The decisions and plans made now must take into account preparation for, and mitigation of, future shocks – particularly the climate change emergency. There can be no other way forward."
Keryn James
CEO, ERM
Preparing for future shocks
Photo credit: Cesar Chia, Peru
ERM is sharing our insights into the factors that enabled companies to anticipate, adapt to and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. These lessons learned can help inform business and other decision-makers as they continue to navigate the waves of the current pandemic and prepare for the next future shock.
In September 2020, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) published Building long-term business resilience, a Vision 2050 issue brief developed in partnership with the SustainAbility Institute by ERM. The document explores how companies can build better long-term resilience into their strategies and the systems that they operate within. It was developed as part of WBCSD’s COVID-19 response project and Vision 2050, looking into the long-term impacts of COVID-19.
The issue brief draws on publicly available research, insights gathered from WBCSD members and the 2020 GlobeScan/SustainAbility Leaders Survey, and makes recommendations on how companies can build greater long-term resilience through improved approaches to corporate risk management, human and social capital, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) information.
In conjunction with the issues brief's release, ERM CEO Keryn James wrote an op-ed on preparing for future shocks post COVID-19, published in the internationally respected Daily Telegraph. Part of the Global Environment Facility "How to be green" series, this piece speaks to the fact that companies who are well on the path to truly integrating sustainability into how they do business have been those who have adapted most rapidly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Keryn joins fellow executives from business and other leading organizations in encouraging businesses to play their part in tackling some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues – including climate change – and building lasting prosperity.
Keryn amplified the importance of business resilience in a joint op-ed with Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD, which concludes "COVID-19 is forcing firms to reimagine resilience. Instead of trying to strengthen their ability to resist change, companies must learn how to adapt and adjust if they are to continue to exist as employers, value creators for shareholders, and trusted members (and servants) of communities around the world."
Expanding on the issue brief, in October 2020 the SustainAbility Institute by ERM published Building Business Resilience for the Decade of Action to explore what resilience is and why it matters to business, particularly in this critical time period. The report focuses on the three areas that ERM believes will be of paramount importance to companies in the decade to 2030:
- ESG integration;
- Low carbon economy transition; and
- Human and social capital management.
We will continue to share our thought leadership on critical issues such as business resilience, based on our experiences in helping many of the world's largest and most influential companies operationalize sustainability.