World leaders across the political, public and private sector met in Davos on 16th-20^th January, 2023 to discuss the economic outlook of the year ahead.  

Nearly 3,000 global leaders, including over 350 government leaders and 47 heads of state – converged in Davos Switzerland for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Reuters reported.

Global Experts revealed that the global economic outlook for the current year is not as bad as feared with declining inflation, resilient consumer spending, strong labor markets and China’s optimized COVID-19 response and eventual return to normal business suggesting growth could return in the short term, Reuters further reported.  

However, the release of the Global Risk Report 2023, a tradition in the World Economic Forum meetings slightly dampened the optimism. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report for 2023 describes 2023 as a time of unparalleled disruption and complexity with caution that risks such as climate change, inequality and geopolitical tensions will transcend borders and sectors, wrote Simon Torkington, Senior Writer, Formative Content, in his article “We’re on the brink of a ‘polycrisis’ – how worried should we be?”

According to Simon Torkington, the cost-of-living crisis is the most immediate and severe global risk and climate-related risks are the biggest future threat facing the world.

He wrote that the Global Risk Report 2023 shows crises converging – from the cost-of-living crisis to energy price volatility to societal polarization.

Simon Torkington’s indicates in his article that the intersection of current risks with emerging crises pose the greatest risk of a polycrisis. The Global Risks Report 2023 uses the term, to explain how, present and future risks can interact with each other to form a ‘polycrisis’ – a cluster of related global risks with compounding effects, such that the overall impact exceeds the sum of each part.

The Report draws a link between the cost-of-living crisis, the failure to mitigate the climate crisis and the growing pressure on finite resources as a potential catalyst for such an event.

On the other hand, the Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the New Society and Economy at the World Economic Forum, Saadia Zahid suggests that the cascading crises facing the world are not going away any time soon. She reveals that the Global Risks Report shows leaders are preparing for a long road ahead but that there is modest optimism that the crises will recede in the longer term.  

Saadia Zahid expects a decade of disruption, decay and impossible choices which has led to a call for acting now – and acting together.

She calls on leaders to rethink the time horizon of risks. By indicating that while risks may play out as having short- and long-term impact, action to address those risks must occur in the shortest timeframe: today. In today’s risk landscape this means addressing both socioeconomic and climate concerns now and together.

“We must move past short-termism, crises-driven mindsets and solo approaches to address these risks.” Saadia Zahid.

In response to such a demand by the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risk Report, the International Organization for Standardization in an article publish on their website said that with over 24 000 published standards, ISO’s existing contributions to these challenges are already extensive. International Standards underpin a common global approach for matters of sustainable development, such as climate adaptation and mitigation, sustainable finance, trade, as well as numerous environmental and societal benefits for communities all over the world.

According to the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 31000:2018 is tailor-made for any organization seeking clear guidance on risk management. Using ISO 31000:2018 according to the International Organization for Standardization can help organizations increase the likelihood of achieving their objectives, improve the identification of opportunities and threats and effectively allocate and use resources for risk treatment.

The International Organization for Standardization website indicates that ISO 31000:2018 provides guidelines on managing risk faced by organizations. ISO 31000:2018 provides a common approach to managing any type of risk and is not industry or sector specific.

The International Organization for Standardization states that Organizations using ISO 31000:2018 can compare their risk management practices with an internationally recognized benchmark, providing sound principles for effective management and corporate governance.

World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report’s call for collaborative action and acting together can be in anyway of organization implementing ISO 31000:2018 which enables different parties to reach on goal of developing risk-based thinking mindset in whatever they do to survive the time of unparalleled disruption and complexity foreseen in 2023.