Privacy Policy

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Policy

Living Carbon International Limited

Last updated 05 March 2019 

Definitions
Company means Living Carbon International Ltd (LCI) a registered company in the UK.

GDPR means the General Data Protection Regulation.

Responsible Person means Jason Hayward-Jones.

Register of Systems means a register of all systems or contexts in which personal data is processed by the Company.  

Introduction
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into force across the European Union on 25th May 2018 and brings with it the most significant changes to data protection law in two decades. Based on privacy by design and taking a risk-based approach, the GDPR has been designed to meet the requirements of the digital age. The 21st Century brings with it broader use of technology, new definitions of what constitutes personal data, and a vast increase in cross-border processing. The new Regulation aims to standardise data protection laws and processing across the EU; affording individuals stronger, more consistent rights to access and control their personal information.

Our Commitment
LCI is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We have always had a robust and effective data protection program in place which complies with existing law and abides by the data protection principles. However, we recognise our obligations in updating and expanding this program to meet the demands of the GDPR and the UK’s Data Protection Bill.  

LCI is dedicated to safeguarding the personal information under our remit and in developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of, and appreciation for the new Regulation. Our preparation and objectives for GDPR compliance have been summarised in this statement and include the development and implementation of new data protection roles, policies, procedures, controls and measures to ensure maximum and ongoing compliance.  

LCI already have a consistent level of data protection and security across our organisation.

• Information Audit - carrying out a company-wide information audit to identify and assess what personal information we hold, where it comes from, how and why it is processed and if and to whom it is disclosed.

• Policies & Procedures - revising and implementing new data protection policies and procedures to meet the requirements and standards of the GDPR and any relevant data protection laws, including: -

o Data Protection – our main policy and procedure document for data protection has been overhauled to meet the standards and requirements of the GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities; with a dedicated focus on privacy by design and the rights of individuals.

o Data Retention & Erasure – we have updated our retention policy and schedule to ensure that we meet the ‘data minimisation’ and ‘storage limitation’ principles and that personal information is stored, archived and destroyed compliantly and ethically. We have dedicated erasure procedures in place to meet the new ‘Right to Erasure’ obligation and are aware of when this and other data subject’s rights apply; along with any exemptions, response timeframes and notification responsibilities.

o Data Breaches – our breach procedures ensure that we have safeguards and measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach at the earliest possible time. Our procedures are robust and have been disseminated to all employees, making them aware of the reporting lines and steps to follow.  

o International Data Transfers & Third-Party Disclosures – where LCI stores or transfers personal information outside the EU, we have robust procedures and safeguarding measures in place to secure, encrypt and maintain the integrity of the data. Our procedures include a continual review of the countries with sufficient adequacy decisions, as well as provisions for binding corporate rules; standard data protection clauses or approved codes of conduct for those countries without. We carry out strict due diligence checks with all recipients of personal data to assess and verify that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the information, ensure enforceable data subject rights and have effective legal remedies for data subjects where applicable.

o Subject Access Request (SAR) – we have revised our SAR procedures to accommodate the revised 30-day timeframe for providing the requested information and for making this provision free of charge. Our new procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, what exemptions apply and a suite of response templates to ensure that communications with data subjects are compliant, consistent and adequate.

• Legal Basis for Processing - we are reviewing all processing activities to identify the legal basis for processing and ensuring that each basis is appropriate for the activity it relates to. Where applicable, we also maintain records of our processing activities, ensuring that our obligations under Article 30 of the GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Bill are met.

• Privacy Notice/Policy – we have revised our Privacy Notice(s) to comply with the GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information we process have been informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.

• Obtaining Consent - we have revised our consent mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed stringent processes for recording consent, making sure that we can evidence an affirmative opt-in, along with time and date records; and an easy to see and access way to withdraw consent at any time.

• Direct Marketing - we have revised the wording and processes for direct marketing, including clear opt-in mechanisms for marketing subscriptions; a clear notice and method for opting out and providing unsubscribe features on all subsequent marketing materials.

• Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) – where we process personal information that is considered high risk, involves large scale processing or includes special category/criminal conviction data; we have developed stringent procedures and assessment templates for carrying out impact assessments that comply fully with the GDPR’s Article 35 requirements. We have implemented documentation processes that record each assessment, allow us to rate the risk posed by the processing activity and implement mitigating measures to reduce the risk posed to the data subject(s).

• Processor Agreements – where we use any third-party to process personal information on our behalf (i.e. Payroll, Recruitment, Hosting etc), we have drafted compliant Processor Agreements and due diligence procedures for ensuring that they (as well as we), meet and understand their/our GDPR obligations. These measures include initial and ongoing reviews of the service provided, the necessity of the processing activity, the technical and organisational measures in place and compliance with the GDPR.

