Privacy Policy

In this Privacy Policy, we inform you of how we, Foundation Wirtschaftsförderung Luzern - Lucerne Business (hereinafter also referred to as "Lucerne Business", "we" and "us") collect and process your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as "data" for short or "personal data").

If you disclose the personal data of other people (e.g. employee data) to us, we assume that you are authorized to do so and that the data is accurate. By transmitting the data concerning other people to us, you confirm this. Please ensure that the other people are informed about this Privacy Policy.

We undertake to handle your personal data in a responsible manner. This is important to us. Insofar as we (or third parties on our behalf) collect and process personal data, we adhere to the requirements of the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection. Furthermore, we follow the specifications of the EU GDPR, insofar as we are legally required to do so. However, whether and to what extent these laws are applicable depends on the individual case.

In this Privacy Policy you will, in particular, be informed of:

• How you can contact us if you have any questions.
• Which of your personal data we will collect and process, and for what purpose.
• Which legal bases we rely on for processing.
• To whom we disclose your personal data.
• How we protect your data.
• Which cookies/tracking and other technologies we use.
• For how long we will process your personal data.
• Whitch rights you have with regard to your personal data.
• Which Privacy Policy applies in the relevant case.

Our contact details

Wirtschaftsförderung Luzern - Lucerne Business is responsible under data protection law for data processing in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions with regard to this Privacy Policy, our use of your data or your rights, you can contact us at:

Wirtschaftsförderung Luzern - Lucerne Business
Alpenquai 30
CH-6005 Lucerne
Switzerland

+41 41 367 44 00
info@luzern-business.ch

What data we collect and for what purpose

Visits to the website (log files created) and other electronic services
The web server automatically records data and information from the computer system of the computer accessing the website each time our website www.luzern-business.ch or www.lucerne-business.com is visited. In particular, this includes information concerning the browser type and the version used, the user’s operating system, the user’s internet service provider, the referrer URL (websites from which the user’s system accesses the website), websites that the user’s system calls up via the website, and the user’s IP address, date and time of access and the client file request (file name and URL). This data is stored in our system’s log files (or with third parties) together with other data and only collated for the purpose of statistical evaluation. 

If you use other electronic services, such as our Wi-Fi network, then we collect certain technical data. This technical data also includes the logs used to record use of our systems (log data). In some cases, we can also assign your end device (tablet, PC, smartphone, etc.) a unique identification number (ID). We use this data to ensure the connection is established seamlessly, convenient use of the website and other electronic services, evaluation of system security and stability, and for other administrative purposes. In general, this data does not enable us to draw any conclusions about your identity. However, in the scope of user accounts or registrations, it may be linked with other data categories – and therefore possibly with you personally.

Marketing and newsletters

We can use your name and your postal or email address(es) to render our services and to send newsletters, event information/invitations, publications and similar. The newsletter is sent using Mailchimp (https://mailchimp.com). You will receive our newsletter, as you are in contact with us. Your data will be stored on the software platform we use in order that we are able to track your opening and click behavior and so that we are able to contact you directly in individual cases. Insofar as we are legally required to do so, we will obtain your consent to this beforehand, except for if we have received your contact details as part of our services and you have not expressly refused to receive these types of marketing measures. If you no longer want to be contacted by us, you have the option of unsubscribing at any time using the relevant contact details provided. An unsubscribe link will be provided at the end of each email.

Insofar as we link to third-party websites for information, events, etc. and you visit these websites, the relevant privacy policies of the relevant website operators apply. We have no influence on these.

Contact via email

We provide you with the option of contacting us via the email address(es) published on our website, as well as via the contact form. In this case, we store the transmitted data. 

In some cases, digital means of communication are operated by companies located in the USA (e.g. LinkedIn (LinkedIn Privacy Policy). By using these digital means of communication, you agree to your data being transmitted to the USA, to your opening and click behavior being tracked and to us contacting you directly. 

In some cases, digital communication traffic (e.g. email, LinkedIn, etc.) will be unencrypted and unsecured. You bear the associated risks.

Contact forms

On our website, we provide you with the option of getting in contact with us and our experts. In this way, we can get in touch with you and handle your request. The data you enter in the input screen(s) will be transmitted to us by email and stored. By sending the contact form, you agree to us processing your data. You also confirm that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy. 

Applications

Our vacancies are published on external portals (including print media) and platforms. The relevant separate privacy policy stored there applies to the application process via external portals or platforms.

In the scope of business relationships

We process data pertaining to you that we receive in the scope of our business relationship with our customers, other business partners and other persons involved. In particular, this is contact details such as your title, first name, last name, gender, date of birth, address, email address, telephone number and other contact details and communication details such as exchanged communication content from emails, other written correspondence, telephone discussions, video conferences, etc. and details concerning the type, time and place of the communication.

