Disclaimer, privacy policy and copyright | Umweltbundesamt

A. Content of this Web site

The UBA accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, quality or actuality of the content of this Web site. Any liability claims against the UBA for material or immaterial damages that arise from the use or non-use of information available on this Web site or the use of erroneous or incomplete information available on this Web site shall be excluded insofar as no culpable act of gross negligence has been committed by the UBA. Our prices are non-binding and subject to confirmation. The UBA shall be entitled to modify any aspect of this Web site and/or its content in any way it sees fit, in whole or in part, without prior notification.

As far as the information provided here contains legal provisions, official notices, recommendations or information, it has been compiled with the greatest possible care. However, in the event of any ambiguities, only the current official version as published in the official promulgating organ intended for this purpose shall apply. Any legal notices, recommendations and information are not legally binding and do not constitute legal advice in individual cases. The information cannot and should not replace legal advice. Separate specialist legal advice should always be sought for specific legal questions. The mere use of this website does not constitute a contractual relationship. All legal disputes arising from or in connection with this website are subject exclusively to German law. The place of jurisdiction is the registered office of the German Environment Agency.

B. References and Links / Geoservices and Metadata

The UBA shall be liable for links on this Web site that are beyond the UBA’s control only insofar as the UBA has knowledge of the content of the relevant content and it would have been reasonable and technically possible for us to forestall the use of any such content that may be illicit. The UBA thus hereby expressly states that at the time any such link was created we had no knowledge that it was associated with any illicit Web content. Inasmuch as we have no control over the current or future design, content or copyright of any linked Web page, we hereby expressly repudiate any content of any linked page that was altered after the link in question was created. This applies to all links and references on this Web site, as well as any third party entry in any guest book, forum, link compendium and/or mailing list. In the event of illicit, erroneous or incomplete content, and in particular in connection with damages arising from the use or non-use of such information, the Web site owner to which the link in question pointed shall assume liability, and not the Web site owner that provided links to such content. Third party Web sites that can be accessed via external links may not be accessible to the disabled.

The maps on this website do not entail any recognition of borders or regions under international law. By law, the proprietary geographical services and meta-data offered by the UBA are available free of charge for online use and downloading (Gesetz über den Zugang zu digitalen Geodaten). The use of geographical data and geographical data services is governed by Verordnung zur Festlegung der Nutzungsbestimmungen für die Bereitstellung von Geodaten des Bundes (GeoNutzV) of 19 March 2013 (Bundesgesetzblatt 2013 Teil I Nr. 14).

C. Copyright and trademark rights

The contents published on these pages are generally subject to German copyright law.

In all publications, the UBA has made every effort to (a) respect copyright restrictions for all graphics, audio, video and text; or (b) use graphics, audio, video and text created by the UBA itself; or (c) use license-free graphics, audio, video and text. All protected marks and trademarks used on this Web site are protected by the applicable copyright laws pursuant to the intellectual property rights of their duly registered owners. The fact that registered trademarks are mentioned on this site should not be construed to mean that such trademarks are not protected by third party rights.

The copyright for published objects created by the German Environment Agency itself remains solely with the German Environment Agency and the staff working on the pages. Unless otherwise indicated, objects, graphics, sound documents, video sequences and texts created by the German Environment Agency itself on this website are not licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - non-commercial - 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise note, the use of data is permitted as defined in Section 12a (E-Government Act - EGovG). The data and metadata provided may be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes, in particular as follows:

1. copying, printing, presentation, adaptation, editing, and transmission to third parties;
2. merging with own data and third-party data to create independent, new datasets;
3. integration into internal and external business processes, products and applications in public and non-public electronic networks.

Any use of data must ensure that the German Environment Agency is included in the source citation. Changes, adaptations, new design or other modifications must be identified as such in the source citation.

D. Legal validity of this disclaimer

The disclaimer herein constitutes an element of the present Web site. Insofar as any provision of the present disclaimer is or becomes legally invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain fully enforceable.

E. Data privacy

I. Name and address of the person responsible

The German Environment Agency, represented by the President of the German Environment Agency, is responsible within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Federal Data Protection Act (GDPR) and other data protection regulations:

German Environment Agency

Präsidialbereich / Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Internet

Wörlitzer Platz 1

06844 Dessau-Roßlau

Phone: +49-340-2103-2416

E-mail: buergerservice [at] uba [dot] de

www.umweltbundesamt.de

II. Name and address of the data privacy officer

The German Environment Agency's data privacy officer is available to answer your questions and provide you with information on the subject of data protection. He is also the contact person for the enforcement of your rights as a party concerned:

Mr. Udo Langhoff

German Environment Agency

Wörlitzer Platz 1

06844 Dessau-Roßlau

Phone: +49-30-8903-5141

e-mail: udo [dot] langhoff [at] uba [dot] de

III. General information on data processing

Scope of the processing of personal data

We only process personal data of users of our website if this is necessary to provide a functional website as well as our contents and services (such as the dispatch of a newsletter or an ordered publication). The processing of our users' personal data takes place regularly only with their consent. An exception applies in those cases where the processing of the data is permitted by law.

Unless otherwise stated in this data protection declaration in individual cases, your data will not be passed on to third parties. Your data will not be processed or used for consulting, advertising or market research purposes. The data stored in the website's editorial system can only be viewed by the German Environment Agency's Internet editorial staff and the external service provider for the technical operation of the website (see imprint), with whom a data protection and confidentiality agreement has been concluded.

All information you send to the German Environment Agency using the online forms on this website is transmitted in encrypted form via a "Secure Socket Layer" (SSL) connection. Your personal data cannot be read by unauthorized persons during transmission on the Internet.

Legal basis for the processing of personal data

The legal basis for the processing of personal data is the consent of the data subject pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or one of the following legal provisions:

In the processing of personal data required for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR serves as the legal basis. This also applies to processing operations that are necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures.

Insofar as the processing of personal data is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation to which we are subject, this obligation serves as the legal basis in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR.

If processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us, Art. 6 (1) (e) GDPR serves as the legal basis. The legal basis for operating our website is Art. 6 (1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with the UBA Establishment Act as well as Art. 3 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and Art. 3 of the eGovG.

Data erasure and storage time

The personal data will be deleted or blocked as soon as the purpose of storage ceases to apply, i.e. a publication ordered has been sent out or a newsletter subscription cancelled.

Furthermore, data may be stored if this has been provided for by the European or national legislator in EU regulations, laws or other provisions to which the person responsible is subject. The data will also be blocked or deleted if a storage period prescribed by the aforementioned standards expires, unless there is a need for further storage of the data for the conclusion or fulfilment of a contract.

IV. Provision of the website and creation of log files

Description and scope of data processing

Every time you visit our website, our system automatically collects data and information from the computer system of the calling computer. 

The following data is collected:

1. Information about the browser type and version used
2. The user's operating system
3. The IP address of the user
4. Date and time of access
5. Websites from which the user's system reaches our website 
6. Websites accessed by the user's system via our website
7. Name of the file retrieved
8. Volume of data transmitted
9. Notification whether the request was successful

The data is also stored in the log files of our system. This data is not stored together with other personal data of the user.

Legal basis for data processing 

The legal basis for the temporary storage of data and log files is Art. 6 (1) e) GDPR in conjunction with the UBA Establishment Act as well as Art. 3 BDSG and Art. 3 eGovG.

Purpose of data processing

The temporary storage of the IP address by the system is necessary to enable the website to be delivered to the user's computer. For this the IP address of the user must remain stored for the duration of the session. 

The storage in log files is carried out in order to ensure the functionality of the website and thus to fulfil the task according to Art. 6 Para. 1 e) in conjunction with the UBA Establishment Act as well as Art. 3 BDSG and Art. 3 eGovG.

This data from the log file is not combined with any other stored data, as may arise when other offers are made in connection with the provision of personal data. A direct reference of the IP number from the log file to your person is not possible and is excluded. The IP address is only evaluated in the event of attacks on the German Environment Agency's Internet infrastructure, offences against morality and other illegal activities in connection with the use of the Internet offer. A conclusion from the IP number to your person is only possible through your dial-in provider through a public prosecutor's investigation.

Duration of storage

The data will be deleted as soon as they are no longer necessary to achieve the purpose for which they were collected. In the case of the collection of data for the provision of the website, this is the case when the respective session has ended. 

