Conditions of use
Welcome to the SRI-CONNECT website. If you continue to browse and use this website you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the Conditions of Use outlined below. These govern SRI-CONNECT Ltd’s relationship with you in relation to this website.
The SRI-CONNECT website aims to:
- facilitate communication between companies, investors & their advisors on sustainability issues
- accelerate the inclusion of sustainability factors in 'mainstream' analysis & investment
- double the impact of users' SRI activity while halving the time taken (a ‘Factor 4’ goal)
It does this by:
- Creating an online market place where analysts and portfolio managers can come together with company executives and experts on different aspects of sustainable development to present themselves, to exchange views, to report on their progress and to listen to and learn from the experiences of others
- Facilitating SRI communications processes that engage both parties in detailed and considered dialogue that leads to sustainable development becoming a fundamental part of investment decision-making.
Investment information: Exclusive and protected
The investment industry is, for good reason, extremely careful about the way that it handles, uses and transfers information. For both commercial and investor protection reasons, rigorous safeguards exist to ensure that information is only communicated by appropriate people through appropriate channels to appropriate recipients.
These important controls, however, can have the unintended consequences of making the investment research process unchallenging, sterile and exclusive.
- The terms 'website' or 'site' refer to the webpages provided at www.sri-connect.com
- The terms 'SRI-CONNECT', 'us', 'we', 'our' or similar refer to the owner of the website - SRI-CONNECT Limited.
- The terms 'you', 'your' or similar refer to the user or viewer of our website.
All users of the site are required to abide by the Conditions of Use found in this document.
By continuing to browse and use our website, you agree to comply with and be bound by the Conditions of Use laid out in this document, including the policies outlined herein, which govern SRI-CONNECT Limited’s relationship with you in relation to its website.
We also ask users to act in accordance with the 'Spirit of the Site' as defined on the site.
SRI Network is a ‘closed’ network by which we mean that all users must, before using it, confirm themselves, to the satisfaction of the SRI-CONNECT registration team, as having a direct, active and professional interest in the Sustainable and Responsible Investment industry.
SRI-CONNECT and SRI Network are provided to improve communications and investment research and decision-making within the SRI industry.
This is done by enabling the sharing of information including news, data, analysis & opinion. The information we provide and record can be categorised into:
- Information published by SRI-CONNECT
- Information published on the SRI-kipedia section of the site
- Information sourced from RSS feeds and channelled through the New(s)ources function
- Information contributed by users through SRI Network
- Communications information
- Site usage and activity information
- Information provided within organisational profiles
- Personal information held within individuals’ profiles
The primary purpose of SRI-CONNECT is to improve research and communications between participants in the sustainable investment and corporate governance industry globally. (We believe that individuals and their actions (rather than rules and policies) are critical to progress in our industry.)
To fulfill our objective, we collect:
- As much professional information about value chain participants (e.g. sector coverage, research interests, investment priorities etc) as we can and
- As little personal data (Name, Role, Firm, Contact Details etc) as we need to fulfil our function as an online industry network
We take our responsibilities for protecting personal data very seriously and are systematically working our way through every line of this Guide from our regulator to ensure that our policies and practices fully comply with our ambition to be wholly responsible in this area … and also that we comply with the law.
We’ve given you the link above, so that you know that everything in it is an expectation that you can have of SRI-CONNECT. We would also like to highlight four things that are particularly important to us:
- Legitimate interest: We use your personal data for the purposes that you would expect us to … and ONLY FOR THOSE PURPOSES. These are to keep you informed about research and developments in sustainable investment and corporate governance; to improve the efficiency of your engagement with the industry and to help you and your firm to build your personal and firm’s profile in this industry. We believe that, in GDPR terminology, this means we hold and use your personal data on a ‘Legitimate Interest’ lawful basis.
- Mutual best interest: We only share personal data with other industry professionals (members of the SRI-CONNECT network) where we can make a strong case that it is in the best interests of the data subject (i.e. you) as well as the data recipient (see examples below).
- Email address: We will never disclose your email address or other contact details … unless you actively choose to include them in your own SRI-CONNECT profile.
- Contact us: If there’s anything you don’t understand or are concerned about, please do contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Examples of how we display data
Primarily, SRI-CONNECT displays the data that is provided to us in personal profiles in the community - so that members of the industry can engage and communicate with each other on an informed basis.
