Introduction
The Veolia Environmental Trust (‘us’/’we’/’our’/’the Trust’) provide funding through The Landfill Communities Fund, this is a ‘tax credit scheme enabling operators of landfill sites in England and Northern Ireland to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs)’ (Source: ENTRUST). The Trust receives contributions from Veolia (a landfill operator) in order to enable funds to be distributed to qualifying community and environmental projects.
We are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number Z683057 and are committed to ensuring the safeguarding, security and privacy of individuals’ information, and are dedicated to compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
This statement explains an individual’s data rights and protections under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). It should be noted that under the UK GDPR, sole traders are given the same rights and freedoms as individuals and therefore this policy refers to both individuals and sole traders.
Our Privacy Policy is aimed to provide transparency, to be clear and concise about what personal details we require, why we need them, how it will be used, who it is shared with and your rights.
What is personal information
Personal data means:
“‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person”. (Source: ICO).
- ‘Data controller’: this is us, the Veolia Environmental Trust and we determine why and how your personal data is used, as described in this statement
- ‘Data subject’: this is you
- ‘Data processor’: this is an organisation that processes data on behalf of us
Why we collect and use your data
Legitimate interest is the legal basis for processing your data. We use your personal data to enable us to:
- assist you with a funding query
- process your grant application
- process and administer an awarded grant
- make payments
- complete required post completion compliance inspections
- assist in the press release or an event relating to your awarded grant
- meet our governance and regulatory obligations
Your personal details are only those you provide to us and are used in ways you would reasonably expect for us to remain in contact with you regarding; a general enquiry, applying for and the funding of a project, and ensuring post compliance of the project in line with the Landfill Communities Fund Scheme.
Without the personal data set out in this statement, we would be unable to assist you with making an application for a grant or compliantly processing your successful application, grant payment and post completion regulatory requirements.
Why do we require consent
Consent may be required when you; as a member of the public, make an enquiry, as an applicant, begin and/or submit a grant application to us. The contact information you provide may fall under a special category of data, this will only be where your name and any organisational details can infer your:
- race
- ethnic origin
- politics
- religion
You will be asked for your consent as part of your application.
If you have provided the Trust with your consent you may withdraw this by emailing lorraine.womack@veolia.com
Processing your information
The personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:
- to communicate with you by email, letter, phone or through the grants management system regarding a received enquiry for funding
- to submit your application
- to be able to assess your application for compliance and to gain further information required
- to be able to process your grant application and gain further information required for a funding decision
- to be able to process your grant award compliantly
- to obtain, record and process required information for regulatory requirements, after your project has completed (if required)
- to process and complete the Contributing Third Party requirements
- arrange representatives to attend your events or complete asset visits This list is not exhaustive.
If you begin or submit an application and you are subsequently successful in being awarded a grant, become a Contributing Third Party, or are a preferred supplier of the project works, you may be required to supply all or some of the personal details outlined below, this is to allow us to communicate with you regarding the funding application.
We may ask for your home address to provide us with a separate contact address to the organisation, to provide assurance of contact with you should we not be able to send correspondence or make contact with the project organisational address. As part of the compliance process we may need to confirm the named parties are separate to the organisation address, and we may use home addresses as part of our person-verification process.
The details we may request regarding your application or grant could include some or all of the following:
- title
- first name
- surname
- job title
- position within the organisation
- home and/or work address
- home and/or work phone number
- personal and/or email address
- affiliation/membership to an organisation
- photographs/videos of the project site
- online account username
This list is not exhaustive.
As part of the application process we may request one or more of the the following to be provided and/or completed:
- a First and Second Contact Details form
- an Access Statement
- governing documents
- lease documents
- evidence of community support
- tender/quotation details
- videos/photos
- secured funding details
- Finance Agreement Declaration form
The information provided within the above may contain personal data and is required to ensure the application for funding that is made to us is compliant and within the regulations of the Landfill Communities Fund scheme.
Tenders, invoices and/or quotations from third party contractors and suppliers will also be required both as part of the application and funding process and as a charity requiring the procurement of goods and/or services directly, as such personal details may be obtained and used.
If you are offered a grant then we will ask for details of a second contact, the contractors/suppliers approached and of the preferred contractors/suppliers used, to show value for money has been accounted for within the project’s procurement procedure.
If you share someone else’s personal information with us, you need to let them know and give them a copy of the What you need to know about – Sharing Data.docx statement to ensure you comply with data protection laws in the UK.
If you make initial contact with us by letter, we will use your personal details from the correspondence such as your name, address or contact number to communicate with you regarding your query. Any correspondence will be saved electronically and the original documentation will be securely disposed of.
From time to time the Veolia Environmental Trust may carry out research or request your participation, for example for feedback, surveys, in workshop and forum discussions and/or partnership and volunteering opportunities. In these circumstances the Trust will use the contact information you have provided to us, the contact will be targeted. Your contact details will not be published or shared without your prior consent.