If the data is stored in log files, this is the case after 14 days at the latest. Further storage is possible. In this case the IP addresses of the users (as far as possible for the purpose) are deleted or alienated, so that an assignment of the calling client is no longer possible.

Possibility of objection and elimination

The collection of data for the provision of the website and the storage of data in log files is absolutely necessary for the operation of the website.

V. Newsletter (incl. press distribution list)

Description and scope of data processing

You can subscribe to free newsletters on our website at https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/service/newsletter. The data entered by you during registration will be transmitted to us from the input mask.

In addition, the following data is collected upon registration:

1. IP address of the calling computer
2. Date and time of registration

With your registration you agree to the processing of the data, reference is made to this data protection declaration.

In connection with data processing for the dispatch of newsletters, no data is passed on to third parties. The data will be used exclusively for sending the newsletter.

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for the processing of the data after your registration for the newsletter is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

Purpose of data processing

The purpose of collecting your e-mail address is to send you the newsletter. 

The collection of other personal data as part of the registration process serves to prevent misuse of the services or the e-mail address used.

Duration of storage

Your e-mail address (and, if given, your first name, surname and title) will be stored as long as your subscription to the newsletter is active. 

The IP address and the date and time of registration are usually deleted after a period of seven days.

Possibility of objection and elimination

You can cancel your subscription to newsletters at any time. For this purpose there is a corresponding link in every newsletter.

If you cancel a subscription, for example to a newsletter or press releases, all your personal data will be deleted from our database..

VI. Ordering Publications

Description and scope of data processing

At https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publications you can order (if available) printed publications or games. 

In addition to the data you have entered, the following data will be collected during registration:

1. IP address of the calling computer
2. Date and time of registration

By sending the order you agree to the processing of your data. Some of the shipping is carried out by the Citizen Service of the German Environment Agency, but in most cases by an external service provider, the company GVP Gemeinnützige Werkstätten Bonn. For this purpose, the personal data collected with your order will be handed over to GVP solely for the purpose of dispatch. 

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for processing the data after your order is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

Purpose of data processing

The collection of your postal address serves to deliver the order. The e-mail address is used for possible inquiries and the delivery of an order confirmation e-mail.

Duration of storage

The order data will be automatically deleted from the website's editorial system for 4 weeks in the event of transmission errors and enquiries.

Possibility of objection and elimination

The user has the possibility to revoke his consent to the processing of personal data at any time. Please contact our data protection officer. In such a case, your order cannot be shipped - if not yet completed. All personal data stored in the course of the order will be deleted in this case.

VII. Contact forms "Ask UBA" and "Press Contact" as well as e-mail contact

Description and scope of data processing

Two contact forms are available on our website which can be used for making electronic contact: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/press/press-contact for inquiries from journalists and https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/service/ask-uba for other inquiries. If you take advantage of this option, the data you enter in the input mask will be sent by e-mail to the German Environment Agency (Press Office or Citizen Service) and stored in the editorial system of the UBA website. 

At the time the message is sent, the following data is also stored:

1. The IP address of the user
2. Date and time of the request

By sending your request you agree to the processing of the data.

Alternatively, you can contact us by e-mail: for media inquiries to pressestelle [at] uba [dot] de, for other inquiries to buergerservice [at] uba [dot] de. In this case, your personal data transmitted with the e-mail will be stored. 

In this context, no data will be passed on to third parties without your separate consent. The data will be used exclusively for the processing of the conversation in the Press Office or in the Citizen Service of the German Environment Agency.

Legal basis for data processing 

The legal basis for processing data submitted via the contact form is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

The legal basis for processing data submitted via email is Art. 6 (1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with the Federal Environment Agency Establishment Act (UBA-Errichtungsgesetz), Art. 3 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), and Art. 3 of the eGovG.

Purpose of data processing

The processing of the personal data from the input mask serves us only for the treatment of the establishment of contact. In the event of contact by e-mail, this also constitutes the necessary legitimate interest in the processing of the data.

The other personal data processed during the sending process serve to prevent misuse of the contact form and to ensure the security of our information technology systems.

Duration of storage

The personal data collected via the contact form during the sending process will be automatically deleted from the editorial system of the UBA website for 4 weeks in the event of transmission errors and enquiries.

