Privacy Policy

At NSF, we strive to honor the privacy and security of our users, customers and suppliers, as well as their representatives, in relation to all products, services, applications and websites provided by NSF, 789 North Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 USA ) or its affiliates (each an NSF entity and collectively NSF or we/us hereunder).

This privacy statement describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide to us, for instance when you visit the websites owned or operated by us (including but not limited to www.nsf.org; collectively the “Websites”), and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. Please read this privacy statement carefully in order to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it.

This privacy statement may change from time to time. Please check for updates. If you have any questions or comments regarding this privacy statement, please contact us at data.protection@nsf.org.

  1. Personal Data

    1. Children Under the Age of 13

      Our Websites are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on our Websites or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent (to the extent such consent is required), we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at our Data Protection team: NSF, 789 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor MI 48105 or via email at data.protection@nsf.org.

    2. Kinds of Personal Data Processed

      When you submit a request or electronically pass information to any NSF entity (including, but not limited to, orders, subscriptions, registration, contest or survey participations, comments, feedback, forms, transactions, employment applications and resumes), you are sometimes asked to provide certain information, including, but not limited to, your name, title, company, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and line of business, as well as appropriate categories of personal data (such as transactional data in the event of transactions). When you browse on any of our Websites, we may also automatically collect electronic identification and configuration data, such as device- or connection-related details. These kinds of data will in many circumstances be considered as personal data under applicable data protection legislation. In addition to obtaining personal data from you or your device directly, we may obtain such personal data from third parties, for example our business partners. For more information on the automated collection of information through cookies and similar files/tags, please see our section below on Cookies.

    3. Purposes of Processing

      We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal data:

      • Based on our legitimate interest in promoting our services:

        • To present our services, our Websites and their contents to you.
        • To notify you about changes to our Websites or any products or services we offer or provide though it.
      • Based on a (potential) contract with you or our legitimate interest in concluding or performing a contract with your employer:

        • To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
        • To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
        • To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
      • For any other purpose with your consent.

        The information we collect automatically is statistical data and does not/may include personal data , but we may maintain it or associate it with personal data we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Websites and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:

        • Recognize you when you return to our Websites.
        • Speed up your searches.
        • Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
        • Store information about your preferences (mailing lists you’ve signed up for, services your company is interested in), which allows us to customize our Websites according to your individual interests.
        • We may also use your information to contact you about our own services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, see Your Rights as a Data Subject.
    4. Disclosure of Your Personal Data

      We may disclose aggregated information about our users and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose personal data that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy statement:

      • To our subsidiaries and affiliates for the purpose of delivering the service for which you provided it.
      • To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
      • To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of NSF’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by NSF about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
      • To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
      • For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
      • With your consent.

      We may also disclose your personal data:

      • To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
      • To enforce or apply our terms of use or terms of and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes.
      • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of NSF, our customers, or others.
    5. International Data Transfers

      In the event of transfer of personal data from (initially from a country within the European Economic Area to another country outside of the European Economic Area, NSF systematically ensures the application of an adequate level of protection of such personal data by approved means (e.g. selecting “Privacy Shield”-certified processors or putting in place standard contractual clauses on the processing of personal data, in accordance with the EU Commission model clauses). You can request more information about such measures (including copies where relevant) by getting in touch with NSF through the contact details below.

    6. Your Rights as a Data Subject

      Subject to applicable law, you may have some or all of the following rights in respect of your personal data. You can exercise these rights by submitting your request [by getting in touch with NSF at data.protection@nsf.org. Please include your personal details as well as some means of verifying your identity (e.g. copy of identity card.). Please note that NSF may reject requests that are excessive or a misuse of the relevant right.

      • Access right. You may have the right to obtain confirmation of whether NSF processes personal data in relation to you and, if so, gain access to a copy thereof. For certain kinds of data, you may also have a right to data portability.
      • Data accuracy: right of rectification and right to erasure. You may have the possibility rectify or obtain the erasure of your personal data, provided that the applicable legal requirements are met. The right to erasure is subject to various exceptions, notably as regards personal data whose processing is necessary to support litigation or for compliance with statutory retention requirements. Please note that it may not always be possible for us to delete your personal data on the relevant Website without deleting your user account.
      • Limits to processing: right to restriction, right to object & consent withdrawal. In addition, you may have the right to object to the processing of personal data based on NSF’s legitimate interests (see above) and to otherwise obtain the restriction of certain forms of processing in specific circumstances. In particular, in relation to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes, you may have the right to object at any time thereto. Where any processing is based on consent, you may have the right to withdrawal such consent at any time (without this affecting the processing prior to the consent withdrawal).

        You can exercise this right sending us an email stating your request to data.protection@nsf.org. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may click on the unsubscribe box at the bottom of the email which will omit you from future email distributions. [This opt-out does not apply to the processing of personal data in the context of a service purchase, warranty registration, service experience or other transactions.]

        In relation to cookies and tracking technologies, you can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your cookie settings, visit your browser settings. If you disable or refuse all cookies, including functional cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

      • Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authorities: You may have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, in particular the data protection authority that is competent for your place of residence.
    7. Your California Privacy Rights

      California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of our Websites that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to data.protection@nsf.org, or write us at Data Protection Team, NSF,789 North Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

    8. Data Security

      We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal data from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure.

      The safety and security of your data also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

      Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal data transmitted to our Websites. Any transmission of personal data is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Websites.

  2. Cookies

    1. General principles regarding the use of cookies and other files/tags

      Our Websites use cookies, pixel tags and other forms of identification and local storage (together referred to as “tags/files” hereunder) to distinguish you from other users of our Websites. This helps us provide you with a good experience when you browse our Websites and also allows us to improve our Websites and our services.

      In many cases, these tags/files lead to the use of your device’s processing or storage capabilities. Some of these tags/files are set by NSF itself, others by third parties; some only last as long as your browser session, while others can stay active on your device for a longer period of time.

      In particular, the technologies we use for automatic data collection may include:

      • Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Websites. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Websites.
      • Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Websites may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our Websites. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies.
      • Web Beacons. Pages of our Websites and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit NSF, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

      For information about managing your privacy and security settings for cookies, see Your Rights as a Data Subject.

      These tags/files can fall into several categories: (i) those that are necessary for functionality or services that you request or for the transmission of communications (functionality tags/files); (ii) those that we use to carry out performance and audience metrics regarding our website (analytics tags/files) and (iii) the rest (tracking across a network of other websites, advertising, etc.) (other tags/files).

      Depending on applicable law, different rules may apply. Within the European Union, for instance, functionality and analytical tags/files do not require your consent. For analytical and other tags/files, however, we request your consent before placing them on your device. You can give your consent by allowing cookies in your browser settings, by continuing to use our website, or by clicking on the appropriate button on the banner displayed to you.

      You can find more information about cookies and similar tags/files at the following addresses:

    2. Specific information relating to this website

      We use the following cookies on this website specifically:

      • NSF Essential (Functional) Cookies: Enables you to navigate the site and use it’s services and features. We also use preference cookies to collect information about your choices and preferences (for example, language and location settings).
      • Tracking Cookies, such as Pardot, etc.: Allow us to assess how you and other web users use this website, and this information is essential in helping us to continuously improve our website’s functionality. They can be preserved from 30 minutes to 2 years. Also enable us to follow up on your request for information about specific services and help us remember preferences (like form field values) when you return to our site. (Pardot cookies don’t store personally identifying information, only a unique identifier.)

      Changes we make to our privacy statement will be made public on this page with a notice, on the relevant Website home page, stating that the privacy statement has been updated. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal data, we will notify through a notice to your primary email address or on the relevant Website home page. The date the privacy statement was last revised is identified at the bottom of the page. You are responsible for periodically visiting our Websites and this privacy statement to check for any changes.

  3. Contact Information

    To ask questions or comment about this privacy statement and our privacy practices, contact us at: Data Protection Team, NSF, 789 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor MI 48105 or via email at data.protection@nsf.org or by calling us at: 800-NSF-MARK (800-673-6275 (toll-free in USA) or (+1) 734-769-8010.

    Last Modified: May 22, 2018