Insofar as permitted, we also obtain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. commercial registers, media, internet, social media, etc.). In addition to data that you provide to us directly, this is data pertaining to you that we receive from third parties (authorities, credit information, banks, address dealers, other third parties), in particular details from public registers, in connection with administrative and judicial procedures, in connection with your professional functions and activities, details about you in correspondence and discussions with third parties, details that people surrounding you (e.g. family, advisors, legal representatives, employers) provide to us so that we can conclude or process contracts with you or involving you (e.g. references, powers of attorney), your address and, if necessary, any interests and additional sociodemographic data (for marketing).

Additional purposes

Processing in order to safeguard additional legitimate interests is considered an additional purpose. These additional purposes cannot be stated explicitly, as they depend on the individual case. 

Legal basis for data processing

In the scope of rendering our services and to fulfill contractual obligations

Data is processed for the purpose of rendering our services to our customers, including measures and support. Data collected in this manner will be used for purposes such as the overall performance of our service, including any subsequent warranty claims, technical administration, etc. 

In the scope of weighing up interests

Insofar as necessary and permitted, we process your data above and beyond the actual fulfillment of the contract in order to ensure our legitimate interests or those of third parties. These include:

• Consulting and exchanging data with information centers and other third parties (e.g. debt-collection register)
• Testing and optimizing needs assessment processes for the purpose of direct contact with the customer as well as collecting personal data from publicly accessible sources for customer acquisition
• Advertising or market and opinion research, insofar as you have not objected to the use of your data
• Exercising legal claims and defending legal disputes
• Ensuring IT security and IT operation
• Telephone recordings
• Preventing and investigating offenses
• Measures for business management and further developing services and products as well as the website

Based on your consent

Insofar as you have granted your consent to the processing of data for certain purposes, this processing is lawful based on your consent. You can withdraw consent that you have granted at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of the data processing that has occurred up until the consent is withdrawn.

Based on legal provisions or in the public interest

We are also subject to various legal obligations and we have to process your data in connection with these.

Data disclosure and transmission abroad

We will disclose your data to third parties within the scope of our business activities and for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy only if we are legally obligated to do so due to a court order or official regulations and if the disclosure is necessary for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims or for processing contracts and business activities or based on your consent. In particular, these third parties include the following categories of recipients:

• Processors such as providers, service providers for evaluating the benefits of the website (marketing purposes), service providers for IT services (data management, data storage, technical support, sending newsletters, etc.), service providers in the field of recruiting, talent management, HR or other services
• External business partners (e.g. partners, suppliers, banks, debt-collection agencies) and experts in connection with the contractual service 
• Industry organizations, associations, organizations and other committees 
• Media 
• Foreign and domestic authorities, official bodies or courts 
• Other parties in actual or potential legal proceedings 

We also process personal data in countries other than Switzerland. Your data may be processed both in the European Union and in any country in the world (including the USA). If the data protection level of the country where the third party performing processing is located is deemed inappropriate for Swiss conditions (including the USA), then we use suitable guarantees (e.g. standard contractual clauses) to ensure suitable data protection, insofar as there are no legal exceptions (e.g. your consent), the recipient is not already subject to legally recognized regulations (e.g. CH-USA Data Privacy Framework) to ensure data protection or we can rely on an exception clause. In some cases, these kinds of contractual precautions (guarantees) compensate for weaker legal protection or a lack of legal protection, but not all risks can be completely precluded (e.g. state access abroad).

Please also be aware that data that is exchanged via the internet is often forwarded via third-party states. Your data may therefore be sent abroad, even if both the sender and recipient are in the same country.

Data security

We make use of appropriate technical and organizational measures in the systems in order to protect data pertaining to you that is stored by us against loss, destruction, modification and unauthorized access by third parties. 

The technical safety measures include, for example, the encryption (including login data) and pseudonymization of data, logging, access restrictions and the storage of backups. 

Our security measures are continuously modified to keep up with technological developments. However, absolute protection cannot be guaranteed. 

Cookies/tracking tools and other technologies

Use of cookies

Our website uses cookies. Our interest in optimizing our website is considered a legitimate interest here. Cookies are text files that are stored in the internet browser or by the internet browser on your computer system. 

Cookies are used in order to make using our services more pleasant for you. We use session cookies in order to identify whether you have already visited individual pages on our website. These cookies are automatically deleted once you leave our site. Furthermore, we also use temporary cookies in order to ensure the website is user friendly. These cookies are stored on your end device for a certain specified period of time. If you visit our website again to use our services, it is automatically detected whether you have already visited the site and what inputs and settings you made, so that you do not have to enter these again.

We also use cookies to statistically record the use of our website and to evaluate it for you for the purpose of optimizing our services as well as, if necessary, in order to show information specifically tailored to you (online marketing). These cookies and pixels are automatically deleted after a relevant defined period of time.

The data collected in this manner will be pseudonymized by means of technical precautions. We are therefore no longer able to assign the data to the user accessing the website. The data is not stored along with other data. The information banner will inform you about the use of cookies for analysis purposes and will refer you to this Privacy Policy the first time you access our website. In connection with this, a note also appears that states how the storage of cookies can be prevented in your browser settings. If cookies are disabled for our website, the user may no longer be able to use all of the website functions in full.

The procedure for checking and deleting cookies depends on the browser you use. You can find information on this in your browser’s help menu (usually under the keyword “privacy”). 

In some cases and insofar as permitted, we also integrate visible and invisible image elements into our marketing emails. When these are called up from our servers, we can detect whether and when you opened the email so that we can measure and better understand how you use our services and we can better tailor these to you. You can block this in your email program.

By using our website, you agree to the use of these technologies. If you do not want this to occur, then you must adjust the relevant settings in your browser or email program.

Analysis tools

On our website, we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service from Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA, USA) and Google Ireland Ltd. (Google Building Gordon House, Barrow St, Dublin 4, Ireland); both together referred to as “Google.” Google Analytics uses cookies (text files) and similar technologies in order to record certain information concerning the behavior of individual users on or in the relevant website and the end device (tablet, PC, smartphone, etc.) used for this purpose, which therefore allows website use to be analyzed. 

The information about website use (including IP address) generated by these performance cookies is transferred to the Google server. Google sends us reports and, in this sense, can be considered our processor. However, Google also processes certain data for its own purposes. In certain circumstances, Google can draw conclusions about the identity of the website visitors due to the data collected and can therefore create personal profiles and link the data obtained to any user accounts these people have. Google can also forward this information to third parties insofar as this is legally required or the third parties process this data on behalf of Google. If you agree to the use of Google, you explicitly agree to this type of processing, which also includes the transmission of personal data to the USA and other states. 

You can find further information on data protection with Google Analytics here.

Google Maps

On our website, we use the Google Maps map service provided by Google Inc. By using this website, you agree to the recording, processing and use of automatically collected data by Google Inc., its representatives and third parties. 

You can find Google Maps' terms of service here.

Social Media

We use plug-ins from social networks such as YouTube and LinkedIn on our website. The relevant buttons/icons can be seen on our website. The elements are configured such that they are disabled by default. If you click on the buttons/icons, the relevant operators of the social networks can record that you are on our website, where you are located and can use this information for their own purposes. The relevant operator is responsible for processing your data in accordance with their privacy policy. We do not receive any information pertaining to you from them.

If you communicate with us via these kinds of social networks or comment on our content or repost it, we collect relevant information and process it in accordance with our Privacy Policy. 

When visiting our social media channels, data (e.g. regarding your user behavior) may also be transmitted directly to the relevant provider or collected by it and processed together with other data already known to it (e.g. for marketing and market research purposes and to personalize the platform content). You can find further information on data processing by social network providers, in which countries these providers process your data and your rights in the relevant social networks’ privacy policies:

YouTube: Privacy policy
LinkedIn: Privacy policy

You can also find further information in Google's privacy policy.

Duration of processing of your personal data

We only process your data provided that it is necessary for the relevant purpose and to fulfill our contractual and legal obligations, including legal retention requirements (generally 10 years) or if you have granted us your consent to do so. Furthermore, we process your data provided that we have a legitimate interest in storage. In particular, this may be the case if we require personal data to enforce or defend claims, for archiving purposes or in order to safeguard IT security. 

Your rights

You have several choices when using this website. You can decide to not enter any data at all by not filling out any of the relevant forms or data fields on our website, by blocking cookies and by not using any of the available personalized services. 

If you decide to enter personal data or provide it to us in the scope of our business relationship, then you have, in certain circumstances and insofar as this is provided for by applicable law, the right of information, data correction, data deletion, restriction of data processing, to withdraw your consent and, if necessary, the right to data portability and to object. Your rights are not absolute here. We reserve the right to apply the restrictions provided for under the law. We will inform you of this accordingly.

If you would like to exercise your rights against us, please provide relevant identification of who you are. 

Additionally, each data subject has the right to enforce their claims in court or to lodge a complaint with the responsible data protection authority. The responsible data protection authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (www.edoeb.admin.ch).

You can find a list of European data protection authorities here:
https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en

Reservation of right to make changes

This Privacy Policy does not form part of a contract with you. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time, in particular if we change our data processing procedures or if new legislation comes into force. The version published on this website is the relevant up-to-date version; earlier versions are replaced with the relevant latest version.

Last update: Lucerne, Switzerland, September 1, 2023