The IP addresses stored by the anti-spam module for detecting attacks are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

Your requests and our answers are stored in electronic files of the German Environment Agency in accordance with the guidelines for the processing and administration of documents in federal ministries. The storage period is up to eleven years.

Possibility of objection and elimination

You have the possibility to revoke your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. Please contact our data protection officer. In such a case, the conversation cannot be continued. All personal data stored in the course of contacting us will be deleted in this case.

Further information on communication by e-mail

Communication by e-mail can have security gaps. Emails sent to employees of the German Environment Agency can be stopped and read by experienced Internet users. If the German Environment Agency receives an e-mail from you (e.g. via the contact form), it is assumed that we are also entitled to reply by e-mail to this e-mail address. Otherwise we ask you to consider another way of communication (e.g. by post).

Caution with questionable e-mails: Fraudsters repeatedly try to install malware (e.g. viruses and Trojan horses) on foreign PCs via attachments or links in e-mails - by fomenting fears with content such as unpaid invoices or attracting attention with dramatic messages. Mistrust emails with lurid subject lines, dubious content or questionable origin and delete them immediately. Never open attachments or links in such emails. As a general rule, the German Environment Agency never sends files with the suffix".exe″ or".com″ attached. Please do not open such files and inform us best by telephone about such an e-mail. The German Environment Agency will never ask you to send us sensitive data such as bank details or passwords by e-mail or telephone.

VIII. Form “Helpful hints about our website?”

Description and scope of data processing

The online form for submitting suggestions for improvement to the website (https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/helpful-hints-about-our-website) deliberately does not request any personal data. The feedback is anonymous; there is no feedback from the German Environment Agency. If you have a question and would like to submit your contact details for an answer, please use one of the two contact forms or contact us by e-mail (see above).

At the time the message is sent, the following data is stored in addition to your entries:

1. The IP address of the user
2. Date and time of entry

By submitting the form you agree to the processing of the transmitted data.

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for the processing of data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

Purpose of data processing

The suggestions for improvement are evaluated by the German Environment Agency's Internet editorial staff to improve and further develop the website. For this purpose, they may also be passed on to the service provider commissioned to operate the UBA website in technical matters (see imprint).

Duration of storage

The data are used for long-term monitoring and are deleted without any specific time limit. The IP addresses stored by the anti-spam module ("mathematical question") for detecting attacks are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

Possibility of objection and elimination

This is not necessary because personal data is not collected or is deleted after 24 hours.

IX. Further forms (e.g. registration forms for events, surveys and votes)

Description and scope of data processing

Changing forms on the website of the German Environment Agency are offered, for example, for registration for events or for surveys and votes. 

At the time the message is sent, the following data is stored in addition to the data you have entered:

1. The IP address of the user
2. Date and time of entry

By submitting the form you agree to the processing of the transmitted data. 

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for the processing of data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

Purpose of data processing

The data transmitted via the registration form will be used for processing the event. If they are to be published in a list of participants, separate consent will be obtained in the form.

The purpose of surveys and votes results from the respective question. 

Duration of storage

The IP addresses stored by the anti-spam module ("mathematical question") for detecting attacks are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

Further data will be deleted from the editorial system of the UBA website at the end of the event, voting or survey.

Possibility of objection and elimination

You have the possibility to revoke your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. Please contact our data protection officer. All personal data stored in the course of sending the form will be deleted in this case.

X. “Rate as helpful" function

Description and scope of data processing

On many sub-pages of our website you have the possibility to rate the content of this page as helpful by clicking on the button "as helpful". Your IP address will be saved. 

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for the processing of data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

Purpose of data processing

On the one hand, this function serves to draw our users' attention to particularly helpful information. On the other hand, your evaluation helps us to continuously improve our website. Saving the IP address is necessary to prevent misuse of this function. Robots that automatically operate the function over and over again and thus falsify the result can be identified and excluded.

Duration of storage

The IP addresses are deleted after 24 hours.

XI. Videos

Videos from the video platform Youtube of the provider Google are integrated on the website of the German Environment Agency. To protect your data, only thumbnails are displayed at first. Only if you agree, a connection to YouTube is established and the video is loaded and played.

In the privacy policy of google you will find further information about the storage of data. It also describes settings you can use to manage your privacy on the Google services in your Google Account. We would like to point out at this point that the terms of use of the Youtube service and its operators are not subject to the control of the German Environment Agency.

If you agree in our query that all videos are generally loaded immediately, a cookie must be stored to save this data protection setting. You will find further information on this in the chapter "Use of cookies" above in this data protection declaration.

XII. Map services

Maps based on the OpenStreetMap map service are available on some subpages of the German Environment Agency website. This is an external service of the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF, United Kingdom). We would like to point out that when you visit these subpages, personal data (browser fine-print, IP address) may be transmitted and cookies may be set on your computer. For more information, please see OSMF's Privacy Notice and OSMF's Privacy FAQ. We would like to point out at this point that the terms of use of the OpenStreetMap service and its operators are not subject to the control of the German Environment Agency. 

XIII. Web analysis by Matomo (formerly PIWIK)

Scope of the processing of personal data

We use the open-source software tool Matomo (formerly PIWIK) on our website to collect information for the continuous improvement of our website using web statistics. The software evaluates the web server's log files. No personal data is collected or stored. And there is no access to end-user devices unless the user requests specific functions that require the setting of technically necessary cookies (see next section).

Use of cookies

Description, scope and purpose of data processing

Our website only uses cookies that are technically necessary for separately requested services, about which we inform users. Cookies are text files that are stored in the Internet browser or by the Internet browser on the user's computer system. When a user visits a website, a cookie may be stored on the user's operating system. This cookie contains a characteristic string that allows the browser to be uniquely identified when the website is visited again.

Technically necessary cookies:

1. When you order publications, a cookie must be set so that the items in the shopping cart remain stored until the end of the ordering process. The cookie is automatically deleted after 23 days. The cookie contains the following information: an identification number (ID). Furthermore, a cookie is set when the shopping cart is in use. The cookie contains the number 1 and is automatically deleted after 1 day.
2.  if you click on "Permanently agree" in our query for videos and thus indicate that generally all videos are to be loaded immediately, a cookie must be set to save this setting (see chapter "Videos" in this privacy policy). The cookie is automatically deleted after 3,000 days. The cookie contains the following information: the number 1.
3. if you use our high contrast mode, a cookie is set to keep the mode set even when you move between different sub-pages of our website. The cookie is automatically deleted when you return to Normal Contrast mode. The cookie contains the following information: the number 1. storage location: LocalStorage

These cookies are necessary for our website to function and can therefore not be turned off by you. By using our website you agree to this. The user data collected by technically necessary cookies will not be used to create user profiles.

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for the processing of personal data using cookies for technically necessary cookies is Art. 6 Para. 1 e) GDPR in conjunction with the UBA Establishment Act as well as Art. 3 BDSG and Art. 3 eGovG.

Duration of storage, possibility of objection and removal

Cookies are stored on the user's computer and then transmitted to our website. Therefore, as a user, you have full control over the use of cookies. You can deactivate or restrict the transmission of cookies by changing the settings in your internet browser. Cookies that have already been stored can be deleted at any time. This can also be done automatically. If cookies are deactivated for our website, you may no longer be able to fully use all of the website's functions. You can find out when cookies that have been set are automatically deleted again through our settings above in the information on the individual cookies in the section "Description, scope and purpose of data processing".

Your rights

If your personal data are processed, you are affected within the meaning of the basic EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and you are entitled to the following rights vis-à-vis the person responsible. Please contact the German Environment Agency's Data Protection Commissioner (see above).

Right to information (Art. 15 DSGVO)

You can ask the person in charge to confirm whether personal data concerning you will be processed by us. 

If such processing has taken place, you can request the following information from the person responsible:

1. the purposes for which the personal data are processed;
2. the categories of personal data being processed;
3. the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data concerning you have been or are still being disclosed;
4. the planned duration of the storage of the personal data concerning you or, if specific information on this is not possible, criteria for determining the storage period;
5. the existence of a right to rectification or deletion of personal data concerning you, a right to limitation of processing by the controller or a right to object to such processing; 
6. the existence of a right of appeal to a supervisory authority;
7. any available information on the origin of the data if the personal data are not collected from the data subject;

According to Art. 89 (2) GDPR, this right to information may be restricted to the extent that it is likely to make the realisation of the research or statistical purposes impossible or seriously compromises it and the restriction is necessary to fulfil the research or statistical purposes.

