If we thought 2024 was filled with a series of unpredictable events that shook the social, political and economic landscape across the world, the first few weeks of 2025 have shown us that this is a trend that won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

From the swearing of a new president in America to the launch of controversial national and international policies that have far-reaching consequences, the status quo is rapidly changing, bringing with it a new set of concerns and challenges for the world to grapple with.

This is the context in which organisations are currently operating. More than ever, there are a growing number of emerging risks that were once in the realm of ‘unlikely to happen’. Today, not only are they likely to happen but organisations need to have a proactive plan to tackle these emerging risks and other risks that may emerge as the year unfolds.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report, geopolitical tension, economic recession, polarization and technology are some of the global risks that organisations will grapple with this year. Indeed, “the global outlook is increasingly fractured across geopolitical, environmental, societal, economic and technological domains,” as stated in the Report. While these risks are not new, the stakes are now much higher for organisations as stakeholders and audiences across the world continue to expect more from organisations and institutions and they also demand greater levels of transparency and accountability from those who run these organisations.

Most importantly, the top risks as outlined in the 2025 Global Risks Report can have a significant impact on trust and an organisation’s license to operate. Without trust, an organisation cannot have the license to operate and without a license to operate, no organisation can exist. This means that it is in the best interests of an organisation and its executives to effectively manage these risks and prevent anything that would have a negative impact on reputation.

This is where Communications and PR professionals come in. We’re in the best position to support, guide and advise organisations on how to manage these emerging risks and avoid reputational damage through strategic communications and enhanced stakeholder management. These are some of the strategies we can use to help our organisations and executives to manage these emerging risks:

Multi stakeholder approach - It has become critical for stakeholders to be properly engaged and carried along in the operations of the organisation. This includes both internal and external stakeholders. Instead of focusing on one group of stakeholders and underestimating the power and influence of smaller stakeholder groups, Communications and PR professionals should adopt a multi stakeholder approach that takes into consideration the needs and concerns of multiple stakeholders and provides a seamless mechanism for their concerns to be heard and responded to.

Communications and PR professionals also have a key role to play in coaching CEOs and executives on how to properly communicate with and manage the expectations of key stakeholders and those with growing interests in the operations of the organisation.

Authenticity and alignment of brand values - Communications and PR professionals are the custodians of the corporate character of an organisation. It is therefore within our remit to ensure that what the organisation says and does is in alignment with the projected brand values. This is because any disparity in this area will negatively impact trust, and it will be called out.

As organisations grapple with an environment where there is a crisis of grievance as described in the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, it is in the best interest of organisations and executives to be intentional about authenticity and being true to who they say they are as an organisation.

Positioning of the CEO and executives as trusted voices - Tied to the previous point is the need to position CEOs and executives as trusted voices. One of the things I found interesting from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer is that while business remains the most trusted institution, 67% of the respondents surveyed said they trusted their CEO more than some other institutional leaders while only 53% trusted CEOs in general. I believe this presents an opportunity for CEOs and executives to be positioned as trusted voices through authentic communication and transparent action.

This is important as misinformation and disinformation continue to be a cause of concern for stakeholders all over the world. With advancements in AI making it even more difficult to differentiate what is fake from what is real, ensuring that CEOs and organisations become sources of trustworthy information will play a key role in maintaining and boosting trust levels.

Once again, Communications and PR professionals should provide adequate coaching and guidance to ensure information shared by CEOs, executives, and the organisation at large is not misleading or false.

Commitment to ethics and transparency - Finally, Communications and PR professionals need to be champions of ethics and transparency in the organisation. Everyone within the organisation, from the CEO to the field staff, needs to understand the importance of working ethically. And when it comes to communicating and engaging with stakeholders, ethics should not be compromised in any way as this can cause stakeholder relationships to become fragmented.

With the world becoming increasingly polarized, it is essential for organisations and CEOs to be a hallmark for ethics and transparency. While organisations cannot singlehandedly prevent the top risks outlined for the year from occurring, Communications and PR professionals can help their organisations to maintain trusted relationships with their core stakeholder base. This creates room for championing shared interests that can help organisations deliver value to multiple stakeholder groups.

Beyond this, Communications and PR professionals can guide their organisations to play an important role in boosting stakeholder optimism in a world where many have become less optimistic about their future, and also have less faith in the ability of organisations to operate in the best interests of the many rather than the few.