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Please read this Privacy Policy carefully so that you understand how we collect and use the personal information which you provide to us through or in connection with this site. In this context, “we” means Economist.com, a division of The Economist Newspaper Limited, (“Economist.com”) and Shell International Limited (“Shell International”).

Economist.com and Shell International are committed to protecting the privacy of users of this site. The following outlines our privacy and data protection policy in relation to this site.

By submitting your personal data to us, you will be treated as having given your permission for the use and processing of your personal data referred to in this policy.

Third party partners of Economist.com and Shell International, other websites you may access via Economist.com or this site and Shell web sites will have different privacy policies and are not subject to this privacy policy. We recommend that you read the privacy statement of each such website to find out how they protect your personal information.

Collection and Use of User Details
When you register at The Energy Debate, we collect personal details about you.

Personal information such as your name, address, e-mail address and job title may be collected via The Energy Debate order and registration forms.

When you visit the site, we also collect web site usage information and information about your computer and internet connection, including your computer's IP address, the type and version of browser and operating system you use, your internet domain and, if you arrived at The Energy Debate via a link from another website, the URL of the linking page.

We use this information to:
fulfil any orders personalise the content and advertising you will see based on your personal characteristics or preferences ensure, as far as is practical, that the site is compatible with the browsers and operating systems used by most of its visitors respond to queries or requests submitted by you.

We also use the information for in-house research to:
improve understanding of customer needs build marketing profiles aid strategic development manage relationships with advertisers and may provide it to our affiliate offices and companies, which may be located outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) for joint in-house research or for such offices’ and companies’ own in-house research.

The results of all such research and analysis will be presented as anonymous or aggregated information and will not reveal any personal facts about individual customers.

Economist.com, which is part of The Economist Group, and the Shell Group of companies operate from offices worldwide. Countries outside the EEA may not have similar data protection laws to the EEA.  However, steps have been taken to ensure that your privacy rights will continue to be protected and that high standards of data protection will be adhered to in all regional offices for all the forms of processing of your personal information mentioned above.

Cookies
A cookie is a small file which is placed on the user's hard drive during a site visit. This file allows the user to move quickly and easily around the site. It is used to identify returning users and to identify subscribers and registrants (a registrant - and subscriber - will have the cookie linked to their e-mail address as a way of identifying them). This means that if you are a registrant or subscriber, you will not have to login each time you visit. Cookies are also used to track a user's sessions. This information is used to find out what site features are most popular so that the site can be developed in the light of our analysis of people's usage. Cookies and the information we collect are also used to show you relevant content and advertising.

You can delete cookies from your hard drive at any time. Bear in mind, though, that if you delete these cookies, any settings such as your stored username and password will have to be reset when you log in again.
Unlike many sites, you will be able to use The Energy Debate even if you set your browser not to accept any cookies. However, certain features and content may not be available to you and you will have to log in every time you visit.
Further information on the use of cookies can be found at: www.cookiecentral.com.

E-mails
Reputable third parties may be used to deliver the e-mails you will receive from the site if you subscribe to The Energy Debate. These third parties use unique identifiers and invisible images (often called "pixel tags" or "clear GIFs") to perform message open sensing, message format sensing, and clickthrough sensing in order to bring you more relevant information.

Discussions/Discussion Groups
Any personal information which you disclose in the course of any discussions or as part of any discussion groups during The Energy Debate may be collected by us.  In this case, it will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.  Please note that we cannot be responsible for other parties’ use of the personal information which you make available to such third parties during any such discussions or discussion groups.  Please be careful about what personal information you disclose in this way.

Security Policy
We have appropriate measures in place to ensure that users' personal details are not misused, accidentally destroyed, lost or altered within our server environments.

Occasions will arise when customer information is passed outside The Economist Group and the Shell Group of companies to other data processors (i.e. fulfillment bureaus, database consultants etc.), but they will only act upon our instructions in order to perform the services required.

Transfer of Personal Data Overseas
Given that the Internet is a global environment, using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. Therefore, by browsing The Energy Debate and communicating electronically with us, you acknowledge and agree to our processing of personal data in this way.

Updating Customer Details
It is important to us that we have your correct contact information so that you don't miss out on further correspondence or experience problems with the delivery of products.

You can change your personal information or your e-mail requirements by updating your account information at:
http://microsites.rss-uk.net/economist/shell/index.php?id=7

Children Under 13
We do not intentionally collect any personal information from individuals under the age of 13 and will make every effort to delete any details of such users where a parent or guardian has informed us that these details have been collected.

If you are under the age of 13, please do not send us your personal information (for example, your name, address and e-mail address) – if you wish to join The Energy Debate or use this site in any way which requires you to submit your personal information, please get your parent or guardian to do so on your behalf.

Changes to this Privacy Policy
Due to changes in legislation and best practice or enhancements to functionality and content on this site, we may make changes to this privacy policy from time to time and will reflect those changes in this Privacy Policy, so you should check here from time to time.

How you can contact us
If at any time you would like to contact us about this Privacy Policy, you can do so as follows: in the case of Economist.com, in the case of Shell International, via the following web site: http://www.shell.com/tellshell.