If you are aged 18 or under and provide your personal details to us for reasons outlined above, parent/guardian permission must be sought in advance and provided to us. Please contact us should you need assistance in understanding our Privacy Statement before providing any personal information.
Sharing your information
All project applications are made, accessed, reviewed and processed through a cloud-based solution called Optimy, where your personal data is stored within your user account. The Optimy solution is managed and operated by a third party. Optimy are a company based in Belgium and are fully committed to GDPR, its principles and creating a cloud-based solution of ‘privacy by design’ https://www.optimy.com/en/company/privacy
As part of the application process you will be required where applicable to share with us the details of the landowner (where applicable) and contractor/supplier information. Where the contractor/supplier is a sole trader; in some instances, their personal data may be shared with us. The personal data in relation to this will be held within Optimy. Any personal data supplied to us by you may be shared with the scheme’s regulator ENTRUST to ensure your projects’ and our legal compliance, upon their request.
If you as an applicant are successful in being awarded a grant, a Contributing Third Party Agreement may need to be put in place between the Contributing Third Party and the Landfill Operator.
The Contributing Third Party, whether an individual or otherwise, will be required to provide us with a signed Contribution Third Party Declaration form, which includes confirming an organisation/individuals (usually being their place of work), name, address, email and telephone number. This is required to ensure the Contributing Third Party is compliant with our regulators’ requirements and for us to maintain communication with the Contributing Third Party. This form and its contents are viewed, retained by us and stored within Optimy.
A Contributing Third Party Agreement will then be put in place and, where an individual is the contributor, it will state their name and address details. This agreement is shared with the Landfill Operator, in order for the agreement to be signed by both parties to release the award and to allow the Landfill Operator to report to the scheme’s regulator as and when required. A copy of the fully signed agreement is retained by us and the Landfill Operator.
Personal details may be shared with:
- the Trusts Trustees for the purpose of reviewing your grant application
- Veolia employees (the Landfill operator) for the purpose of attending events, publicity and for the Contributing Third Party requirement,
- ENTRUST, the schemes regulator for the purposes ensuring compliance of your grant, publicity and/or attending events as representatives of the Trust and the Landfill Communities Fund, organising compliance visits to your projects following its completion
Website and social media
Security and performance
We use a third party service to help maintain the security and performance of our website. To deliver this service it processes the IP addresses of visitors to our website.
Social media
We may use Twitter(X), LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and/or Blue Sky to comment on a project event or re-post any that we have received, these may also be posted on our website. Only re-posts may include photos that include individuals, the Trust will not produce posts that contain any individual details.
Retention of your details
We will retain your information for as long as we need it, for the purposes for which it was acquired and in order to remain in compliance with our regulators. Once the information is no longer required it will be deleted or destroyed either directly by us or a trusted service provider.
Your rights
GDPR provides the following rights for you as an individual:
You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of their personal data. This information is contained within our Privacy Statement and is reviewed on a regular basis.
Under Data Protection law you have rights related to how we protect and look after your personal information. You have the right to ask us for your personal information that we hold and process about you. This is known as a subject access request.
You have the right for any personal information we hold to be updated if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
The right to erasure ‘right to be forgotten’
You have the right to request that your personal data be erased, where:
- the personal data we hold is no longer necessary for the purpose for which we originally collected or processed it for;
- you object to the processing of your data and there is no overriding legitimate interest to continue this processing.
You will receive a response to your request within one month. The right to restrict processing
You have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. You will receive a response to your request within one month. If a decision is taken to lift the restriction you will be informed before the restriction is lifted.
You have the right to receive your personal data and store it for further personal use, portability entitles you:
- receive a copy of your personal data; and/or
- have your personal data transmitted from one controller to another controller.
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data on the basis of legitimate interest. You will receive a response to your request within one month.
Automated individual decision-making
We do not make any decisions based on your personal data.
The rights set out above may apply in limited circumstances, and we may not always be able to comply with your request to exercise these rights.
Changes to notice
We may make any changes to this privacy notice at any time. If we make any substantial changes we will provide a new Privacy Notice.
Contacting us
If you are unhappy with the way we handle your personal information, please contact us at the address below. If you wish to exercise any of your rights, make a complaint or require any information relating to our Privacy Statement please do so in writing by either: logging into your online account and starting a ‘Conversation’ with us https://apply.veoliatrust.org/en/
- by emailing us at UK.Trust@veolia.com
- by post to:
The Veolia Environmental Trust Kingswood Drive
Tel: 0203 567 6820
If you have a complaint about the way we have handled your information, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office who is the relevant authority in the UK.
Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House
Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number
Fax: 01625 524 510
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling
This Privacy Statement was last updated December 2025.