StrategicRISK Australia: 2020 edition

The events of the Black Summer may already feel like a lifetime ago, given the global healthcare crisis COVID-19 has unleashed, but with a new bushfire season upon us there are once again signs the fires are starting early. 

As discussed in our virtual Climate Change roundtable in this edition, the dual threat of more extreme weather-related catastrophes and a global pandemic has shone a light on the importance of risk management. Its role in ensuring companies and their supply chains are more robust in the face of major existential threats, such as climate change, has never been more important.

As Eamonn Cunningham, president of the RIMS Australasia chapter, observed in the discussion, one silver living from the crises of 2020 has been the opportunity for risk managers to “show their worth to their organisations”.

To make the most of this opportunity, he recommends that risk professionals insist on being in the boardroom when important decisions are being made. “Given the recent dramatic events, if you’re outside of the room when these conversations are happening, my message is to knock on the door and force yourself in. That might sound like a risky strategy but will pay dividends when people start listening to your advice. Climate change, and the transition to a low carbon economy, is an opportunity for you to show what the risk management industry can do.” 

It is time to show risk managers are not just another cost centre - risk averse with their own special language that the c-suite struggles to understand or relate to. It is time to make clear that we are essential partners and business enablers within our organisations as we navigate these challenging times and look for opportunities to adapt, grow and prosper. Keeping one eye at all times on future sustainability.  

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