• Special Categories Data - where we obtain and process any special category information, we do so in complete compliance with the Article 9 requirements and have high-level encryptions and protections on all such data. Special category data is only processed where necessary and is only processed where we have first identified the appropriate Article 9(2) basis or the Data Protection Bill Schedule 1 condition. Where we rely on consent for processing, this is explicit and is verified by a signature, with the right to modify or remove consent being clearly signposted.  

Data Subject Rights In addition to the policies and procedures mentioned above that ensure individuals can enforce their data protection rights, we provide easy to access information via our website of an individual’s right to access any personal information that LCI processes about them and to request information about:
• What personal data we hold about them
• The purposes of the processing
• The categories of personal data concerned
• The recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
• How long we intend to store your personal data for
• If we did not collect the data directly from them, information about the source
• The right to have incomplete or inaccurate data about them corrected or completed and the process for requesting this
• The right to request erasure of personal data (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws, as well as to object to any direct marketing from us and to be informed about any automated decision-making that we use
• The right to lodge a complaint or seek judicial remedy and who to contact in such instances  

Information Security & Technical and Organisational Measures

LCI takes the privacy and security of individuals and their personal information very seriously and take every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure the personal data that we process. We have robust information security policies and procedures in place to protect personal information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction and have several layers of security measures, including:

1. Data Protection Principles The Company is committed to processing data in accordance with its responsibilities under the GDPR.  Article 5 of the GDPR requires that personal data shall be:
a. processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals;
b. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes;
c. adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed;
d. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay;
e. kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals; and
f. processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.”

2. General Provisions
a. This policy applies to all personal data processed by the Company.  
b. The Responsible Person shall take responsibility for the Company’s ongoing compliance with this policy.  
c. This policy shall be reviewed at least annually.  
d. The Company shall register with the Information Commissioner’s Office as an organisation that processes personal data.  

Lawful, Fair and Transparent Processing  a. To ensure its processing of data is lawful, fair and transparent, the Company shall maintain a Register of Systems.  
b. The Register of Systems shall be reviewed at least annually.  
c. Individuals have the right to access their personal data and any such requests made to the Company shall be dealt with in a timely manner.  

4. Lawful Purposes
a. All data processed by the Company must be done on one of the following lawful bases: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task or legitimate interests (see ICO guidance for more information).  
b. The Company shall note the appropriate lawful basis in the Register of Systems.
c. Where consent is relied upon as a lawful basis for processing data, evidence of opt-in  consent shall be kept with the personal data.  
d. Where communications are sent to individuals based on their consent, the option for the individual to revoke their consent should be clearly available and systems should be in place to ensure such revocation is reflected accurately in the Company’s systems.   

5. Data Minimisation
a. The Company shall ensure that personal data are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.  

6. Accuracy
a. The Company shall take reasonable steps to ensure personal data is accurate.  
b. Where necessary for the lawful basis on which data is processed, steps shall be put in place to ensure that personal data is kept up to date.  

7. Archiving / Removal
a. To ensure that personal data is kept for no longer than necessary, the Company shall put in place an archiving policy for each area in which personal data is processed and review this process annually.  
b. The archiving policy shall consider what data should/must be retained, for how long, and why.  

8. Security
a. The Company shall ensure that personal data is stored securely using modern software that is kept-up-to-date.   
b. Access to personal data shall be limited to personnel who need access and appropriate security should be in place to avoid unauthorised sharing of information.  
c. When personal data is deleted this should be done safely such that the data is irrecoverable.  
d. Appropriate back-up and disaster recovery solutions shall be in place.  

9. Breach I
n the event of a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data, the Company shall promptly assess the risk to people’s rights and freedoms and if appropriate report this breach to the ICO (more information on the ICO website).  

GDPR Roles and Employees
LCI have designated Jason Hayward-Jones as our Appointed Person and have appointed a data privacy team to develop and implement our roadmap for complying with the new data protection Regulation. The team are responsible for promoting awareness of the GDPR across the organisation, assessing our GDPR readiness, identifying any gap areas and implementing the new policies, procedures and measures. LCI understands that continuous employee awareness and understanding is vital to the continued compliance of the GDPR and have involved our employees in our preparation plans. We have implemented an employee training program specific to the which will be provided to all employees prior to May 25th, 2018, and forms part of our induction and annual training program. If you have any questions about our preparation for the GDPR, please contact Appointed Person.

END OF POLICY