Privacy



Privacy Statement

Bosta VZW ASBL NPO

Websites: https://www.bosta.org https://www.responsible-office.be

Registered offices: Spaarbekkenstraat 11, 1130 Brussels Belgium

VAT number: BE 0425.419.729

Version: 1/11/2023 Only the Dutch version is binding


1. Your privacy is important

Your privacy is important to us. We aim to process your personal data with integrity and in a legal, correct, and transparent way. In this document, our privacy policy, we explain how the processing is done and which personal data are involved. The term processing includes collecting, recording, organizing, storing, updating, modifying, retrieving, consulting, using, distributing, or making available, compiling, combining, archiving, deleting or ultimately destroying in any way.

We are referring to you as a customer of our company, as a prospective customer, as a beneficiary, or to another concerned party or a person within another organization that has dealings with us.


1.1 Preliminary remarks

We advise you to read this document carefully, so you know why and for what purposes we process your personal data. It also lists your rights and how to exercise them.

We may adjust our privacy policy. The most recent version can be retrieved from our website.

We therefore recommend that you reread our privacy policy from time to time to understand the changes.

For more information about privacy legislation in Belgium, please visit this website www.dataprotectionauthority.be.


1.2 Who processes your data? Who are we?

BOSTA is active in Belgium and is responsible for the processing of your personal data.


1.3 How can you reach us?

If you have any questions about your privacy or if you want to change your privacy settings or exercise your right, you can contact us via regular mail at the address of our registered offices or via mail using the dedicated web form on our website.


1.4 The leading supervisory authority of BOSTA

For BOSTA, the Belgian supervisory authority is the leading authority:

Data protection authority

Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussel

+32 (0)2 274 48 00 / Contact@apd-gba.be


2. Your right to privacy

You have many rights when it comes to processing your personal data. When BOSTA requests your permission, you can always revoke that permission.

The implementation of your rights in our systems and procedures takes place no later than 30 days after receiving your application.  If for any reason this term cannot be met, we will inform you before the expiry of the original period.


2.1 Right of access

You have the right to view the personal data we process about you, the purpose of their processing, where we have retrieved the data and who receives the data.

You can also find out how long we keep the data, whether the data is used in automated decision-making or whether we intend to send data to a country outside the European Union.

We will supply the requested information in writing or digitally within a reasonable time.


2.2 Right to rectification/completion

It is possible that the data we process from you is not or no longer accurate. You can always request to have the incorrect data rectified or supplemented with the missing data.


2.3 Right to erasure

If you believe we have no legitimate reason for processing the personal data, you may request these personal data to be erased. This request for the deletion of personal data may be refused by BOSTA, when justified. For example, when exercising or substantiating a legal claim or because of a legal obligation to maintain records of certain data.


2.4 Right to restriction of processing

You can request restriction of personal data processing if you suspect the data to be incorrect, their processing to be unlawful or if you do not agree that we are processing the data in our legitimate interest (see article 3.3). We will honor this request unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, for example to prevent fraud and potential defaults.


2.5 Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint against the processing of your personal data, including profiling. Processing is stopped immediately, unless it is required for compliance with social and fiscal legislation, for representing the interests of a third party or lodging, exercising, or substantiating of a legal claim.


2.6 Right to data portability

You have the right to request your personal data to be transmitted directly to a third party.


2.7 Right to lodge a complaint

If you do not agree with our point of view, you can address the Belgian Data Protection Authority, where you can also lodge a complaint. The contact details can be found in 1.4.


2.8 Identification of the applicant

You can exercise the implementation of your rights to the processing of your personal data by written request to the address of our registered offices.

In exercising your rights always be as a specific as possible. This will allow us to process your request correctly. To prevent someone else from exercising your rights, we need to verify your identity as best we can. The application should therefore always contain a document that proves that the identity of the applicant matches your identity. You can do this by attaching a copy of your identity card to the application. Make sure, however, that the photo and number on your identity card (etc.) have been blacked out, for privacy protection reasons. If we believe the submitted document does not provide sufficient proof, you will be informed of this. We reserve the right not to respond to the request until sufficient evidence has been submitted.


