Taming risk for a better world

Andre Lacroix, CEO, Intertek Group plc

Maybe 9/11 wouldn't have happened if the aviation industry had taken a broader and better view of safety risks.

The financial crisis in 2008/2009 would perhaps never have occurred if banks had not failed to manage borrowing risks properly. Trust in corporations would not be as desperately low as it is today if companies did not so often ignore the importance of delivering sustainable growth to focus on short-term results, the direct cause of so many quality, safety, and ethical scandals.

Outside the corporate world, governmental and institutional failures to anticipate and defuse risk with the right governance are why so much of the Middle East has been in a state of crisis for so many years and why we started 2022 with a war in Ukraine.

Demonstrations, civil wars and other conflicts in multiple countries are often the result of a failure to understand the need to share progress equally across society. Movements like MeToo and Black Lives Matter only exist because too many people in prominent and powerful social positions fail to appreciate the importance, the value and the justice of diversity.

Perhaps above all, the climate emergency is a direct consequence of a collective failure to balance the short-term benefits of global growth with the long-term risks to the Earth as a whole. In short, too few people genuinely care about the future of our planet and the generations to come.

For some people (and I am possibly one of them) the COVID-19 pandemic and its global social and economic impact has crystallised views on many of these issues.

Looking back to early 2020, our global healthcare systems failed to put the right early-warning systems and action plans in place. This has resulted in the pandemic's impact on people's lives is far, far greater than it should have been.

The economic impact, while closely related, has been further exaggerated by companies' failures to ensure they had the right processes to ensure business continuity in their supply chains, employee safety in the workplace, and consumer safety in public places.

All these factors are failures of leadership. But the great thing about a crisis - any crisis - is the opportunity it gives us to learn, adapt and improve.

That's never been clearer than it is today, in the aftermath of COVID-19.

It's time for the world's leaders, including those of governments and companies, institutions and regulators, to work together to create something bigger and better for everybody.

Our planet is under tremendous pressure and the young population is right to be so vocal about the crisis we face. Young people might represent circa 20% of the world but they are 100% of the future.

We cannot wait! Enough is enough. It's time for change.

Those of us, who are leaders of large or small companies, private or public enterprises, big or small business units, and profit or non-profit organisations, have an essential role to play to build back a better society.

Around 3.3 billion people across the world work every day. We, corporate leaders, have a huge responsibility to make the workplace a better, safer, and more sustainable environment for each and every one of them.

By André Lacroix, CEO, Intertek Group plc

About André Lacroix

André Lacroix has an exceptional record of value creation at every company he has ever led. Beyond that, over the years, he has become a recognised authority on sustainability in the corporate world. His upcoming book, ''About Leadership with Soul'' is an invitation for existing and future leaders to stop, think and reinvent their leadership approach to become ever-better leaders.