At Hatfield, we take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information when you interact with us. It applies to all individuals outside of our organization – including visitors to our websites, clients, sub-contractors, project partners, job applicants, and authorized users of our extranet systems (including SharePoint, Envirodata.io, geoanalytics.ca and other systems). We want you to understand what information we gather, why we need it, how we use it, and the choices you have regarding your personal information. We handle all personal information with care, transparency, and according to recognized privacy principles.

Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you choose to provide us, as well as some information automatically when you use our digital services. The type of information we gather depends on how you engage with Hatfield. For example:

Clients and Project Partners: We collect your contact details (such as name, address, phone number, and email) and information related to your project or business with us. This can include details needed to deliver our services and ensure quality outcomes – for instance, project requirements, past project history with Hatfield, and any feedback you provide.

Sub-Contractors and Vendors: We collect your business contact information and payment details (e.g. banking information) so that we can work together and pay you for your services.

Job Applicants: If you apply for a job at Hatfield, we collect the personal information you include in your application. This typically includes your contact information and the details in your résumé/CV and cover letter (such as your education, work experience, and any other information you choose to share) so that we can evaluate your application and qualifications.

Website Visitors: When you visit our websites, we automatically collect some information about your device and how you use the site. This may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your general location (such as city or region), your browser type and operating system, the pages you view on our site, and the links you click. We also record how you arrived at our site (for example, via a search engine or a link from another website). We collect this usage data through cookies and similar technologies, including Google Analytics. These tools help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve functionality and content. The information we get from analytics is aggregated and not used to personally identify you. For instance, Google Analytics provides statistics like the number of visitors and popular pages, but not your name or contact details. You can opt out of our website’s analytics tracking by disabling cookies in your browser settings or using Google’s opt-out tools if you prefer.

Extranet Users: If you are given access to our extranet or online collaboration platforms, we collect the information needed to create and manage your user account. This includes identifiers like your name, email address, and affiliation (such as the company or project team you belong to). We will also have any information you choose to upload or share on that platform. This might include project documents, data files, comments, or other data you input while using our extranet systems. We collect and use this information strictly to facilitate your access to the platform, enable collaboration with you, and maintain the security and functionality of the service.

How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for legitimate business purposes and to serve you better. The main ways we use the information we collect include:

Providing Services and Managing Projects: We use client and partner information to carry out the services or projects you have engaged us for. This includes using your details to communicate with you about project updates, deliver reports or results, and ensure we meet your needs. If you are an extranet user, we also use your information to grant you access to project files and collaboration tools.

Communication and Customer Support: We may use your contact information to respond to your inquiries, questions, or requests. For clients and partners, this could mean keeping you updated on project progress or scheduling meetings. For all users, it includes sending important notices or confirmations (for example, responding when you contact us via a web form).

Working with Sub-Contractors and Partners: If you are a subcontractor, vendor, or part of a partner organization, we use your information to coordinate our work together. This might involve sharing necessary details about a project or processing payments to you.

Evaluating Job Applications: For job seekers, we review and process the personal information you provide to assess your suitability for employment opportunities at Hatfield. We may contact you using the details you gave us to schedule interviews or discuss your application.

Improving Our Websites and Services: We analyze data about how users interact with our websites (using tools like Google Analytics) to help improve the website’s design, content, and performance. We also appreciate feedback from clients and partners, which we may use to enhance our services and customer experience.

Security and Legal Compliance: We may use information to protect our company, our clients, and our systems. For example, we might monitor activity on our website or extranet to detect or prevent fraud, cyber-attacks, or misuse. We also use and retain information as necessary to meet our legal obligations – for instance, keeping transaction records for accounting or regulatory purposes.

How We Share Your Information

Hatfield respects the trust you place in us and we do not sell or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing or purposes. We only share personal information outside of Hatfield for the reasons described below, and only to the extent necessary:

Partner Companies and Service Providers: We sometimes work with other companies or consultants to help us fulfill our services (for example, an expert partner firm collaborating on a project, or a third-party service that hosts our data). In such cases, we may share your information with these trusted partners only as needed for them to perform their work. For example, if we are jointly delivering a project with a partner company, we might share your contact or project information with them so that everyone can stay coordinated. Similarly, if we hire a subcontractor to perform part of a project, we will give them the information they require to carry out their tasks. We contractually require anyone we share information with to safeguard it and to use it only for the agreed purpose.

Vendors and IT Providers: Hatfield uses reputable third-party vendors to support our business operations (such as cloud storage providers or website analytics tools). These vendors may process or store personal data on our behalf, but only under strict privacy and security obligations. They are not permitted to use your information for anything other than providing services to Hatfield.

Website Forms and Spam Protection: If you submit information through our website (for example, by filling out a contact form or commenting on a post), that information may be checked by automated tools that help prevent spam or malicious submissions. This automated processing compares your submission to known spam patterns to protect our site and other users.

Legal Requirements: We may disclose personal information if we are required to do so by law or valid legal process. For instance, if a court order, subpoena, or government regulation compels us to release information, we will comply as necessary. We only provide the information that is legally mandated and will inform you of such disclosure when permissible.

Protection of Rights and Safety: On rare occasions, we might share information when we believe it’s necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Hatfield, our clients, our employees, or others. This could include sharing information with authorities or investigators if someone is violating our terms of service, committing fraud, or endangering people or assets.

In all cases of sharing outlined above, we strive to limit the personal data we disclose to only what is needed for that specific purpose, and we ensure that appropriate confidentiality and security measures are in place.

How We Protect Your Information

Protecting your personal information is a top priority for us. Hatfield uses a combination of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to secure the personal data entrusted to us. For example, we store information on secure computer systems that have controlled access. Only team members who need to use your information to perform their duties are allowed to access it, and they are trained to handle the information respectfully and in line with this policy. We implement security measures such as password protection, multi-factor authentication, encryption, firewalls, and up-to-date security practices to guard against unauthorized access or disclosure.

While we work hard to protect our systems and your data, it’s important to note that no method of transmitting or storing data is completely foolproof. However, we continually review and improve our security practices to adapt to new threats and to ensure your personal information remains safe. If we ever identify a security breach involving your personal data, we will take prompt action to contain the issue and notify affected individuals as required.

Your Consent and Choices

Providing Personal Information: In general, when you provide us with personal information, we understand that as your consent for Hatfield to collect, use, and share that information as needed to serve you (in accordance with the purposes outlined in this policy or as explained to you at the time). For example, if you fill out a form asking for information on our services, we take that as consent to use your info to respond to your request.

Consent for Secondary Uses: If we ever want to use your information for a new purpose that isn’t directly related to why you gave it to us, we will seek your consent. For instance, if you aren’t already on our mailing list, we would ask for your permission before sending you a newsletter or other marketing material. We might do this by asking you to tick a checkbox on a form or by having you confirm via email. If you prefer not to grant that additional consent, that’s absolutely fine – it’s your choice. Not giving consent for an optional purpose will not affect the core services or communications we provide to you.

Keep in mind that even if you opt out of marketing or optional messages, we may still need to contact you for things like project communications, billing, or other transactions you’ve initiated with us. Those are not promotional communications but rather part of our service or legal obligations. We will limit such communications to what is necessary.

Contact Us

Our staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have about your personal information. If you would like more information about our policies, or you would like to see exactly what personal information we have about you in our records, or you wish to register a complaint, please  contact us.