Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy was last updated in October 2024.

1. Introduction

Our website, https://www.bioenergy-news.com// (hereinafter: “the website”) uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In the document below we inform you about the use of cookies on our website.

2. What are cookies?

A cookie is a small simple file that is sent along with pages of this website and stored by your browser on the hard drive of your computer or another device. The information stored therein may be returned to our servers or to the servers of the relevant third parties during a subsequent visit.

3. Cookies

3.1 Technical or necessary cookies

Some cookies ensure that certain parts of the website work properly and that your user preferences remain known. By placing necessary cookies, we make it easier for you to visit our website. This way, you do not need to repeatedly enter the same information when visiting our website and, for example, the items remain in your shopping cart until you have paid. We may place these cookies without your consent.

3.2 Statistics cookies

We use statistics cookies to optimise the website experience for our users. With these statistics cookies we get insights in the usage of our website. We ask your permission to place statistics cookies.

3.3 Marketing/Tracking cookies

Marketing/Tracking cookies are cookies or any other form of local storage, used to create user profiles to display advertising or to track the user on this website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.

3.4 Social media

On our website, we have included content from Facebook and Twitter to promote web pages (e.g. “like”, “pin”) or share (e.g. “tweet”) on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. This content is embedded with code derived from Facebook and Twitter and places cookies. This content might store and process certain information for personalised advertising.

Facebook and Twitter are located in the United States.

4. Placed cookies

Google Analytics Cookies

Our website uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to help us understand how visitors interact with our site. Google Analytics relies on two main cookies: _ga and _ga_*. These cookies allow us to collect information about user behavior, which we use to improve the overall experience on our site. Below, we explain the function of these cookies and how they work with Google’s Consent Mode to respect your privacy preferences.

Google Cookies We Use:

_ga Cookie:

Purpose: The _ga cookie is used to distinguish individual users by assigning a unique, randomly generated number as a client identifier. This helps us track how visitors use our site over time, such as the number of visits, pages viewed, and actions taken.

Duration: This cookie typically lasts for 2 years.

Function: This cookie helps us understand general user behavior on our site, allowing us to make informed decisions to enhance user experience and site performance.

_ga_* Cookie:

Purpose: The _ga_* cookie is a variant that also stores session state information. The * in the cookie name represents a unique identifier associated with a specific Google Analytics property.

Duration: This cookie generally lasts for 2 years, similar to the _ga cookie.

Function: It helps us track individual sessions on our site, enabling us to see how users interact within a single visit, including the pages they navigate to and the actions they perform.

Consent to Google Analytics:

Google’s Consent Mode version 2 is an important feature that allows our website to adjust how Google Analytics cookies behave based on your privacy preferences. Here’s a breakdown of the key fields controlled by Consent Mode and how they affect the cookies we use:

ad_storage:

Explanation: This setting controls whether data related to advertising can be stored. If you choose to deny this option, cookies that are used for personalised advertising, such as the _ga_* cookie for remarketing, will not be stored. This limits Google Analytics’ ability to use your data for advertising purposes.

Impact: The _ga_* cookie will not store data for ad-related purposes, ensuring that your data is not used for targeted ads if you opt out.

This can be set to accepted or denied using our Manage Consent link as part of Advertising Cookies.

functionality_storage:

Explanation: This field manages cookies necessary for basic site functionality, such as remembering user preferences and maintaining login states. Even if you opt out of other types of cookies, functional cookies will remain active because they are essential for the proper operation of our site.

Impact: Functional cookies are always active, ensuring that the website operates smoothly, regardless of your other cookie preferences.

This can NOT be changed – as described above they are always active.

personalization_storage:

Explanation: This setting governs whether data used for personalizing your experience on our site (e.g., custom content or ads) can be stored. If you deny this option, our site will not store cookies for personalization, limiting the ability to customie your experience based on previous visits.

Impact: The _ga_* cookie will not store personalised data, meaning your experience on the site will not be tailored based on past behavior if you opt out.

This can be set to accepted or denied using our Manage Consent link as part of Advertising Cookies.

ad_personalization:

Explanation: This setting determines whether data used for personalizing advertisements (such as tailored ad content) can be stored. If you deny this setting, our site will not store cookies used to personalise ads based on your browsing behavior. This means that ads displayed to you will not be customised according to your interests or previous interactions with our site.

Impact: If you opt out of ad_personalization, the cookies that would normally be used to tailor ad content, such as ga*, will not store or use data for personalised advertising. Consequently, while you will still see ads, they will be less relevant and not based on your past browsing history or preferences.

This can be set to accepted or denied using our Manage Consent link as part of Advertising Cookies.

security_storage:

Explanation: This setting ensures that cookies necessary for the security of the website and your data remain active. These cookies help protect the site from security threats and ensure that your information is handled safely.

Impact: Security-related cookies are always enabled, maintaining the safety and integrity of the website.

This can NOT be changed – as described above they are always active.

ad_user_data:

Explanation: This field pertains to the storage and use of your data for advertising purposes. If you choose to deny this, cookies that collect data for personalised ads will be restricted, limiting ad-related tracking.

Impact: The _ga_* cookie’s use for ad-related data will be minimised, ensuring your data isn’t used for advertising if you opt out.

This can be set to accepted or denied using our Manage Consent link as part of Advertising Cookies.

analytics_storage:

Explanation: This setting determines whether analytics data can be stored. If you deny this option, cookies like _ga and _ga_* will be restricted, meaning that less analytics data will be collected. This may limit our ability to analyze site usage effectively.

Impact: The primary _ga and _ga_* cookies will be disabled or limited, reducing our ability to gather data on your interactions with our site.

This can be set to accepted or denied using our Manage Consent link as part of Statistical Cookies.

By using Google Analytics and implementing Consent Mode version 2, we strive to balance our need to understand site usage with your privacy preferences. The _ga and _ga_* cookies play essential roles in tracking user behavior and sessions, but their functions can be limited based on the consent choices you make. Necessary and security-related cookies are always enabled to ensure the site runs properly and securely.

When a user consents to advertising cookies, several key settings in Google’s analytics and advertising ecosystem are enabled to optimise personalised advertising and data collection:

allow_ad_personalization_signals: This setting, when enabled, allows Google to use information like search history, location, and other online behaviors to tailor ads to the individual user. By setting this to true, Google is allowed to use these signals to refine ad targeting, making the ads more relevant to the user based on their interests and activities.

allow_google_signals: Enabling this setting allows Google to collect additional data from users who are logged into their Google accounts and have personalised ads turned on. This data can include cross-device tracking, which means Google can link user interactions across different devices, like phones and computers, providing a more comprehensive view of user behavior. This enhances the ability to deliver more personalised content and measure ad effectiveness across devices.

allow_display_features: This setting, when enabled, allows Google Analytics to collect data for features like remarketing, demographics, and interest reporting. Essentially, it enables tracking of additional dimensions and metrics that can help in understanding the audience better and crafting more targeted ad campaigns. With display features turned on, advertisers can reach users who have previously visited their site with targeted ads.

ads_data_redaction: Setting this to false means that the data used for advertising purposes is not anonymised or redacted. This allows for more precise tracking and profiling of user behavior, which in turn can lead to more targeted advertising. Without redaction, Google has access to more granular data which can improve ad personalization.

url_passthrough: When this is set to true, Google allows parameters like UTM tags and click IDs to pass through URLs, facilitating better tracking and attribution of user actions back to specific marketing campaigns. This ensures that the source, medium, and campaign data associated with the user’s journey are accurately captured, thereby enhancing the ability to analyze the effectiveness of advertising efforts.

Further Info

Together, these settings enable Google to leverage a more comprehensive set of tools and data to provide highly targeted advertising experiences. This aligns with the user’s consent for marketing cookies, allowing advertisers to use detailed data for personalised ad delivery and performance measurement across different platforms and devices.

Other Cookies (Necessary and Functional):

We use a number of other cookies to store your preferences – such as advertisingConsent and statisticalConsent – these are set to true or false depending on the preferences you made for your Google Consent – they both last 7 days and store no personal data.

5. Consent

You have control over your cookie preferences, and we respect your choices in how your data is collected and used. If you have any further questions or require more detailed information about our use of cookies, please feel free to contact us.

When you visit our website for the first time, we will show you a pop-up with an explanation about cookies. You can update these preferences at any time. You can also disable the use of cookies via your browser, but please note that our website may no longer work properly.

6. Enabling/disabling and deleting cookies

You can use your internet browser to automatically or manually delete cookies. You can also specify that certain cookies may not be placed. Another option is to change the settings of your internet browser so that you receive a message each time a cookie is placed. For more information about these options, please refer to the instructions in the Help section of your browser.

Please note that our website may not work properly if all cookies are disabled. If you do delete the cookies in your browser, they will be placed again after your consent when you visit our website again.

7. Your rights with respect to personal data

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for.

Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us.

Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish.

If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted.

Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller.

Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing.

To exercise these rights, please contact us.

8. Contacting Us

For questions and/or comments about our Cookie Policy and this statement, please contact us at marketing@woodcotemedia.com