Right to correction (Art. 16 DSGVO)

You have the right to request rectification and/or completion from the data controller if the processed personal data concerning you are incorrect or incomplete. The person responsible shall make the correction without delay.

Your right to rectification may be restricted according to Art. 89 (2) GDPR to the extent that it is likely to make the realization of the research or statistical purposes impossible or seriously compromises it and the restriction is necessary to fulfill the research or statistical purposes.

Right to limitation of processing (Art. 18 DSGVO)

Under the following conditions, you may request that the processing of personal data concerning you be restricted:

1. if you dispute the accuracy of the personal data concerning you for a period that enables the data controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data;
2. the processing is unlawful and you refuse to delete the personal data and instead request that the use of the personal data be restricted;
3. the data controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but you do need them to assert, exercise or defend legal claims, or
4. if you have filed an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR and it has not yet been determined whether the legitimate reasons of the person responsible outweigh your reasons.

If the processing of personal data concerning you has been restricted, this data – apart from being stored– may only be processed with your consent or for the asserting, exercise, or defense of legal claims or to protect the rights of another natural or legal person, or for reasons of important public interest of the Union or a Member State.

If the restriction of processing has been restricted in accordance with the above-mentioned conditions, you will be informed by the person responsible before the restriction is lifted.

Your right to restriction of processing may be restricted in accordance with Art. 89 (2) GDPR to the extent that it is likely to make the realization of the research or statistical purposes impossible or seriously compromises it and the restriction is necessary to fulfill the research or statistical purposes.

Right to cancellation (Art. 17 DSGVO)

a) Duty to delete

1. The personal data concerning you are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed.
2. You revoke your consent, on which the processing was based pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a or Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a GDPR, and there is no other legal basis for the processing.
3. You file an objection against the processing pursuant to Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate reasons for the processing, or you file an objection against the processing pursuant to Art. 21 para. 2 GDPR.
4. The personal data concerning you have been processed unlawfully.

The deletion of personal data relating to you is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the data controller is subject.

Reference is made to the restrictions on the obligation to delete data under Section 35 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

b) Information to third parties

If the data controller has made the personal data concerning you public and is obliged to delete it pursuant to Art. 17 para. 1 GDPR, he shall take appropriate measures, including technical measures, taking into account the available technology and the implementation costs, to inform data processors who process the personal data that you as the data subject have requested the deletion of all links to this personal data or of copies or replications of this personal data.

Reference is made to the restrictions in Section 35 BDSG.

c) Exceptions

The right to cancellation does not exist insofar as the processing is necessary

1. to exercise freedom of expression and information;
2. for the performance of a legal obligation required for processing under the law of the Union or of the Member States to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority conferred on the controller;
3. for reasons of public interest in the field of public health pursuant to Art. 9 para. 2 lit. h and i and Art. 9 para. 3 GDPR;
4. for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes pursuant to Art. 89 para. 1 GDPR, insofar as the law referred to under a) is likely to make it impossible or seriously impair the attainment of the objectives of such processing, or
5. to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.

Right to information

If you have exercised your right to have the data controller correct, delete or limit the processing, he/she is obliged to inform all recipients to whom the personal data concerning you have been disclosed of this correction or deletion of the data or restriction on processing, unless this proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort.

The person responsible shall have the right to be informed of such recipients.

Right to data transferability (Art. 20 DSGVO)

You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to the person responsible in a structured, common and machine-readable format. In addition, you have the right to pass this data on to another person in charge without obstruction by the person in charge to whom the personal data was provided, provided that

1. processing is based on consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR or Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a DSGVO or on a contract pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR and
2. processing is carried out by means of automated methods.

In exercising this right, you also have the right to request that the personal data concerning you be transferred directly from one data controller to another data controller, insofar as this is technically feasible. The freedoms and rights of other persons must not be affected by this.

The right to data transferability does not apply to the processing of personal data necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. However, according to Article 20 (3) Sentence 2 GDPR, this right does not apply if the data processing serves the performance of public tasks.

Right of objection (Art. 21 DSGVO)

You have the right to object at any time for reasons arising from your particular situation to the processing of your personal data in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e or f GDPR. 

The data controller no longer processes the personal data concerning you, unless he can prove compelling reasons worthy of protection for the processing, which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.

