The after-effects of the covid pandemic, and the changing climate, will have substantial implications for corporate best practice. Corporates will have to adapt operations to increase well-being and resilience of employees. Many organisations will seek to bring in ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) across their work, including training, reviews and assessments. And security and compliance professionals need to develop an understanding of the relationship between ESG, security, and corporate reputation. That came out of a webinar yesterday by the risk consultancy Sibylline.
Sibylline founder and CEO Justin Crump, pictured, introduced his firm’s lead analyst for global risk and special projects John Breen, who gave a presentation based on a report released to clients, on health, hazards and the environment; and what covid and climate change meant for corporates. A discussion followed with two intelligence specialists: David Langhorn, a former British Army intelligence officer and hotel group chief security officer, and founder (with fellow hotel security men Mark Sanna and Paul Moxness) and managing partner of Northpoint International; and Angela Lewis, manager of the global intelligence and threat analysis team at The Walt Disney Company.
John Breen described covid as a starting point to think about how companies balance risk and resilience. Corporate decision-makers are entering a world where they must ensure greater preparedness, to navigate complex geo-political and socio-economic risks. We are entering a post-covid environment, he said, of further economic disruption – we should anticipate restrictions on business to 2023, and international travel will remain ‘convoluted’. Because vaccines have been distributed less to Africa, economic recovery will be uneven to 2030, he predicted.
Besides climate change, he pointed to some of the ‘pinch points’ of the infrastructure of global commerce, such as shipping lanes or maritime and submarine cables, that if cut could have cascading effects on telecoms and business.
Climate change – such as droughts – will amplify existing social and political fault lines. Droughts pose health risks – less water and potentially worse sanitation, and risk of wildfires. And we should expect more unexpected, ‘black swan’ events.
He summed up that risks were, besides another virus, a drug-resistant ‘super bug’, or to mental health. After covid-19 and due to the hazards of climate change, risks are more complex. Hence more ESG; and data-driven risk assessment on those risks.
Justin Crump did add that in many ways we live in unprecedented prosperity and peace; there are billions more people than ever before – so that the problems are challenges of growth, and success. He then took his two guest speakers into a discussion on what corporate security and intelligence might do; and on the prospects for results from the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. On that point, John Breen had earlier pointed to how previous world financial pledges have been unmet.
More in the December print edition of Professional Security magazine.
You can apply through the Sibylline website for a copy of the ‘Health, hazards, and the environment; how corporate decision-makers can survive’ report.
Sibylline is holding a webinar to forecast the year ahead, on Wednesday evening, December 1. An event in London will be streamed live; a panel discussion starts at 5.30pm.
See also podcasts by Sibylline at https://www.sibylline.co.uk/podcasts/.