However, we also produce information (for site users only) in other formats:
For example, we might produce a report for a mining company that shows them that Jenny Jenkins, Bill Smiggle and Herb Arnold cover the mining sector. The mining company can use this to invite Jenny, Bill and Herb via SRI-CONNECT to a presentation of their sustainability performance. This, we believe is beneficial to both the mining company (the data recipient) and Jenny Jenkins, Bill Smiggle and Herb Arnold (the data subjects). Importantly, because Amy Upkins does not feature in the report (because she isn’t interested in the mining sector), the company is unlikely to want to contact her. By implicitly sharing her ‘lack of interest’ we save her time as well. This is why we encourage all site users to update their professional profiles regularly.
Or, we might highlight to ABC Research how the level of SRI-CONNECT usage by its research team is / isn't enhancing their firm's profile in the global SRI/CG industry. This information is designed to inform and help both the firm and individual users to build their profile within the global SRI/CG industry. Again, beneficial to both data recipient and data subject.
... and that's about it. We may, in future, come up with other ways of using the data that you provide us with to improve …. But, you can rest assured that if we do plan to change the way that we use your data, we will check with you first that this is OK with you.
The ‘Terms and Conditions’ originally set out at SRI-CONNECT’s launch cover the vast majority of the conditions under the EU GDPR regulation. However, there are a few things that we believe we have been doing – but haven’t communicated or have tightened up recently.
We’ve decided that the best way to keep our communications on these readable is to keep them short and to the point.
So, in bullets, these are the things that we are required, by law, to tell you:
- The name and contact details of our organisation
- SRI-CONNECT Ltd - a limited company registered in England and Wales at 32 Oakley Road, Reading RG4 7RL with registration number 7254089
- The purposes of the processing
- We process personal data for the purposes of running the SRI-CONNECT network, improving the efficiency of communications and research flow between individuals within the SRI & corporate governance industry and keeping other professionals with an exposure to sustainable investment and corporate governance updated with research, best practice and developments in the industry.
- The lawful basis for the processing
- In GDPR terms, we process personal data on a 'Legitimate interests' basis.
- The legitimate interests for the processing.
- Our ‘legitimate interest’ - in respect of registered users of SRI-CONNECT is that the holding, tightening and display of proportionate personal data is needed to enable the functioning of a professional industry network such as SRI-CONNECT.
- Our ‘legitimate interest’ – in respect of other industry professionals who have not registered as active participants in SRI-CONNECT – is that their professional role (as an SRI Analyst, Corporate Governance Analyst, Investor Relations Manager or Sustainability Manager) requires them to keep abreast of trends within the industry. For such individuals, we retain and process the very limited data (name, role, firm and email address) that enables us to update them periodically on activity within the largest global online network (SRI-CONNECT) in their professional sphere of activity.
- The categories of personal data obtained (if the personal data is not obtained from the individual it relates to).
- Very little – but see ‘Other sources’ below
- The recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data.
- Information that users of SRI-CONNECT put in their profile can be viewed by and may be shared with other users of the site.
- See below for formats in which data is shared.
- Currently – as with many social networks – the fact that an individual is a member of the network is visible via an internet search (name, role, firm). Typically, it appears in search results just below your LinkedIn profile and your company’s announcement that they have appointed you. We will never make more details available than this and are considering whether to tighten it … to make all profile information invisible.
- The details of transfers of the personal data to any third countries or international organisations (if applicable).
- Beyond what can be seen in professional profiles, we don’t share any personal data with anyone outside the SRI-CONNECT network.
- The retention periods for personal data
- We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm for unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements. By law we have to keep basic information about users we have a customer/supplier relationship with (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for seven years after the original transaction date. In practice this means that:
- For subscriber users or purchasers of reports/other services: a minimum of seven 7 years for information that is necessary for legal compliance
- For registered users: For as long as the user remains a member of the network
- For unregistered users: For as long as they have an active professional interest in sustainable investment or corporate governance.
- The rights available to individuals in respect of the processing.
- These are available on request
- The right to withdraw consent.
- You have that right. Just let us know. (
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) - The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
- You have that right. Report a concern to the ICO … but please do report your concern to us first. We would be massively disappointed in ourselves at so many levels if you ever feel the need to even consider this.
