Legal Notices

Data protection information

The mandate of Switzerland Global Enterprise

Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) accompanies its clients on the path to new markets. On behalf of the Swiss Confederation (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO) and the Swiss cantons, S-GE promotes exports and investments by helping its clients to realize new potential for their international businesses and thus to strengthen Switzerland as an industrial location. As the operator of a global network of experts and as a trusted and strong partner to clients, cantons and the Swiss government, S-GE is the first point of contact in Switzerland for all questions relating to internationalization.

  1. Principles
    Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) is committed to protecting your privacy. The following Privacy Policy is intended to explain which personal data S-GE processes when providing you with services or when you visit the website www.s-ge.com and visit or use other online platforms operated by S-GE.
      
    S-GE collects and process your personal data with care, and only does so for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, to the extent necessary for these and within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions.
      

    If you register on the S-GE website or any S-GE online platform, you warrant that the personal data and other information submitted are accurate and, in the case of registration on behalf of a third party, that you are authorized to register and disclose the personal data of such third party.
       

  2. Data controller and contact
    Unless stated otherwise, Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), based in Zurich, is responsible for the data processing described in this Privacy Policy. If you have any data protection concerns, please contact us at the following address:

    Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE)
    Stampfenbachstrasse 85 
    8006 Zurich
    Telephone: +41 (0) 44 365 51 51
    Email: privacy@s-ge.com
       
  3. Services and online platforms of S-GE
    In particular, S-GE provides the following services for both association members and non-members, within the scope of which S-GE can collect and process personal data:

    - Consulting services 
    - Information services 
    - Event and trade fair services
    - Rental services.

    S-GE also currently offers the following online platforms. Depending on the online platform, registration including disclosure of personal data is required prior to use:

    - S-GE GoGlobal Cockpit, accessible via the website s-ge.com and at goglobal.s-ge.com 
    - Expert search, available at expertdirectory.s-ge.com
    - Official database for Swiss Cleantech companies cube.s-ge.com;
    - Ticketing platform (Colada) and matchmaking platform for the organization and implementation of our events, available at s-ge.com/awf 
    - Virtual trade show platforms
    - Application platform Refline for job offers
    - Booking platform for consultation sessions, accessible via the corporate website under the link
     
  4. Collection and processing of personal data
    In connection with the provision of services by S-GE and in order to become a member of the association, you provide S-GE with the personal data required for this purpose. As a rule, there is no legal obligation to provide S-GE with data. However, without this personal data, S-GE will not be able to provide the services for you or the company you represent. Likewise, the S-GE website and online platforms cannot be used if certain personal data is not disclosed.

    Personal data is all data with which you can be identified as a natural person (namely last name, first name, address, e-mail address, function, IP address, etc.). In addition, personal data may also contain data about the company you represent (e.g. company name, address, telephone number, etc.).

    When registering for membership in the association, in addition to the aforementioned personal data, data on revenue, number of employees, area of activity, etc. of the association members may also be collected and processed. 

    To the extent permitted, S-GE also extracts certain data from publicly accessible sources and merges this data with the data that you submit directly to S-GE.

    The collected personal data is processed exclusively in Switzerland, in a member state of the European Union or in another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. If data processing takes place in a third country, S-GE will stipulate that third parties comply with the necessary data protection provisions in an appropriate manner, e.g. by contract.
        

  5. Purposes of data processing

    5.1 General processing
    S-GE primarily uses the personal data that S-GE collects to provide its services and to make the website, downloadable content and documents as well as online platforms available to you. Furthermore, S-GE processes your personal data as a member of the association in order to manage the association membership. 

    In addition, S-GE also processes personal data for the following purposes where S-GE has a legitimate interest in accordance with the purpose:

    - Offer and further development of our offers, services and websites, apps and online platforms 
    - Review and optimization of procedures for needs assessment
    - Advertising and marketing (including the organization of events) 
    - Assertion of legal claims and defense in connection with legal disputes and official proceedings
    - Participation in the prevention and clarification of criminal offenses and other misconduct (e.g. conducting internal investigations; data analyses to combat fraud, etc.) 
    - Ensuring operations, in particular of the IT, websites, apps and online platforms

    5.2 Information, newsletter and chat
    If you have submitted your personal data to S-GE (regardless of the form and channel used by S-GE), you agree to being contacted by S-GE, the Swiss Business Hubs of S-GE abroad and other network partners (namely chambers of commerce, universities, etc.; an overview is available at www.s-ge.com/network) by letter, telephone or e-mail to inform you about their own or general economic business activities. If you are no longer interested in receiving information and no longer wish to be contacted, you can inform S-GE accordingly at any time.

