Many organizations overlook the importance of managing their geopolitical risk. With war, climate change, and economic uncertainty in every corner of the world, not managing your organization’s geopolitical risk can be a costly mistake. In this blog post, we’ll explain why geopolitical risk management is not only an essential environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factor but also an important business continuity measure.
What is Geopolitical Risk?
Geopolitical risk is defined as “the exposure to loss caused by political events or conditions associated with international or domestic markets.” In other words, it involves any event that could cause significant losses to a company due to political forces outside its control. This could include anything from terrorism to trade policy changes to natural disasters. As such, it’s important for organizations to have a process in place for assessing and managing their geopolitical risks.
Why You Should Manage Your Geopolitical Risks
Managing your geopolitical risks is essential for both ESG and business continuity purposes. For instance, in the case of natural disasters like floods or hurricanes, having a geographic risk management plan in place can help ensure that your organization has the resources necessary to respond quickly and efficiently if disaster strikes. This can help minimize losses related to downtime or reputational damage due to slow responses. Similarly, if your organization operates in multiple countries around the globe, understanding how different political policies may affect operations is key for avoiding potential losses due to compliance issues or unexpected regulations down the line.
Use Cases for Managing Geopolitical Risks
Let’s look at two examples of how managing your geopolitical risk can benefit both your ESG score and business continuity measures:
1) A manufacturing company with operations in multiple countries needs to assess its geopolitical risk on a regular basis so that it can anticipate any changes that may affect its supply chain or workforce. By doing so, it will be better prepared if any unexpected events occur due to changing political climates around the world. In addition, having an up-to-date geopolitical risk management system demonstrates that the company takes its ESG responsibilities seriously.
2) An energy company needs to understand how local regulations regarding climate change policies will affect their operations both domestically and internationally so they can adjust their plans accordingly. This will allow them to remain compliant with local laws while still maintaining operational efficiency across all regions where they operate—which ultimately helps protect their bottom line and demonstrates responsible corporate governance practices for stakeholders concerned about global warming issues.
In conclusion, it’s clear that effective geopolitical risk management is essential for businesses operating within today’s ever-changing environment as well as those looking to build trust with investors who are increasingly focused on ESG factors when considering where they allocate capital. By proactively identifying potential risks before they arise and taking steps accordingly—such as developing emergency response plans or monitoring regional compliance laws—organizations can better prepare themselves should disaster strike while also demonstrating their commitment towards responsible corporate citizenship principles worldwide. It’s crucial now more than ever that organizations start putting systems in place for managing their geopolitical risks; failure do so could lead costly consequences down the line.
