We hereby inform you about the processing of your personal data (data) if you visit this website or apply for The smarter E AWARD, Intersolar AWARD, ees AWARD, Power2Drive AWARD or EM-Power AWARD (collectively referred to as AWARD Portal). Joint controllers of the AWARD portal are:

Solar Promotion International GmbH
Kiehnlestraße 16
75172 Pforzheim, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 7231 58598-0
E-Mail: info(at)solarpromotion.com

If you have any questions about data protection, you can contact our data protection officer:

VdE Service GmbH
Herrn Sandro Berger
Eduard-Pfeiffer-Straße 48
70192 Stuttgart
Tel.: +49 (0)711 22 333-26
E-Mail: datenschutzbeauftragter(at)solarpromotion.com

I. Visit of this website

When you visit this website, your IP address, the country from which you access our website, date, time, and duration of access to our website and its subpages, information about the browser you use and the operating system you use, including display resolution and language settings, will be processed. This data is stored in log files for 7 days.

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 Sec. 1 b) and f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and solely for the purpose of enabling you to visit our website and - after anonymizing the data - possibly for statistical purposes. The collection of this data is neither legally nor contractually required; however, it is not possible to use the website without collecting this data for technical reasons.

We also use session cookies. Cookies are small files containing an identification number assigned by us. Cookies are stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit our website. If you visit our website again, your computer or mobile device can be recognized by this identification number. Cookies make it easier for you to navigate through our website and help us adapt the design and content of our website to expectations of visitors of our website.

We are entitled to set session cookies in accordance with Art. 6 Sec. 1 f) GDPR. Session cookies are deleted after closing the browser.

You may also visit our website without cookies, in which case you may not be able to use all the functions of the website. There is no legal or contractual obligation to use cookies. Most browsers automatically accept cookies; to prevent this, you must change the settings of your browser. You must make the settings separately for each browser and each computer you use.

II. Registration in the AWARD Portal and applications

1. Purpose and legal basis of the data processing

We may process your data such as your name, address, email address and, if applicable, telephone number to enter into and perform a contract with us. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 Sec. 1 b) and, if applicable, f) GDPR. The purpose of the processing is the registration in the AWARD Portal to create your user account, the examination of your application documents, the decision of a jury on your application and, if applicable, the presentation and publication of the award on our website. We have an interest in publishing finalists and winners of awards on the Internet in order to draw attention to our awards for advertising purposes.

As long as you are registered in the AWARD Portal and you have provided us with your email and postal address, we will also use your data to send you emails and post mailings with information about our future awards or our exhibitions and conferences in the sector of renewable energy, provided that you have not objected to the processing for direct marketing purposes or not withdrawn your consent for direct marketing purposes. In case of consent, the processing of the data is based in on Art. 6 Sec. 1 f) GDPR. We have a legitimate economic interest in sending such information to companies registered in the AWARD Portal so that they can apply for awards again and not forget any deadlines for applications. Furthermore, we have a legitimate interest in sending you information about our exhibitions and conferences in the area of renewable energy.

2. Storage Period

We may store your data as long as you are registered in the AWARD Portal. If you have not logged in to the AWARD Portal for 3 years, your user account will be deleted. Your personal data provided by you and stored by us for the purpose of performing the concrete application process for the award will be deleted at the latest after expiry of the statutory period of limitation. If we are legally obliged to keep the data, we are entitled to store them in accordance with Art. 6 Sec. 1 c) GDPR in conjunction with Sec. 257 German Commercial Code or Sec. 247 German Revenue Code until the expiry of such retention periods.

3. Obligation to provide personal data

The provision of data is neither required by law nor by contract. However, registration in the AWARD Portal and applications require your company name, address, contact person, email address and, if applicable, telephone number. Otherwise, it would be impossible to assign your application to your company and communicate with you. Without registration you would not be able to view, modify or resubmit your applications at any time. The provision of special categories of personal data (e.g. political opinions, religion, ethnic origin) is not required for an application. We ask you not to provide such data in your application.

III. Recipients of Personal Data

We transmit your data to the following contractors (“processors”) or other recipients for the following purposes, whereby processors process data according to our instructions and on our behalf:

JBCommsult, Angelweg 14, 79206 Breisach, Germany	Processor (project management)
Solar Promotion GmbH, Kiehnlestraße 16, 75172 Pforzheim, Germany	Processor
Newsletter2go GmbH, Köpenicker Str. 126, 10179 Berlin, Germany	Newsletter dispatch
Press (national and international)	Provision of the as finalist and winner nominated companies’ press contacts in the press center of the exhibitions organized by Solar Promotion International GmbH
SIX Payment Services Germany GmbH (SIX), Langenhorner Chaussee 92-94, 22415 Hamburg, Germany	Processor (payment processing)
Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Marketing GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM), Neuer Messplatz 3, 79098 Freiburg i.B., Germany	Processor (payment processing)
mpc networks GmbH, Max-Planck-Straße 22, D-70806 Kornwestheim, Germany	Processor (web hosting, payment processing)

During the payment process, data is transmitted encrypted to SIX Payment Services Germany GmbH. We do not store any credit card or account information.

IV. Your rights regarding data protection

You can request information from us in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR as to whether and which data we process from you. You can request the rectification and, under certain circumstances, the completion of your data in accordance with Art. 16 GDPR. You have the right to have your data deleted in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR or restrict the processing of your personal data (= “block”) in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR. Pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR, you have the right to receive your data provided to us on the basis of your consent or a contract, provided that the processing is carried out by automated means. If you wish and this is technically possible, we will transmit this data directly to a third controller.

Insofar as we process data for our legitimate interests exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 Sec. 1 f) GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your data for reasons relating to your particular situation. If you file an objection, we will no longer process the data concerned, unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

In addition, you can object to our processing of your data for direct marketing purposes at any time without incurring other than the transmission costs according to the basic rates.

If processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. The withdrawal shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. The withdrawal can be sent in an email to award@thesmartere.com. After withdrawal, the data will no longer be processed. This does not apply if we are legally entitled or obliged to do so.

You have the right to make a complaint to the supervisory authority “State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information”, Königstrasse 10a, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany, or any other supervisory authority.