You have the possibility to exercise your right of objection in connection with the use of Information Society services by means of automated procedures using technical specifications, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC.

You also have the right to object to the processing of personal data concerning you for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes pursuant to Art. 89 para. 1 GDPR for reasons arising from your particular situation.

Your right of objection may be restricted to the extent that it is likely to make the realization of the research or statistical purposes impossible or seriously compromises it, and the restriction is necessary to fulfill the research or statistical purposes. According to Art. 36 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), this right does not apply to a public authority if there is a compelling public interest in the processing that outweighs the interests of the data subject, or if a legal provision requires the processing.

Right to revoke the data protection declaration of consent (Art. 7 DSGVO)

You have the right to revoke your data protection declaration of consent at any time. The revocation of consent shall not affect the legality of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent until revocation.

Right of appeal to a supervisory authority (Art 77 DSGVO)

Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right of appeal to a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State where you reside, work or suspect of infringement, if you believe that the processing of personal data concerning you is contrary to the GDPR. 

The supervisory authority to which the complaint has been lodged shall inform the complainant of the status and results of the complaint, including the possibility of a judicial remedy under Article 78 GDPR.

In the case of the German Environment Agency, the responsible supervisory authority is the Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information).

F. Use of personal data published on our website

The misuse of data from the imprint, contact boxes or comparable information from contact data published by us such as postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses is not permitted. We expressly reserve the right to take legal action against the senders of so-called spam mails in the event of violations of this prohibition.

G. The German Environment Agency in social networks

The German Environment Agency is also active on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Mastodon, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky and Youtube. We invite you to visit our pages on these sites to obtain information concerning our activities and to interact with us. That said, we hereby expressly bring to users’ attention the fact that we have no control either over the terms of use of such services or the owners of such services. While we will diligently handle any personal data on such platforms, we cannot be held liable for any action taken by any owner of any social network site or by any third party.

We hereby expressly draw your attention to the fact that social-network owners that we use for communication purposes archive data outside of Germany and use it for commercial purposes. We have no knowledge as to the scope of such data or the term of its archiving. However, you are legally entitled to ask any such owner to allow you to view your personal data. We deliberately forego any use of the functions that allow for the tallying of Tweets and Likes on social media Websites. In lieu of such functions, we have opted for an alternative modality whereby our Website is not directly linked to such social media sites and any possibility that any data can be sent to any owner of any social media Website is excluded. We solely tally the number of times a user clicks on “Like” in respect of any item on our Website or tweets such item. We then compare these tallies with data from social media services. As these tallies are effected every ten minutes, they may be delayed. In no case do we store any user data, and in particular any user IP address.

For us the debate surrounding social media data privacy is a very serious matter. We monitor this debate as well as the audits that are conducted by the competent authorities, and continuously seek ways to improve our social media presence in keeping with data privacy laws. We recommend that users also give some thought as to which personal data they wish to disclose on social media. We also recommend that social media users regularly check the data privacy settings on such Websites.

H. Administrative offence proceedings

The Federal Environment Agency uses personal data to fulfill its obligations in the context of administrative offense proceedings. The purpose of this data processing is to detect, investigate, prosecute, and punish administrative offenses within the scope of the Federal Environment Agency's responsibilities.

In principle, as a data subject you have the right to information in accordance with § 57 BDSG and, under certain conditions, to rectification and erasure or restriction of processing in accordance with § 58 BDSG.

The German Environment Agency, represented by the President, Wörlitzer Platz 1, 06844 Dessau-Roßlau, telephone: +49-340-2103-2416, fax: +49-340-2103-2285, buergerservice [at] uba [dot] de is responsible for data processing within the meaning of Section 46 No. 7 BDSG. You can reach our data protection officer, Mr. Udo Langhoff, at the e-mail address udo [dot] langhoff [at] uba [dot] de and the telephone number 030/8903-5141.

Without prejudice to other legal remedies, you can lodge a complaint with the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection if you believe that your rights have been violated in the processing of your personal data by public bodies for the purposes specified in Section 45 BDSG.

You can contact the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information at poststelle [at] bfdi [dot] bund [dot] de, www.bfdi.de, Graurheindorfer Str. 153, 53117 Bonn, Tel. 0228/997799-0.