TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Access to and use of this website are subject to the following TERMS and CONDITIONS and to the applicable laws in all countries covered by a Construction21 platform. By registering in Construction21, the user acknowledges having read these TERMS AND CONDITIONS, to accept them and to be 18 years old or more.

PREAMBLE

This site is a co-ownership of numerous national and international organizations. It is a co-ownership of knowledge.

Nobody knows everything on all the issues of sustainable construction. This Website is organized so that the best experts (individuals, organizations) can exchange with the numerous users of the platform. For example, an expert on energy performance contracting can create a thematic community alongside a community dedicated to eco-materials evaluation, and so on… Until all important issues for practitioners are covered and enriched on a daily basis.

Construction21 and its principle of shared thematic communities is the winner of a call of proposals "Intelligent Energy for Europe" (2011-2013) which  has generalized the principle of thematic communities, link them to European Commission Website BUILD-UP and to communities in other countries.

Your organization is free to develop content and join Construction21 collaborative information system. We want true information on field solutions; we want education and content; we want to track and follow the work of the experts and receive updates on the most important professional issues on sustainability.

This is the reason why management, governance and moderation are open to all in a co-ownership. Intellectual property is based on the model of Creative Commons which is the intellectual property of the collaborative Websites.

These Conditions of Use set the terms and conditions by which the Managers of the platform provide the following services and information: case studies, news, videos and audio podcasts, thematic communities, construction materials database, trainings database, users and companies directories.

Any structure with activity related to urban planning, real estate and construction can become co-manager of the platform. Applications can be submitted directly on the Website via the "Contact" form.

Access to this service is subject to agreeing these Terms and Conditions. Any user wishing to register must have read and agreed previously to these Terms and conditions.

Construction21 Managers takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for any content posted.

There are different ways to contribute to Construction21.

STAKEHOLDERS

Level 1 : Contributor or Expert

A contributor can be any professional involved in the building/city industry (urban planning, real estate, construction, industry, design, etc.) and registered on Construction21. The contributor can post an article/video, a training, a case study; create, maintain and develop an online community. Every content is linked to a pre-defined topic (keywords). This content is systematically validated by a moderator before being visible on line. The contributor assumes the entire responsibility of the contents he has posted on Construction21 and respects the editorial line.

Level 2 : Moderator.

The moderator validates news, case studies before they’re on line. If the proposed content presents an international interest, it is possible to proceed with an automatic translation via Google translation tool and to adapt the translation afterwards. The content is then automatically transferred in the international platform and, regarding the case studies, visible from each national platform in English . It may also be visible on Buildup Website or directly integrated in Buildup database.

A moderator is an expert in his fields, recognized by his peers and Construction21 Editorial Board. He reads and validates all the contents belonging to his pre-defined area. The moderator is recruited by the content manager, directly or following the suggestion of other experts or a personal request of the expert (via the Construction21 “contact” page).

The creation of thematic communities is validated by Construction21 “Content Manager” according to the interest of the topic proposed and the legitimacy of the user creating the community. These criteria are set up by Construction21 board. If the proposed topic is similar with an existing community, the user will be offered to collaborate with the other community in order to reinforce the general interest. In France, the creation of a community is open only to the members of Construction21 France association.

Once the community is validated, the moderator validates the content posted afterwards. A community can be private (members can only be accepted by the manager) or open (registration after simple request). The level of confidentiality can be decided for each content posted by the author.

Level 3 : Content Manager:

A content manager (one or two persons per country) manages the website content nationally. He/she updates the topics list and the organization rules of CONSTRUCTION21, according to the decision of the board. He identifies and recruits experts, specialists in the different topics covered by Construction21 as contributors or moderators. He participates to the board where the organisation rules are discussed, defined and updated, in order to be implemented in parallel in all the countries.

The content manager can also be a contributor or an expert, depending on his skills. He’s part of the international Construction21 organization.

Level 4 : Webmaster.

The webmaster technically administrates the website in all the countries. He has no action on the content management and is part of the Construction21 organization.

LEGAL INFORMATION

Construction21 International network is managed by Construction21 AISBL, an international association located in Brussels, Rue du Lombard 34-42, Belgium, approved by the Law Ministery fo Belgium the 29th of May 2013 under the Number 58.531. This association is gathering all Construction21 national chapters, leading the Construction21 platform in their country plus the technical partner, CIRIDD, in charge of hosting, maintenance and IT developments of the platforms.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The presentation and each of the elements structuring the site, including trademarks, logos and domain names appearing on Construction21 Website, are protected by the concerned country law and belong to the Managers.

Any total or partial reproduction of the Website without the express permission of the managers is forbidden and constitutes an infringement punishable by the concerned country law. Administrators reserve the right to pursue any infringement of their intellectual property rights.

For more information see part called "Intellectual Property of the Contributions" below.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

The Managers propose a tool that allows any user to publish and view information related to urban planning, real estate and sustainable construction. Users of this site acknowledges the skills and techniques including how to access this site, and have verified that the configuration used is virus-free and is in perfect working order.

