Privacy Policy

Green Budget Lab ("Green Budget Lab") is an independent research publication accessible at https://greenbudgetlab.com/. We are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy rights.

For all privacy-related matters, you can contact our data team at: contact@greenbudgetlab.com

We collect data in the following circumstances:

Information you provide directly:

• Name and email address when you contact us via our contact form
• Email address when you subscribe to our newsletter
• Any other information you voluntarily provide in your message

Information collected automatically:

• IP address and browser type (anonymised where possible)
• Pages visited, time spent, and referring website
• Device type and operating system
• Cookie identifiers (see Section 5)

We do not collect payment information, social security numbers, or any sensitive personal categories as defined by GDPR Article 9.

We use your personal data only for the following purposes:

• To respond to your messages — when you contact us, we use your name and email to reply
• To send our newsletter — only if you have explicitly subscribed; you can unsubscribe at any time
• To improve our website — anonymous analytics help us understand which content is most useful
• To ensure website security — IP addresses may be used to detect and prevent abuse
• To comply with legal obligations — we retain certain data as required by applicable law

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), our legal basis for processing personal data is:

• Consent — for newsletter subscriptions and non-essential cookies
• Legitimate interests — for website analytics and security monitoring
• Contractual necessity — to respond to your enquiries
• Legal obligation — where required by law

We use cookies to make our website function and to understand how visitors use it. The cookies we use are:

• Essential cookies — required for the website to function (e.g. remembering your cookie preferences). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies — Google Analytics (anonymised IP) helps us understand page popularity and reader behaviour. You may opt out via our cookie banner.
• Affiliate cookies — when you click an affiliate link, a tracking cookie is set by the retailer (not by us). See Section 8.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality.

We never sell your personal data. We share data with third parties only in these limited circumstances:

• Email service providers — to send newsletters (e.g. Hostinger Reach), subject to their own privacy policies
• Analytics providers — Google Analytics (data processing agreement in place, anonymised)
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our team or users
• Business transfers — in the unlikely event of a sale or merger, data may be transferred to the new owner

We retain your data only for as long as necessary:

• Contact form submissions — 12 months from receipt, then permanently deleted
• Newsletter subscriber data — for as long as you remain subscribed, plus 30 days after unsubscription
• Analytics data — 26 months (Google Analytics default, anonymised)
• Server logs — 90 days for security purposes

Some articles on Green Budget Lab contain affiliate links. This means if you click a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission from the retailer at no extra cost to you.

Affiliate relationships do not influence our editorial recommendations. We only link to products we have independently evaluated. All affiliate links are clearly disclosed within the relevant article.

When you click an affiliate link, you will be subject to the retailer's own privacy policy. We recommend reviewing their policy before making a purchase.

Under GDPR and applicable privacy laws, you have the following rights:

• Right of access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Right to erasure — request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing — ask us to limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent — withdraw consent for newsletter subscriptions or cookies at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email us at contact@greenbudgetlab.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Green Budget Lab is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be communicated via a notice on our website. Your continued use of Green Budget Lab after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data:

• Email: contact@greenbudgetlab.com
• Website: Contact Form

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or the relevant EU supervisory authority).