. DATA CONTROLLER INFORMATION & CONTACT INFORMATION
- Project Name: Waste2Plate
- Data Controller: Unknown Group (“Lead Organization”)
- Consortium Members: Beautiful Lives, Food4Sustainability, KiCo, University of Turin
- Funding Body: EIT Food
- Contact for Data Protection Inquiries: For any questions or requests regarding your Personal Data and this Policy, please contact us at:
3. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA
We process your Personal Data based on the following legal grounds under Article 6 of the GDPR:
- Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): Where you have given us explicit consent for specific processing activities (e.g., subscribing to a newsletter, non-essential cookies).
- Contract Performance (Art. 6(1)(b)): When processing is necessary to provide the Service you requested, manage your user account, or fulfill contractual obligations related to project participation.
- Legal Obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): When processing is necessary for us to comply with legal or regulatory requirements (e.g., financial record keeping, reporting obligations).
- Legitimate Interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): When processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided these interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights and freedoms. Examples include operating and improving the Service, ensuring security, facilitating community interaction, analyzing usage (in an anonymized or aggregated way where possible), and fulfilling EIT Food project reporting requirements.
4. TYPES OF PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT
We collect different types of Personal Data depending on your interaction with the Service:
4.1 Data You Provide Directly:
- Account & Profile Information: Full name, email address, username, password, company name, position, country, profile picture, cover photo, and any other information you voluntarily add to your user profile (via BuddyBoss).
- Communication Data: Information you provide when you contact us (e.g., via email, contact forms), including support requests, feedback, or survey responses.
- User-Generated Content: Content you create and share through the community platform (BuddyBoss), including posts on activity feeds, comments, posts in groups or forums, private messages sent to other users, and files or media uploaded to your profile or groups.
- Program Application Data: Information submitted if you apply to participate in specific Waste2Plate programs or cohorts.
4.2 Data We Collect Automatically:
- Technical Data: IP address, browser type/version, operating system, device information, approximate location derived from IP address.
- Usage Data: Information about how you interact with the Service, such as pages visited, features used, time spent, clicks, referring URLs.
- Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to operate and improve the Service. Please see our Section 7 below for detailed information.
5. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA
- Directly from You: When you register for an account, complete your profile, post content, send messages, contact us, subscribe to communications, or participate in programs.
- Automatically: As you navigate and interact with the Service, through server logs and technologies like cookies.
- From Third Parties: Potentially from consortium partners or EIT Food if relevant to project participation (we will inform you if this occurs), or publicly available sources if necessary for project activities.
6. PURPOSES FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA
We use your Personal Data for the following purposes, linked to the legal bases mentioned above:
- To Provide and Manage the Service (Contract Performance; Legitimate Interest): Create and maintain user accounts, provide access to community features (profiles, activity feeds, groups, messaging, file sharing), facilitate networking, deliver educational resources, manage program participation.
- To Facilitate Community Interaction (Legitimate Interest; Contract Performance): Display user profiles, show user-generated content, enable communication between users.
- To Communicate with You (Legitimate Interest; Consent; Contract Performance): Respond to inquiries, send service-related announcements (e.g., platform updates, Terms changes), send newsletters or project updates (where consent is given or legitimate interest applies), manage program communications.
- To Improve and Secure the Service (Legitimate Interest): Analyze usage patterns to understand user needs and improve features, monitor for security threats, prevent fraud, ensure compliance with Acceptable Use policies.
- To Fulfill Project & Legal Obligations (Legal Obligation; Legitimate Interest): Comply with applicable laws and regulations, meet reporting requirements for EIT Food (typically using aggregated or anonymized data where possible), enforce our Terms of Use.
7. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
We use cookies and similar technologies (e.g., local storage) to ensure the Service functions correctly, enhance user experience, and analyze usage.
- Types Used: We use strictly necessary cookies (for login, security), functional cookies (remembering preferences), and potentially analytics cookies (to understand usage). We will only use non-essential (e.g., analytics, marketing) cookies with your explicit consent.
- Consent & Management: You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie consent banner presented on your first visit and often via your browser settings. Refusing non-essential cookies may affect some Service functionality.
8. DATA SHARING AND DISCLOSURE
We do not sell your Personal Data. We may share your Personal Data only in the following circumstances:
- With Other Users: Information on your public profile and content you post in public areas (activity feed, public groups/forums) will be visible to other registered users, as is standard for a community platform. Private messages and private group content are restricted accordingly.
- With Consortium Partners: Necessary data may be shared among the Waste2Plate consortium members (Beautiful Lives, Food4Sustainability, KiCo, University of Turin) solely for the purpose of managing and executing the project.
- With EIT Food: We may be required to share aggregated, anonymized, or pseudonymized data regarding project participation and outcomes for reporting purposes. We will only share identifiable Personal Data if legally required or with your explicit consent.
- With Service Providers: We engage trusted third-party companies to perform functions on our behalf (e.g., website hosting, email delivery via Brevo, potentially analytics providers). These providers only have access to the Personal Data needed to perform their tasks and are obligated not to disclose or use it for other purposes. We ensure appropriate data processing agreements are in place.
- For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Project, our users, or others.
- Business Transfers: If the Project undergoes a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality measures.
- International Transfers: If we transfer Personal Data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we will ensure appropriate safeguards are implemented, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, to guarantee an adequate level of data protection.
9. DATA RETENTION
We retain your Personal Data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the duration of your account activity, to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements (including EIT Food project timelines), or to resolve disputes.
- Account Data: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterward to allow for reactivation or to comply with legal obligations.
- User-Generated Content: May remain visible on the platform (unless deleted by you or moderated) even after account closure, potentially in an anonymized format where feasible.
- Other Data: Retained according to the purpose (e.g., communication logs, analytics data) and deleted or anonymized when no longer needed. Specific retention periods will be determined based on legal requirements and operational needs.ary.
10. YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS (GDPR)
Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your Personal Data:
- Right of Access: Request a copy of the Personal Data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’): Request deletion of your Personal Data under certain conditions (e.g., data is no longer necessary, consent withdrawn).
- Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation of how we process your data under certain conditions.
- Right to Data Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format to transfer it to another controller (where processing is based on consent or contract).
- Right to Object: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
- Right Related to Automated Decision-Making: You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you (Note: please verify if such processing occurs).
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time (this won’t affect past processing).
11. HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 2 (Data Controller & Contact Information). Please clearly state your request. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. We will respond within one month, as required by GDPR, unless the request is complex, in which case we may extend the period by up to two additional months, informing you of the extension.
12. DATA SECURITY
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your Personal Data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or access. These include measures like encryption, access controls, secure hosting environments, staff training, and regular security reviews. However, no internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure.
13. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under 18. If you become aware that a child has provided us with Personal Data without parental consent, please contact us, and we will take steps to remove such information.
14. THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Our Service may contain links to other websites not operated by us. If you click a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.
15. UPDATES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, service offerings, or legal requirements. We will post the updated Policy on this page and update the “Last Updated” date. For material changes, we will provide more prominent notice, such as via email or a notification on the Service, prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
16. COMPLAINTS AND SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY
If you have concerns about our data processing practices, please contact us first (details in Section 2) so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement. The contact details can be found via the European Data Protection Board: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en.
17. CONTACT INFORMATION
For any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact:
- Postal Address:
HQ Titaan
Saturnusstraat 95
2516 AG the Hague, NL
