This statement discloses the privacy policy of TopTen USA, Inc. (TopTen).  TopTen reserves the right to collect Personal Information from visitors to the domains toptenusa.org and toptenusa.com. "Personal Information" is any information that allows one person to be identified or contacted by another, including -- but not limited to -- information about or relating to that person's name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.

Visitor Consent

By visiting our Web Sites, you give TopTen permission to process your Personal Information according to this Privacy Policy. Personal Information may be processed in the country where it was collected, as well as in countries where privacy laws may be less stringent, including the United States.

General Security

TopTen takes reasonable precautions to prevent the loss, misuse, and unauthorized alteration of Personal Information under our control. In addition, TopTen servers are protected by a firewall. Yet technical mistakes are possible, and TopTen cannot fully eliminate every security risk associated with gathering Personal Information on our Web Sites.

Information We Collect

When you access any part of our Web Sites, our Web server software automatically logs information provided by your network connection and Web browser software, including the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your network connection and the type of Web browser and operating system that you are using. Our Web server may also log the URL of the file that you are requesting, the current date and time, and the URL of the last Web page requested by your Web browser.

TopTen analyzes this aggregated information to learn more about how visitors use our Web Site, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to modify and improve the site, to track visitor movement, and to gather general demographic information for reporting and sponsorship purposes. We do not attempt to match the Personal Information of individual visitors to information logged by our server.

When a visitor subscribes to one or more of TopTen’s newsletters, we ask only for an email address, which we retain so that we can send the newsletter automatically. Your email address information may be retained on servers maintained by Constant Contact, Inc. Constant Contact will store the information on our behalf and it will only be used to send you newsletters. 

From time to time, TopTen receives Personal Information about visitors of its Web Sites via offline sources like telephone or fax. We may use this in combination with visitor information collected online in order to improve the services we provide.

Cookies

TopTen uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the Web site analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Web site (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Web site, compiling reports on Web site activity for Web site operators and providing other services relating to Web site activity and Internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you will not be able to take advantage of some of the functionality of the Web site. 

By using this Web site, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

TopTen may also utilize cookies to improve the user experience. 

When We May Contact You

TopTen regularly sends email alerts to let visitors know about new products on our TopTen lists and developments in the area of energy efficiency. We may also email TopTen users about services offered by outside partner organizations. These emails will always originate from TopTen, not from the partner organization.

How To Opt Out

To unsubscribe from email updates from TopTen, you can remove your name from the mailing list by following the instructions at the bottom of the email message.

Send To A Friend & Refer A Nonprofit

When a visitor uses the "Send to a Friend" function on TopTen Web site, we retain the friend's name and email address. TopTen will send the friend an email message inviting him or her to visit the Web Site. TopTen stores this information temporarily for the sole purpose of sending this one-time message.

Updating Your Information

If your Personal Information changes, or if you no longer wish to be receive our newsletter, TopTen will endeavor to correct, update, or remove the personal data that was provided to us. You can send a request to change, correct, or remove information to privacy@toptenusa.org or by following the instructions at the bottom of any email message. 

Surveys & Case Studies

We may request information from visitors via surveys on our Web Sites. We may also email surveys to recipients of our newsletter. Participation in these surveys are completely voluntary. This information may include demographic data (such as zip code and age), and other. This information is intended for analytical use and will not be used to identify individuals.

We may ask for the voluntary contribution of Personal Information to enable us to contact individuals for follow-up interviews. Provision of such information is completely voluntary. We may also request permission of selected survey respondents to publish information about them on our Web Sites. Provision of such information is also completely voluntary and survey respondents are not obligated to grant permission to us to publish information about them.

Survey results may be publicized in the aggregate and may be used for assessing and improving the experience and satisfaction of our visitors.

Disclosing Information To Third Parties

We share aggregated information about our TopTen users with our partners, sponsors, and donors, including utilities assisting in promoting energy efficiency through rebates and other means.

We may share information about individual organizations and individuals affiliated with TopTen where it is necessary to secure funding to ensure the continued availability of our services or to develop outreach programs with our partners.

We may also provide information about individuals who request rebates or other financial incentives to purchase TopTen listed products from utilities, state programs, manufacturers and retailers. We will only share with outside parties the Personal Information they need to deliver the specific service that they are contracted to provide.

Except as otherwise stated in this document at this time, or as revised in the future, we will not license, transmit, sell, rent or otherwise distribute email addresses or any other information to third parties, except as provided otherwise in this privacy statement. We share this kind of information with partners of TopTen who require that information in order to provide customer service, to fulfill requests for information about rebates or other financial information, or to track donation activity.

Although we currently do not have a parent company, any subsidiaries, joint ventures, or other companies under a common control (collectively, "affiliates"), we may in the future. If so, we may share some or all of Personal Information we collect with these affiliates, in which case we will require our affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. If our company or our assets are acquired by another company, that company will then own the Personal Information collected by us and it will assume the rights and obligations regarding your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

We may disclose Personal Information we collect if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to comply with relevant laws or to protect and defend the rights or property of TopTen or visitors of the Web Site.

Links To Outside Web Sites

TopTenusa.org and TopTenusa.com all contain links to outside Web sites. TopTen is not accountable for the privacy practices of other sites. We encourage our visitors to be aware when they leave our sites, and to read the privacy policies of each and every such Web site.

TopTen sometimes contracts with advertising companies in order to promote our services on other Web sites and in email newsletters. If a visitor clicks on one of our banner ads or text ads that are placed on another Web site, he or she is directed to a TopTen Web page. We track this click-through data to help us gauge the level of interest in particular services or site content and to measure the effectiveness of our visitor communications. The Web sites that deliver these advertisements may deposit cookies on your computer that allow us to track your response to our advertisements. These cookies do not identify visitors personally, but we may associate these cookies internally with Personal Information.

This privacy statement applies solely to information collected through our Web Site.

Regarding Minors

The Web Sites are not designed for minors under the age of 13. We do not intentionally gather Personal Information about visitors who are under the age of 13.

Questions And Comments

At TopTen, we understand the importance of exercising caution when sharing Personal Information about yourself or information your organization via the Internet. Please be assured that we are committed to maintaining your privacy and protecting the information that you submit on our Web site.

If you have any questions regarding this privacy policy or TopTen's site practices, please do not hesitate to contact us:

TopTen USA
429 14th St, NW, Washington, DC 20045 or by email at 
privacy@toptenusa.org.

Privacy Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy is subject to occasional revision, and any substantial changes in the way Personal Information is used will be posted on the Web Site. Any visitor who objects to any such changes must cease using the Web Sites. Continued use of the Web Sites following notice of any such changes shall indicate acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes.

This statement was last updated on May 25, 2010.

Copyright © 2010, TopTen USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved.