From compliance to contribution: how data protection drives meaningful business impact

A conference room filled with entrepreneurs exchanging ideas on meaningful business.

In an era where public trust hinges on transparency and responsibility, organisations face a growing challenge: how to protect personal data while making it count for something greater than operational integrity. At a recent session in York, led by Enterprise Works (University of York), we explored how data protection consultancy work, done with purpose, can become a driver for social value, community impact, and ethical leadership.

Here’s how theory and practice meet to shape this philosophy.

Beyond the GDPR: making impact central to data protection consultancy

Profit alone doesn’t build trust, impact does. As Rob Wolfe from Chy put it: “Put values first and profit follows, put profit first and you disable values.” At Privacy Protect Group Ltd, we embrace value-led decision-making, where data governance is not a checkbox exercise, but a journey of transformation.

We work with organisations to:

• Identify and address hidden vulnerabilities rooted in human behaviour

• Build processes that balance compliance with compassion

• Foster ethical dialogue across all levels of the organisation

Our mission? To move from protecting data to unlocking its potential for public good.

Meaningful work: the engine behind cultural change

Research by Pratt & Ashford (2003) (1) shows meaningful work creates measurable performance uplift. Schnell et al., (2019) (2) takes it further: meaningful work is work that matters to others.

For organisations, this means:

• Reframing identity: staff begin to see themselves not just as protectors of physical safety but also digital security;

• Breaking silos: artificial divisions between personal values, professional roles, and institutional goals must evolve into integrated purpose;

• Asking “So what?”: every Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), every training session should provoke reflection, not just action.

Meaningful business isn’t just about what we do, it’s about why we do it and who benefits.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem: responsive, not reactive

Isenberg’s (2012) (3) entrepreneurial ecosystem reminds us that meaning is forged through responsiveness. Organisations must engage with societal issues, from digital exclusion to algorithmic bias, and act with intention.

That’s why we centre our consultancy services around:

• Customised training for leadership

• Community-centric data protection strategies

• Transparent reporting frameworks that demonstrate ethical stewardship

Because frustration isn’t a failure, it’s often where meaningful change begins.

Applying the Map of Meaning: integrity, tension, and social value

A visual of a circle divided into 4 quarters (integrity with self, unity with others, service to others, expressing full potential), as per the map of meaning.

Drawing on Lips-Wiersma’s Map of Meaning (2019) (4), our strategy acknowledges key tensions: being vs. doing, self vs. others. We coach data protection practitioners to:

• Align personal integrity with professional conduct;

• Navigate the episodic nature of purpose and impact;

• Create space for “letting things become what they need to be”.

Because leadership isn’t just policy-driven; it’s purpose-led.

Governance, ethics, and social value in practice

Responsible business is a conversation, not a campaign. From ethical procurement to employee wellbeing, the strategy should embody ongoing reflection and adaptation. This means:

• Embedding social value into contracts and operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs);

• Avoiding performative communications, opting instead for honest, relational messaging;

• Investing in human capital, especially through informed data practices.

Because data isn’t just technical, it’s deeply human. And Data Protection is business, but it’s personal.

Measuring the right outcomes

We believe performance should be measured not just in secure systems, but in:

• Community trust;

• Reduction in insider threats;

• Improved officer confidence in data ethics.

Because comparable metrics help position organisations as ethical innovators, not just risk managers.

Final thought: from strategy to culture

A meaningful business in data protection doesn’t operate on autopilot. It asks: “Wouldn’t it be great if… our data strategies felt like part of the culture, not an external demand?”

At PPG Ltd, we believe that impact is not something you own, it’s something you enable. And data protection practitioners? They’re already leading the charge.

References

(1) Pratt, M. G., and Ashforth, B. E., (2003). ‘Fostering meaningfulness in working and at work.’ In K. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, pp. 308-327.

(2) Schnell, T., Hoge, T., and Webber, W.G., (2019). ‘“Belonging” and its relationship to the experience of meaningful work’ in Yeoman, R., Bailey, C., Madden, A., & Thompson, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 167-185.

(3) Isenberg, D., (2011). Babson Global. The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Strategy For Economic Growth Policy: Principles for Cultivating Entrepreneurship. Available at: The-entrepreneurship-ecosystem-strategy-for-economic-growth-policy-20110620183915.pdf (Accessed 1 July 2025).

(4) Lips-Wiersma, M., (2019). Does corporate social responsibility enhance meaningful work?. In The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 417.