3. Why do we want to process your personal data?

3.1 BOSTA is required to comply with legal obligations

We are legally required to process your personal data in specific cases. We list the most important ones; tax law, commercial law.

We may be compelled to provide personal data to the authorities or other third parties. For example, when we are legally required to or for the performance of a public service task.


3.2 BOSTA must be able to execute its contract with you

As a member you call on our services. To guarantee the correct execution of our agreement, we must process and manage these contracts for administration, accounting, and operational purposes.

This also applies when you’re a client and/or supplier of BOSTA. In this case, too, we need to respect the contract and process and manage the suppliers for administration, accounting, and operational purposes.


3.3 BOSTA must be able to function as a company with respect to the organization of events and communication

As a membership organization, we have several legitimate interests that form the basis for the processing of personal data. We strive to maintain a good balance between your right to privacy and the legitimate interests of BOSTA. Should you still have objections to the processing on this basis, you may lodge a complaint against this processing.

BOSTA organizes a trade show, the Bosta Paper Show, which aims to bring together its members with their customers or prospective clients and several member meetings. It is possible that photos or movies, taken to capture the mood at these events, may appear on the website. It is also possible that a participant or visitor of these events appears recognizably in these photographs. We process these personal data as part of our company’s legitimate business interest. In case you do not want footage on which you appear to be published on our website, please let us know. We will then remove this from our website.


3.4 BOSTA does not sell your personal data

We do not sell, rent out or pass on your personal data to third parties for their own use.


4. Which personal data do we process and for what purposes?

4.1 From our business relations

Our business relations are our customers, suppliers, and prospects. BOSTA processes the personal data of concerned parties who work for companies we do business with. The purpose for this processing is to provide information about our services and to maintain business relationships.

To contact and identify you within the framework of our customer and supplier management, we process the following data: name, first name, address, title, phone and/or mobile phone number, language, e-mail address, VAT, and bank account number.


4.2 From our members

Our members are companies that are active in the school and office supplies industry to identify you and communicate with you as a member, we process the following personal data: name, first name, address, title, phone number, mobile phone number, e-mail address, VAT number and bank account number. These data also appear on our website where they have been published with your permission, obviously.


4.3 From our prospective members

BOSTA screens the market for school and office supplies at very regular intervals. BOSTA approaches non-member companies to become part of the organization. We process the following personal data of these prospective members: name, first name, phone and/or mobile phone number, e-mail address and title, language, BTW and bank account number.


4.4 From our registered users on the Responsible Office website

BOSTA manages this informative website. Its purpose is to better coordinate the supply and demand of sustainable, environmentally friendly office and school supplies. Registered users can store their favorite products, download information about these favorites and contact a manufacturer or importer’s contact person directly. We only send news to registered users unless they have unsubscribed from the newsletter. For that purpose, we process the following personal data: name, e-mail address and function within the registered user’s organization.


5. About sharing and storing your personal data

5.1 With whom do we share your personal data?

We only share your data with persons who have received our explicit permission if they need this information to perform their tasks. These persons will process your data pursuant to the agreement under which we have received them from you.

We rely on various processing companies for the processing of personal data. These are our subcontractors who process personal data at our request. BOSTA only works with processing companies who can guarantee the same level of technical and operational safety. We will only share your data if we are required to do so by law or government order.


5.2 We do not store your data indefinitely

BOSTA uses your personal data with a very clear and specific purpose. When this goal has been achieved, the data are erased.

The starting point for maintaining your personal data is the legal retention period.

Initially, we store the personal data of customers, suppliers, prospects, and registered users for a period of 10 years. If there has been a new contact within this period, another 10-year period begins from that point onwards.