In energy and petrochemicals, data integrity is as critical as process safety. One lapse in managing third-party data can disrupt production, compromise emissions reporting, or trigger regulatory penalties.
Handled responsibly, third-party data drives operational excellence, better decisions, and sustainable transformation. Mishandled, it sparks investigations, disrupts supply chains, and erodes long-term trust.
The risks are real: The World Economic Forum reports that 72% of organizations have seen cyber risk increase over the past year, with ransomware remaining a top concern. Meanwhile, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that global cybercrime costs will hit $10.5 trillion in 2025, underscoring the scale of the challenge. These are not IT issues. They are board-level risks with direct implications for safety, compliance, and competitiveness.
At KBC, we see four essential pillars for using third-party data responsibly, securely, and transparently.
In a sector defined by joint ventures and complex supply chains, legal clarity is the foundation of responsible data use.
Ownership & Licensing: defines who controls the data and what rights you have to use it. Without clarity, disputes and delays are inevitable.
Compliance & Legal Risk: evaluates exposure under GDPR, CCPA, or regional sovereignty laws. Today, 144 countries have enacted national data privacy laws, covering approximately 6.64 billion people, or 82% of the world’s population. For global industries, compliance is not optional. It is the license to operate.
Behind every dataset is a person, employee, contractor, or stakeholder. For executives, privacy is no longer just about compliance. It is a trust marker in partnerships that span decades.
Privacy & Protection: keeping sensitive workforce, contractor, and partner data secure across its lifecycle, from acquisition to analytics.
Consent & Purpose: using data only for the reasons agreed—such as safety monitoring, supply chain visibility, or ESG reporting. Research shows that employees lose 12 hours a week searching for information across disconnected systems, costing organizations millions in lost productivity. Poor data practices don’t just risk privacy, they erode efficiency and trust across the value chain.
Cyber incidents don’t just cost money. It can halt refineries, delay shipments, or compromise regulatory filings.
Security: protecting systems with encryption, access governance, and continuous monitoring. At KBC, our SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation demonstrate how we operationalize the same high standards we advise our clients to adopt.
Compatibility: ensuring third-party data integrates seamlessly with internal systems to avoid silos and errors. One study found that 64% of organizations cite data quality as their top integrity challenge, with poor data costing an average 25% of revenue.
Compliance and security are the baseline, but only ethics future-proofs data practices in a world shaped by AI, ESG, and rising transparency demands.
Ethical Use: avoiding practices that distort insights, reinforce bias, or exploit individuals.
Transparency: being open about where data comes from, how it is applied, and why it matters. Information Systems Audit and Control Association’s 2024 Digital Trust Study found that 82% of global business and technology leaders expect digital trust to become even more important by 2029. Yet many organizations admit their budgets, skills, and strategies lag.
KBC doesn’t treat ethics as optional. Our TÜV Rheinland certification for Visual MESA GHG Emissions Management software provides independent assurance that fairness and integrity are embedded in our solutions.
Third-party data is a strategic enabler of efficiency, compliance, and transformation. Like any critical asset, its value depends on stewardship: mishandle it and you risk fines, downtime, and reputational harm; manage it well and you unlock trust, resilience, and competitive advantage.
The four pillars—legal ownership, privacy, security, and ethical use—are not optional. They are the blueprint for building confidence in a world where data drives every decision, innovation, and license to operate.
In an industry where trust is earned barrel by barrel, KBC not only complies with standards but also embeds and operationalizes them across our consulting services and advanced technology solutions. This is how we help clients in oil, gas, and petrochemicals innovate with confidence, operate with resilience, and drive transformation. In every solution we deliver, this is how we’re Bringing Decarbonization to Life®.