G - Governance (Ethics, Data Privacy, Board Oversight) 5 min read

What is Data Privacy & GDPR? Definition and Context

Credibility Check & Framework Comparison

To ensure absolute regulatory accuracy and reliability, we verify definitions across leading international frameworks before presenting our synthesized SME context.

European Commission

"The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679), protecting individuals' personal data and regulating its collection and processing."

EFRAG / ESRS G1

"Disclosures regarding information security, cyber security, data privacy, and the management of breaches or regulatory fines."

EcoVadis

"Ethics scorecard criteria assessing policies, measures, and audits related to customer privacy, data security, and compliance with privacy laws."

ExecutESG Consolidated Definition

Data Privacy & GDPR

Data privacy refers to the governance and technical controls implemented to safeguard personal data collected from customers, employees, and business partners. In Europe, this is governed primarily by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDDR) (Regulation EU 2016/679).

Core Principles:

  • Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Informing users how data is handled.
  • Purpose Limitation: Collecting data only for specified, legitimate purposes.
  • Data Minimisation: Gathering only what is strictly necessary.
  • Security & Confidentiality: Protecting data against unauthorized access.

SME Relevance & B2B Inbound Action:

A mandatory element under the EcoVadis Ethics (ETH) pillar. Audit your data handling policies and upload your GDPR compliance records to the ExecutESG evidence registry.

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