    S-GE also sends registered prospective customers a regular newsletter by e-mail, which contains general information about the markets, international business opportunities, events and trade fairs of S-GE, etc. Subscribers who are no longer interested in the newsletter can unsubscribe at any time. 

    S-GE also operates a chat service on its websites and online platforms in order to respond promptly to customer inquiries. The personal data transmitted by you via the chat will be processed in order to process your inquiry.
        

  6. Cookies, tracking and other technologies

    S-GE typically uses cookies and similar technologies on its websites to identify your browser or device. S-GE uses the cookie consent solution from CookieYes on its online platforms, which allows users to set their cookie preferences or to disallow them. A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or automatically stored on your computer or mobile device by the web browser you use when you visit the websites. This enables S-GE to recognize you when you visit our websites again, even if S-GE does not know who you are. In addition to cookies that are only used during a session and deleted after your visit to the website (session cookies), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information for a specific period of time (e.g. two years) (persistent cookies). However, you can set your browser to reject cookies, to save them only for one session or to delete them prematurely (tools.google.com). Most browsers are set so that you automatically accept cookies. S-GE generally uses session cookies to help us better understand how you use the offers and content of S-GE. If you block cookies, it is possible that certain functions of S-GE’s website or online platforms may no longer work.

    In the log files of S-GE’s websites and online platforms, access data is stored in a server log file. In particular, the following data is recorded in the log files: The time, the http status, the request (made to the server by the user’s browser), the referral website (from which the user came to the requested page), the product and version information of the browser used (user agent). The log files can be used for the further development of the S-GE websites and online platforms as well as to detect possible errors, e.g. faulty links or program errors. S-GE or third parties commissioned by S-GE may link the page views and uses stored in the server log or via code sections to individual persons. S-GE reserves the right to use data from log files if it suspects that users are using the websites or online platforms illegally or in violation of the contract or in order to further develop and optimize their own offers.

    In some cases and to the extent permitted, S-GE may also include visible and invisible pixels in the S-GE newsletters or marketing emails; when retrieved, S-GE’s servers can determine whether and when you opened the email, so that S-GE can also measure and better understand how you use the offers of S-GE and tailor them to you. You can block this in your email program. S-GE also uses technologies for the online platforms on which you have registered that allow S-GE servers to determine how you use the S-GE online platforms. By registering for an online platform, you expressly agree to this.

    S-GE uses Google Analytics or comparable services on its websites and online platforms. These are services provided by third parties, who may be located in any country in the world (in the case of Google Analytics, it is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, google.com), which enables S-GE to measure and evaluate the use of the websites and online platforms (non-personal). Cookies set by the service provider are also used for this purpose. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the S-GE websites and online platforms (including your anonymized IP address) is transmitted to a Google server and stored there. The third-party service provider may track your use of the websites and online platforms, combine this information with data from other websites and online platforms you have visited and which are also tracked by the third-party service provider, and use this information for its own purposes (e.g. managing advertising). If you have registered with the third-party service provider yourself, the third-party service provider also knows who you are. The processing of your personal data by the third-party service provider is then carried out under the responsibility of the service provider in accordance with its privacy policy. The third-party service provider merely informs S-GE how S-GE’s respective website is used. S-GE does not receive any information about you personally.

    In addition to Google Analytics, S-GE uses other analysis and evaluation tools. These analysis and evaluation tools include in particular:

    - the user-friendliness analysis by HotJar, Hotjar Ltd., Malta
    - Google Datastudio reports, Google Ireland Limited, Ireland
    - the analysis software from Tableau, Seattle/USA
    - HubSpot for account based Marketing (ABM), HubSpot, Inc., Massachusetts/USA

    to track user behaviour and identify companies visiting the S-GE website and to acquire potential customers. Using IP addresses, it tracks the pages visited and the frequency of the visit. The information collected during the tracking is used for marketing activities.

    Furthermore, the S-GE websites and online platforms use Google Ads to advertise to past visitors to the S-GE websites and online platforms on third-party websites (including Google). This may mean that S-GE may ask past visitors who have not completed a task on the S-GE websites and online platforms, such as filling out a contact form, to send a inquiry. The application may take the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page or in the Google Display Network. Third-party providers, including Google, use cookies as a means of displaying an earlier visit to the S-GE websites. If you do not wish to participate in S-GE’s Google Ads remarketing, you can opt-out by customizing the Google Ads Preference Manager.  

    In addition, the S-GE websites and online platforms use the Google Maps product from Google Inc. in the USA (www.google.com). By using the S-GE websites and online platforms, you consent to the collection, processing and use of automatically collected data by Google Inc., its agents and third parties. 

    S-GE also uses social media tags (plugins) from social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on its websites and online platforms. These tags enable detailed campaign reports and conversion tracking for the ads and content posted on social networks. In addition, valuable information about the visitors to the websites can be obtained and a retargeting of these website visitors can be carried out.

    By the use of Google Lead Form Extensions and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, we will request and use information from users only as reasonably necessary for the limited purpose described in our lead forms and in accordance with our privacy policy. We will not sell the information provided by users or otherwise abuse that information. The user data will be collected and stored by Google for 30 days and by LinkedIn for 90 days and will not be shared with third parties.
       

  7. Transmission of data to third parties

    7.1 General information
    S-GE also uses the personal data transmitted to enable third parties in Switzerland or abroad to perform technical, logistical or other services on behalf of S-GE (e.g. banks, insurance companies, IT providers, online shop providers, etc.). If S-GE passes on your personal data to third parties, S-GE will do so if it is necessary in order to provide the services or to perform technical services for the website and online platforms. These third parties will not use your personal data for its own purposes unless otherwise stated, or you explicitly consent to a different use by the third party. Insofar as you consent to the data protection provisions of third-party platforms in the context of the use of S-GE’s services, you are thereby aware that these may differ from this data protection provision and that S-GE has no influence on the use of the data by these third parties.  

    If data is transferred to countries that do not have an equivalent level of data protection to Switzerland, S-GE will agree compliance with the necessary data protection provisions with the third parties in an appropriate manner, e.g. by contract.

    If you participate in an S-GE Partner Workshop, your participant data will also be transmitted to the respective partner, who may use the data for its own (marketing) purposes. S-GE is therefore not responsible for the use of your data by the respective partner, and any inquiries on your part should be addressed to the partner.

    When participating in an S-GE online event or similar online events, other participants and speakers may view your data (for example in the case of video and audio transmissions), insofar as this is necessary for the event in question. In this event, you have been informed that third parties can view your data and that you explicitly consent to this disclosure of data by participating in such an event. S-GE has no control over what the respective participants do with these data. 

    In connection with the strategic partnership between S-GE and SOS International, certain personal data may be transmitted to SOS International. If you download SOS International documents from the S-GE website and enter your personal data for this purpose, you agree that SOS International may contact you for its own purposes and process your personal data.

    If you download content from S-GE’s partners on the website or the platforms, S-GE may share your information with the partner in question if you consent to this.

    7.2 Association membership
    All members of S-GE are published on the S-GE website (member database). This publication may also contain generally accessible data on association members. By signing the application for association membership or submitting the online application form on the S-GE website, S-GE is authorized to do so. 

    Association members’ sensitive data concerning, for example, business purpose, market and business interests, employee positions, revenue etc., shall only be passed on to third parties with the member’s consent.
      

  8. Duration of personal data retention

    S-GE processes and stores your personal data for as long as is necessary for the fulfillment of contractual and legal obligations or otherwise for the purposes pursued by the processing. Your personal data will be deleted thereafter or upon request, but only to the extent that this does not conflict with legal retention and documentation requirements.

    If an application does not lead to employment at S-GE, S-GE will store the personal data transmitted for a period of six months and delete it from the systems after this period.
      

  9. Data security
    To protect your personal data from unauthorized access and misuse, S-GE takes appropriate technical and organizational security measures, such as IT and network security solutions, access controls and restrictions, etc. S-GE restricts access to confidential personal data to those employees who need access to it in order to fulfill the purpose of S-GE.

    The user of the S-GE website and online platforms is aware that there may nevertheless be uncertainties regarding transmissions on the Internet.

      

  10. Data subject’s rights
    Within the scope of the data protection law applicable to you, and insofar as provided therein, you have the right to information, correction, or deletion of your personal data and to limitation of data processing. Please note that S-GE reserves the right to assert the legally provided restrictions, for example if S-GE is obliged to store or process certain personal data, has an overriding interest in it, or needs it for the assertion of claims. 

    If costs are incurred in connection with your inquiry, you will be informed in advance. 

    The exercise the aforementioned rights requires that you clearly prove your identity, e.g. by means of a copy of your identity card. To assert your rights, you can contact S-GE at the address given in Section 2.
       

  11. Amendments to this Privacy Policy
    S-GE may amend this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice or specific notification. The version currently published on the S-GE website applies. 
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