Future-Proofing Your Business Against Risk

Paralyzing natural disasters, war and a lingering pandemic are exposing the vulnerabilities of our interdependent world, where even the most basic elements for survival — food and energy — are harder to obtain for many as global prices surge.

Over the past two years, at least 200 million people lost their livelihoods,^[1] 350 million experienced regular power outages,^[2] and the number of people living in areas considered highly vulnerable to global climate change reached a staggering 3.6 billion.^[3]

This is forcing a rethink of how we live and work, which has a profound impact on our businesses. They have to be resilient and respond more quickly to increasing pressure from consumers and investors to embrace more sustainable practices, adapt to the latest technologies, and implement new processes. Unfortunately, many businesses are falling short, often due to incoherent and poorly executed strategies that alienate and even risk the welfare of their workforce. The price of failure can be irreparable. According to one survey, 59% of consumers worldwide will start boycotting brands who don’t take action on global climate change over the next 12 months.^[4]

Positive Impact On People

How can companies be more responsive to change? For dss⁺, it’s working safer, smarter and more sustainably. With more than 1,000 expert consultants in 40 countries, the global management consulting firm prioritizes operations. This means boardroom to production-floor collaboration: how to implement newer, sustainable processes, how and when to leverage technology, how to enhance workforce capabilities, and how to foster a positive culture built on safety and inclusivity.

“We believe that helping companies to protect, transform and sustain their operations provides one of the greatest opportunities to make a positive impact on people, the environment and society,” said Davide Vassallo, CEO of dss⁺.

“Effective transformation is difficult and beset with pitfalls. But we know how to do it, given our 50+ years of global experience and expertise in risk management, operating culture, mindsets and behaviors, capability building and data analytics.”

According to dss⁺, companies should be focusing on several key areas.

1. Future-Proofing And Sustainability

When planning for external shocks – environmental, economic or otherwise — there are three strategy choices for handling risk: prevent, mitigate, or turn it into an opportunity.

In 2016, Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), which turns seawater into fresh water, faced a major challenge meeting national targets aimed at boosting water security. In one of the world’s driest regions, water demand is met by desalination plants — in fact 70% of the world’s desalinated water comes from GCC countries^[5] — but consumption due to population growth and rapid industrialization was putting the squeeze on supplies. Production costs were also too high, driven by factors such as process efficiency, equipment reliability, workplace culture, and employee safety.

SWCC worked with dss⁺ looking at ways to bring down the cost of increasing production without capital investment. It conducted on-site investigations at plants, which were measured against industry best practices, carried out interviews directly with employees, and collected and analyzed data from across the business. This led to more than 100 recommendations, with many implemented immediately, resulting in a record jump in production and unit water costs slashed by up to 30% across SWCC’s four plants.^[6] And all within 13 months of the project starting. Not only was SWCC back on track to meet its goals, it significantly increased the water security of Saudi Arabia and the wider region.

2. Values And Purpose

The Tripartite included AngloAmerican, the South African Department of Mineral Resources and trade unions in the country. This was not an easy alliance initially, with the stakeholders “coming from different backgrounds and clashing ideologies,” recalled Charles Mkhumane from the South African National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).^[7]

But it worked and continues to be successful through meaningful results — between 2006 and 2010 mining fatalities at the company dropped by almost 70%^[8] — effective relationship building between all parties and,  the transparent sharing of industry knowledge.

“The job is not done, though we have made significant progress in the health and safety of workers… We have to eliminate high potential incidents,” noted AngloAmerican CEO Mark Cutifani.^[9]

3. Company Culture And People

It’s easy to describe what a company does, but often more challenging to define its culture.

For global civil engineering firm Freyssinet, safety is the cornerstone of a business that includes more than 60 subsidiaries worldwide, working on engineering projects ranging from airport terminals to major skyscraper developments. However, an internal audit uncovered an inconsistent safety culture at its Thai subsidiary. One of the most serious discoveries was that workers felt unable to challenge management on the balance between their operations and safety.

The subsidiary’s managing director felt they lacked a collective responsibility for safety — it wasn’t the job of the safety officer alone. In the months that followed, dss⁺ worked with the leadership group — starting with the MD — to alter the way they thought about safety and how they engaged with their teams to foster shared ownership.

From the employee side, the challenge was upending a deep-rooted cultural reluctance to call out issues to bosses. Therefore dss+ spent time with front-line teams to ease them around their instinctive discomfort, specifically how to identify and articulate at-risk situations and behaviors in their working environment as they arise. Within months, workers became more confident about speaking up during projects, knowing there was a more collaborative process in place for escalating safety issues without fear of reprisal.

The reality now more than ever is that companies need to change their mindset. Weathering the storm until the business model that delivered for them in the past comes good again will lead to failure — and potentially risk lives. They should instead plan for a more turbulent future by seeing opportunities in seemingly unwinnable situations.

To achieve this, companies have to build resilience by moving away from short-term, quick-win thinking, towards finding a more lasting and sustainable path, whether it’s diversifying into new areas or embracing new technology. They need a clear purpose and values that are understood and embraced from the boardroom to the production line. And they need to foster a culture of collective responsibility for a company’s direction, from keeping people safe and protecting its assets, to reducing the impact on the environment.

[1] International Labour Organization  [2] Bloomberg/IHS Markit  [3] IPCC Report 2022  [4] Microsoft Advertising/Dentsu 2021  [5] World Bank  [6] Consultdss Case Study  [7] AngloAmerican  [8] Solidarity  [9] AngloAmerican