Each user has a password allowing access to services and will change it. User shall guarantee the confidentiality of the password used to access the service and agrees to bear all responsibilities for acts committed with the password.

ACCESS TO SERVICES

Users log on the Site www.construction21.org and identify with their email address and the previously received password;

User can edit any content posted by entering the publication interface using their username or email address and password;

When registering online, the user commits to provide true, accurate, updated and complete information;

The user undertakes not to create a false identity likely to lead anyone astray;

The user agrees to update the data he provided on registration without delay, as long as all or part of this information would not be in line with its actual situation.

USERS’ RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

The user has no obligation to submit anything to the site construction21.org.

If he decides to submit a content (all content, comment, idea, concept, technique or data), the user must grant - through the acceptance of these Terms and Conditions - a non-exclusive, irrevocable, global, permanent and unlimited right; which cannot be subject to sub-license, any obligation to pay fee, copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, and use in any mean known or to be discovered, any submission without further permission, notification, and / or compensation to you or any third party.

The user agrees that all content posted on Construction21 is likely to be also visible in the European Buildup platform and any other editorial partners of any Construction21 manager.

By submitting information, you warrant that such contribution is accurate, not confidential and not in violation of a contractual provision or any other rights of a third party. Moreover, you agree to inform the administrators in the event of any modification of such information from the time of registration. The user agrees that the contents posted are in conformity with the laws and regulations into force in the concerned country ;

We remind you that only the user is responsible for the content he posts on the Website, in any case the Managers shall be never held responsible for the content created by the user. The user agrees that the content posted does not infringe rights of third parties, including:

Clearly illicit content:

The content posted by users should not incite hatred, violence, anorexia, manufacture and use of explosives, suicide, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, promote war crimes or crimes against humanity;

Users undertake not to post content of a paedophile or child pornographic nature;

The content posted by users should not incite people to commit a crime, an offense or an act of terrorism;

The content posted by users should not lead to discrimination against a person or group of persons because of their ethnicity, religion, race, sex or because of their sexual orientation or of their disability.

The content posted by users should not be of a pornographic nature;

Litigious content:

Before any publication, the User agrees to take cognizance of the rules and limits of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression allows criticism, the reporting of verified and proven information. It does not allow the denigration and defamation. Denigration, defamation, or allegations of inaccurate or deliberately incomplete information so as to change their meaning can result in prosecution of the perpetrator.

The content posted by users should not impair or be contrary to public order, morality or to offend the sensibilities of minors;

The content posted by users should not  affect the personality rights, the privacy of third parties and image rights;

The content posted by users should not be, in the strict sense of the law, derogatory or defamatory;

The content posted by users should not affect the image, the reputation of a trademark or of any person or entity; Freedom of expression allows the criticism if it is objective, argued, and based on real events;

The content posted by users should not violate the security or integrity of any State or Territory of any kind;

The content posted by users should not enable third parties directly or indirectly to procure pirated software, serial numbers of software or any software that may harm or affect in any way the rights or property of any third-party ;

The content posted by the user should not affect intellectual property rights of any person or entity.

Commerce / Advertising

The user will not conclude any agreement with a non-affiliated advertising agency or a Manager’s partner. The user will not browse any advertising material (including but not limited to: text, image, video, link) coming from / proposed by an advertising agency not affiliated with one of C21 Manager or Partner.

Advertising

Website’s administrators reserve the right to insert advertising messages on the Website.

Intellectual Property of the Contributions

The user guarantees that all information, data, files, videos, photographs, or databases are its own property or are free of rights;

The user agrees not to use the tools provided by the administrators for the purpose of data storage;

In other cases, regarding the use, reproduction, representation or communication to the public of a work of the mind owned by a third-party and protected by the law (including but not limited to: software, databases, works of the mind, brands, company names, patents and designs), the user agrees to obtain prior authorization or a license agreement from the rights holders, within legal conditions;

The user agrees not to name in any contributions Websites or enclose hypertext links to external Websites that are contrary to the laws and regulations, which affect the rights of a third-party or that are contrary to these Terms and Conditions;

The user may not sell or make available against payment to third-party, the services offered by the administrators;

The user shall guarantee the confidentiality of the password used to access the service and agrees to bear all responsibilities for acts committed with the password.

Case studies

The declaration of a building case study requires the consent of the owner, and the formal authorization of the architect for editing pictures, drawings or any other type of representations of the construction. Mentioning the name of stakeholders, individuals or legal entities requires their prior consent;

The declaration of a case study means the acceptance of our terms and conditions on the veracity of the figures, features and performance announced;

The contributions shall be made within our editorial policy.

Photos, pictures and documents must be royalty-free

The user accepts the publication of its case study on BUILDUP website and on any other Construction21 partners websites and is responsible of the agreement of all parties mentioned on the case study

USER'S OBLIGATIONS

The user agrees not to visit the Website construction21 without a browser that supports JavaScript and accept cookies;

To facilitate the registration process and the use of the Website, and to enable Construction21 board to offer personalized services and to improve the performance of the Website content, the user is informed that one or more cookies will be placed on its hard disk;

Anyone who has to leave comments or publish as an author must follow these terms and Conditions. We remind you that only the user is responsible for the content published on the Internet. Managers of the Website are in no way responsible for the content posted by users.