- The source of the personal data (if the personal data is not obtained from the individual it relates to).
- See ‘Other Sources’ below
- The details of whether individuals are under a statutory or contractual obligation to provide the personal data (if applicable, and if the personal data is collected from the individual it relates to).
- You are under no obligation to supply us with anything.
- The details of the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling (if applicable).
- None of this happening.
Other Sources
We encourage all users of the site to keep their professional profile on SRI-CONNECT updated to ensure that they are accurately represented in the industry … but not everyone does this … or remembers to do this when they move firms. To avoid misrepresentation, we contact individuals when we become aware of errors / gaps in their profiles and also update profiles (City, Role, Firm only) where we can find that the individual has consented to put this information in the public domain (i.e. via a statement from a new employer or by updating their LinkedIn profile)
To open an SRI-CONNECT account and create a profile, you must supply us with:
- Basic Information, as described above
- Contact Information – specifically your email address
- Account information – specifically an account username and an account password
- Evidence that you have a professional interest in SRI
Information within profiles is provided to assist SRI-CONNECT users in their SRI research and communications and not for any other purpose.
- It must not be used to prosecute sales activity or pressure campaigns
- It must not be used to spam, abuse or harass profile owners
- It must not be retained or stored in any format
To create an account and profile with SRI-CONNECT, you are required to supply us with certain personal information. In this section, we cover:
- The personal information that SRI-CONNECT collects and holds
- The way that this is displayed
SRI-CONNECT uses your personal information to:
- Enhance your usage of SRI-CONNECT
- Display a profile of you to other site users
You may, at any time:
- Review, edit or remove any of the information you have provided to SRI-CONNECT
- Review, edit or remove any of the information about your employer that is held on SRI-CONNECT, if you are the designated Profile Manger
- Close your account and delete all details held within your individual profile
- Close your organisation’s account and delete all details held within your organisational profile
- Request that a placeholder profile identifying you as an employee of an organisation involved in SRI be removed
Read more: Personal information: Editing and deletion rights
We take the privacy of our users and the protection of any information that is personal to them very seriously. This protection is a responsibility that we share with you.
We may collect information about the fact that you use certain features and functionality of SRI-CONNECT, interact with third party websites, or participate in research initiatives like polling and surveys on SRI-CONNECT. (All such information will be held anonymously).
Like most websites, we use cookies to track site usage and trends. We do this to improve the quality of our service, to customize your experience on SRI-CONNECT.
A cookie is a tiny data file that resides on your computer, mobile phone, or other device, and allows us to recognize you as a User when you return to the SRI-CONNECT website using the same computer and web browser.
We use a number of different cookies on our site. If you do not know what cookies are, or how to control or delete them, then we recommend you visit http://www.aboutcookies.org for detailed guidance.
Responsibility for all issues arising from Content posted on the SRI-CONNECT website by individual users rests with the individual who originally posted the Content.
Preamble
SRI-CONNECT is a research tool designed to help investors, companies and their respective advisors.
It is driven by the voluntary contributions (‘posts’) made by users.
We understand that users will only ‘post’ contributions if they are confident that such ‘contributions’ will be used appropriately.
In this section we define ‘appropriately’ and describe how information may and may not be used.
SRI-CONNECT respects the intellectual property rights of others, and requires that users of its website do the same.
The sharing of information within the context of a competitive industry depends on a clear understanding by all participants of the ways that information will be used.
In particular, there must be clear rules on the way the intellectual property posted by contributing users may be used by viewers. This section describes the specific rules and general guidance that govern copyright and intellectual property within the SRI-CONNECT website.
SRI-CONNECT’s intellectual property
You agree to respect the proprietary rights of SRI-CONNECT.
The SRI-CONNECT website itself contains material which is owned by or licensed to SRI-CONNECT. This material includes, but is not limited to, the website's design, layout, look, appearance and graphics contained therein. This material also includes trade marks, including the SRI-CONNECT name and logo. Reproduction of any of this material is prohibited by all applicable laws, particularly copyright.
Read more: SRI-CONNECT’s intellectual property and copyrights
Having the rights to post
You must respect all intellectual property rights that belong to third parties.
In particular, you must:
- only post material to SRI-CONNECT to which you have the appropriate rights, and
- not provide to SRI-CONNECT and/or other users information whose publication you know would be an infringement of existing copyright restrictions.
In general, you are welcome to post any information that you believe will be of interest to other users of the site.
To maintain and protect the quality of information posted, the rights of other site users, the atmosphere of trust necessary for the effective operation of the site and the protections due to investors, all users are asked to:
- Focus their contributions on sustainable business and SRI
- Commit to publishing in good faith
The SRI industry sits midway between:
- an investment industry whose immediate inclination is to compete for proprietary advantage on behalf of themselves and their client
- the advocates of sustainable development whose immediate inclination is to collaborate for the wider social good
We believe that the sharing of research and information could improve understanding of sustainable investment issues across the market – to the benefit of all. However, we also recognise the importance of a competitive market in which organisations are rewarded for their willingness to invest in sustainability research capacity that develops competitive advantage through their ability to conduct proprietary investment analysis.
We have no wish to disrupt the delicate and fluid balance between competition and collaboration that the SRI industry maintains so carefully.
We therefore:
- Limit the information that users can see on their competitors’ organisational profiles
- Prohibit the use of information provided by other users to the competitive detriment of those users
Preamble
SRI-CONNECT aims to provide SRI investors with improved access to the sustainability information that is increasingly defining the context for company and stock price performance; it is intended that SRI research analysts and portfolio managers will combine this broader and deeper sustainability information with specialist financial research to improve their investment decision-making.
However, the user base of SRI-CONNECT is broad (both globally and in respect of their investment expertise and qualification) and it is therefore not possible to ensure that appropriate investor protection is given to all users in all jurisdictions.
SRI-CONNECT, therefore:
- Does not make standalone investment recommendations or give investment advice;
- Does not carry the standalone investment recommendations or investment advice of others.
From this, it follows that:
- Posters should not publish investment recommendations; and
- Viewers should not infer investment recommendations either from information posted by SRI-CONNECT or from information posted by other users.
The primary means by which SRI-CONNECT will communicate with you will be via the email address recorded in your profile.
SRI-CONNECT cannot control for all circumstances arising from the usage of its site - particularly within an evolving medium such as social networking.
All users are therefore expected to show professional discretion (when posting or viewing content) and show due regard to privacy considerations, competitive behaviour and investment regulation.
This site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. The information on this website has been obtained from sources that SRI-CONNECT Limited believes to be reliable and accurate at the date of publication, but no warranty of accuracy is given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided by our users or that contained within sites provided by third parties, which may have links to or from our pages.
Read more: Disclaimer of warranties and general limitation of liability
If you purchase any Services that we offer for a fee, either on a one-time or a subscription basis, you consent that SRI-CONNECT may record your payment card information.
You also agree to pay the applicable fees for subscription as they become due plus all related taxes, and to reimburse us for all collection costs and interest for any overdue amounts. Your obligation to pay fees continues through the date you cancel your subscription.
All fees and charges are non-refundable and there are no refunds or credits for partially used periods.
Requirement to notify us of existing legal obligations
If you believe that you are entitled or obliged to act in a manner contrary to these Conditions of Use as directed by any mandatory law, you agree to provide us with a detailed and substantiated explanation of your position in writing at least 30 days prior to you acting contrary to these Conditions of Use. Upon receipt of your explanation, we will assess, in our sole discretion, whether any appropriate remedy for the situation exists, although we are under no obligation to provide an associated recommendation.
The SRI-CONNECT website may, from time to time, provide links to other websites of interest, owned and operated by third parties.
We do not have any control over these websites, and do not endorse any features, content, advertising, products or other materials (including opinions from contributing authors) they may make available.
SRI-CONNECT recognises that media organisations – particularly those specialising in SRI or sustainable development - have potential to provide information and analysis that could be of great value to users of the site.
However, we also recognise that other users of the site may be apprehensive about using a site where material they post is accessible to journalists and media organisations.
Campaigning organisations (including NGOs and trade unions) play a critical role in exploring and raising awareness of environmental, social and economic issues. Some also have significant expertise which SRI-CONNECT recognises may be of benefit to users of the site, particularly those seeking to integrate sustainability factors into their investment decision-making process.
