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Privacy Policy

  • Privacy Policy

EcoForward Sustainable Solutions Society (dba “EcoForward”) is a not-for-profit society that delivers a variety of environmentally focused programs throughout Western Canada. Some of the programs offer monetary rebates (the “Rebates”) to individuals.

EcoForward is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy rights. This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect from you in order to offer and carry out our programs, how we collect and use that information, and how we protect your privacy.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual, including an individual’s name, age, address, phone number, etc.

What personal information do we collect?

The personal information we collect (depending on the individual program requirements) includes:

  • name;
  • address, city, province, postal code;
  • gender (voluntarily);
  • age (voluntarily);
  • email address(s);
  • telephone number(s);
  • answers to survey questions (voluntary);
  • bank account information required for electronic funds transfers (EFTs);
  • in the case of income-tested programs, CRA tax filing information related to your income;
  • in the case of vehicle scrappage programs, information regarding the vehicle you intend to scrap and/or purchase in connection with our program, including VIN (vehicle Identification number), year, make model, fuel type, transmission and engine size; ICBC registration documents for the vehicle you intend to scrap;
  • Information about the rebate you intend to claim (receipts, proof of purchase documents, photos, etc.);
  • Other specific information regarding rebates and items purchased using rebates.

How do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information that you provide to us via our secure website when you submit an application to participate in our program or claim a rebate.

How do we use personal information?

EcoForward uses personal information as follows:

  • Age is required to confirm that the applicant is at least 19 years of age, and therefore able to enter into contracts (see Application Program Policies).
  • Age and gender are also collected for statistical data/reports, but provision of this information is voluntary.
  • Email address and phone numbers to communicate with you regarding program requirements, if required.
  • Name and address to confirm identity and often to confirm that you are a resident of BC and therefore qualify for a BC-based rebate.
  • CRA tax information to confirm the income-based rebate level for which you are applying (for programs requiring this).
  • Vehicle details to determine if the vehicle you intend to scrap is eligible to participate in a program and/or to receive a rebate; and/or vehicle details related to a new vehicle purchase, if our program is incentivizing the adoption of cleaner vehicles;
  • EFT information to issue a rebate to you (e.g. direct deposit funds into your bank account).
  • Other information as required to administer the program you are applying to.

To whom do we disclose personal information?

EcoForward may provide personal information to, or receive personal information from, the following organizations (collectively, the “Program Partners”):

  • the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) in order to obtain or share information such as the vehicle registration number, vehicle identification number, or other information to identify and/or verify you and your vehicle and details regarding your vehicle, verify ownership of the vehicle, or to confirm that you owned and insured your vehicle for the minimum period required to qualify for a Program;
  • vehicle scrap yards which process eligible vehicles to be scrapped under a program;
  • participating electric bike retailers or entities that you transact with in order to participate in a program and claim a rebate;
  • third party non-governmental financial funders or sponsors of EcoForward;
  • Scotiabank, in order to process EFT transfers;
  • federal government ministries, agencies, or contractors which with EcoForward must transact in order to fulfill the purposes of the programs; and
  • BC government ministries, agencies, and contractors or other entities operating within the emission off-set credits or carbon trading marketplace which EcoForward may transact in order to fulfill the purposes of the programs.

EcoForward may also disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required by law to do so.

How do we obtain consent to collect, use, and disclose personal information?

  • EcoForward only collects, uses, and discloses your personal information with your express or implied consent.
  • Consent can be implied where the purpose for collecting, using, or disclosing the personal information would be considered to be obvious to a reasonable person and the personal information is voluntarily provided for that purpose.
  • EcoForward obtains your express consent to collect, use, and disclose personal information by having you select a checkbox indicating your consent on the application form for the program.

How do we store and protect personal information?

  • We are committed to ensuring the security of your personal information in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal, or similar risks.
  • The steps we take to protect your personal information include: operating our programs from within a secure building with restricted access; maintaining a 99% paper free office (cloud-hosted servers and workspaces); segmented data access for employees based on roles; storing all personal financial information in an encrypted formats; maintaining reasonable threat monitoring, back-up, and security measures; maintaining operating policies for all electronic versions of personal information and requiring individual password access for all employees which can be monitored.
  • We only use highly recognized, external service providers who provide top level security for their IT systems (e.g. Microsoft, Summit Hosting, QuickBooks Online, Scotiabank, GoDaddy, etc.)

How long do we retain personal information?

  • We retain personal information for as long as is required to fulfill the purposes of the programs.
  • Where there is a specific requirement in a funding agreement, we retain personal information for as long as required, under the terms & conditions of that agreement.
  • We retain financial (which often includes personal information due to the nature of our business) information for as long as required by applicable laws (CRA, 6 year rule regarding tax filings).
  • If we use personal information to make a decision that directly affects you, we will retain that personal information for at least a year so you have reasonable opportunity to request access to it.

How do we allow individuals to access their personal information?

  • Individuals have a right to access their personal information, subject to limited exceptions.
  • A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought. A request to access personal information should be forwarded to EcoForward’s Privacy Officer.
  • Upon request, we will tell you how we use your personal information and to whom it has been disclosed, if applicable.
  • We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request.
  • A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information.  Where a fee may apply, we will inform you of the cost and request further direction from you on whether or not we should proceed with the request.
  • If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify you in writing and provide the reasons for refusal and the recourse available to you.

How do we ensure the accuracy of personal information?

  • We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about an individual or disclosed to another organization.
  • Individuals may request correction to their personal information in order to ensure its accuracy and completeness.  A request to correct personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information and the correction being sought. A request to correct personal information should be forwarded to EcoForward’s Privacy Officer.
  • If personal information is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will note the individual’s correction request in the file.

Revisions to this Privacy Policy

  • EcoForward’s Privacy Policy may be modified from time to time to reflect changes to the law, to the Programs, and to the Program Partners we share information with in order to fulfill our goals and objectives.
  • We will post revisions of the Privacy Policy on our website from time to time and we invite you to refer back to the Privacy Policy on a regular basis.

Contacting EcoForward

  • If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, or if you wish to request access to or correction of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at info@ecoforwardsolutions.ca
  • If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve your concern, you may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia at:

P.O. Box 9038, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC
V8W 9A4