The user must not, within the usage of the service, engage in acts of any nature which would be contrary to the law and rights of third-part, also in the case of a connection from in a foreign country.

VIOLATION OF TERMS

Users are encouraged to notify administrators in case of violation of these Terms and Conditions via the contact form.

The Managers may refuse or suspend the litigious content;

Regarding requests for withdrawal or removal of content, comments, photos or videos, the concerned country law is in effect.

RESPONSIBILITY OF MANAGERS and ADMINISTRATORS

The managers or administrators cannot be held responsible for content posted on the Website. The user agrees and acknowledges that he is responsible for the information, text, images, video, data, files posted on the site;

The managers or administrators cannot be held responsible for the content of external Website and for the access procedure to these Websites;

Managers or Administrators reserve the right to include an advertising banner or popup on user’s Website, whoever will be the advertiser.

Managers or Administrators reserve the right to make services temporarily unavailable for maintenance reasons or procedures updates.

Administrators have no control over the content that the user or others shall submit during use.

Administrators are not obliged to verify the identity of users when they connect to the Website or to ensure the content they post. You must inform us immediately in case of any abuse.

Before registering, the user has to determine the limits of its contribution and must make sure that the information given will not be prejudicial to anyone or any organization.

PERSONAL DATA

The user may at any time access personal information about him held by the administrators, request modification or deletion. The user may request to complete, modify or delete any information concerning him that is inaccurate, incomplete, equivocal, outdated or for which collection or use, communication or storage is prohibited;

The user can close his account by « My account » and « Delete my account and my data ». He can also send    a request to the site administrators via the "contact" form.

When the account is closed, all the user's personal data (member profile and reference data, discussions, internal messaging) will be deleted from Construction21. Contents published by the user under Creative commons will be assigned to a generic user account.

At the close of the account  Personal data are stored during 1 year through encrypted backup.

The user authorizes Construction21 to use the email address provided when registering his account to send him the messages necessary for his account management. If the user wishes it, and only if the parameters defined by him in the "my profile" section or when creating his account allows it, he can also receive a selection of information from the Construction21 platform or Partners selected by Construction21 administrators on issues related to construction or sustainable development.

Each user is also informed that the data related to his declared interests, can be used by Construction21 to propose to him to make contact with other members, selected according to the said data.

Each user sets the degree of confidentiality he wishes to assign to each content posted by him. Similarly, he can decide whether his profile and his presence on the Public List of Construction21 members are public or not, by setting his profile in the "my profile" section.

PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

The personal data referenced on the member page and the organization page are referenced by the user and can be updated at any time via "My profile" and via "My pages". No data processing is carried out for commercial purposes. No user profiling is performed on the Construction21 platform network.

The data is stored on the main host Planethoster, based in Paris. Backups are performed daily with a 21-day retention period. Additional backups are performed on Amazon S3 in Ireland encrypted with a retention period of up to 1 year.

DATA PORTABILITY

Data portability is accessible in “My profile”

INCIDENCES

In the event that Construction21 is the object of a malicious act that could result in a violation of privacy, CIRIDD, in charge of technical development/maintenance and outsourcing of Construction21 platforms, undertakes to communicate an impact report to the managers of Construction21 platforms so that they can communicate with members within 72 hours.

SUBCONTRACTING

Main Hosting : Planethoster http://www.planethoster.com

Storage: Amazon S3 Ireland

Statistics :

- Google Analytics

Data collection as part of advertising functionality: no

Remarketing: no

Adwards and Adsense: no

User profiling: no

IP anonymization : yes

- Piwik (hosted on the Construction21 server)

Data collection as part of advertising functionality: no

Remarketing: no

User profiling: no

IP anonymization : yes

Newsletter : Mailchimpor Mailjet, depending on the countries.

INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY

In accordance with the country applicable legislation regarding Internet Technology, Databases and Individual freedom, data protection, the user may at any time be given access to Construction21 for modification, suppression, rectification of any personal data left on the Website;

The user will be able to close his account or change his email address by sending the administrator a request via the contact form;

After deleting his account, all the posted contents will be stored in Construction21. Only the user’s name is deleted;

The user authorizes Construction21 to use the email address provided upon creation of its account to send him messages related to the management of his account. If the user wishes, and only if the parameters defined by him in "My profile" or when creating his account allows, he may also receive selected information from the platform or Construction21’s partners selected by the administrators;

Each user is also informed that his personal data, including interests declared, can be used by Construction21 to propose friendship contacts with other members, selected on the basis of the data declared;

Each user sets up the level of confidentiality that he wishes to assign to each content posted. Similarly, he can decide whether or not the visibility of his profile is public and his registration in the list

COMPETENT LAW

The International Construction21.org Website is under the Belgium law and incorporates the legislation on the General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data consisting in making transparent the use made by Construction21 of its members' personal data.
Each  Construction21.org local platform is under the concerned country law.