AI, data protection and ESG

AI, data protection and ESG: the blind spot in your strategy

Most companies take ESG seriously. Most companies take AI and data protection seriously. But very few see the synergies and end up treating them separately, which is a big mistake.

If your company stores unnecessary data, you’re not just creating a compliance risk. You’re inflating your carbon footprint. You’re wasting resources. And you’re leaving an open goal for regulators, investors, and activists to expose.

Dark data is wrecking your ESG score

• Currently, companies produce 1,300,000,000 gigabytes of dark data a day – that’s 3,023,255 flights from London to New York.*

• Dark data stored and never used is responsible for 6.4 million tons of CO₂ in 2020 – equivalent to a car traveling 575,000 times around the Earth annually.**

• AI models are only as ethical as the data they’re trained on, bad governance means biased, unreliable AI.

If you don’t manage your data, you don’t manage your environmental impact.
If you don’t align AI and data protection with ESG, you invite reputational risk.
If you don’t act now, your company will be exposed and you'll be forced to do so later.

What we do

We help you align AI, data protection with your ESG goals so that your teams understand the part they need to play, and the actionale steps they need to take.

We guide you through the following steps:

Select appropriate mapping methodology:

• Turning corporate ESG objectives into actionable steps for data protection professionals requires practical methodologies to bridge the gap.
  

Identify synergies between data protection and ESG goals:

• Analyse your company’s ESG objectives to uncover opportunities for alignment with data protection practices.

• Highlight how data protection initiatives can support transparency, sustainability, and social responsibility.
  

Allocate responsibilities:

• Establish clear ownership for data-related ESG initiatives across teams and departments.

• Create accountability structures that empower employees to act.
  

Develop meaningful metrics:

• Design measurable indicators so employees understand their role in achieving ESG-related data protection goals.

• Ensure data governance contributes to broader organisational objectives.

Engage employees through contextual education and training:

• Deliver bespoke training programs using interactive techniques like dilemmas and real-world scenarios.

• Equip employees to make informed, ethical decisions aligned with both data protection and ESG priorities.

Implement via operational procedures

• Implement triggers

• Monitor effectiveness

• Improve when required

Outcomes You Can Expect:

• A cohesive framework that aligns data protection with ESG goals.

• Clear metrics that link data protection practices to measurable ESG outcomes.

• Educated and empowered employees who understand how to make the right decisions.

• Enhanced trust with stakeholders through transparency and accountability.

Want to get started?

Ready to integrate data protection into your ESG strategy? Let’s work together to empower your organisation and drive measurable impact. Contact us today to get started

* What is ‘dark data’ and how is it adding to all of our carbon footprints?
** What is the dark data? And what is its carbon impact?