Introduction

Data breaches, natural catastrophes, health crises, and widespread corruption are all examples of notable incidents that get a lot of media attention and are frequently considered high-risk. While exposure to catastrophic events is certainly a risk factor, the risk is ultimately the result of uncertainty. And guess what? Uncertainty is always going to be a constant in today's threat landscape. 

Forrester's recent report on the State of Risk Management 2022 from surveying 360 enterprises around the world revealed:

• In the previous 12 months, 41% of enterprises encountered three or more major risk occurrences.

In another report, AICPA and CIMA’s 2022 GLOBAL State of Enterprise Risk Oversight, 5th edition, surveying 747 executives from organizations across the world showed:

• Sixty percent or more of survey respondents from around the world say the number and complexity of risks are rising "mostly" or "extensively."
• Concluding from their recent findings from three research indicate that the difficulty in managing risk did not seem to be decreasing with time.
• Even before the pandemic, business executives had a nagging feeling that there was an excessive number and variety of threats to their companies.

So how do you tackle uncertainty? 

The answer is to include a robust risk assessment program in your EHS program (environmental, health, and safety). 

Risk assessment, as we all know, has been a popularized concept in EHS management during the last few decades. Many are familiar with the term, but only some understand its proper meaning, use, and importance. The actual, irreplaceable value of risk assessments lies in their ability to detect existing and future hazards and risks in the workplace that might lead to incidents.  

This whitepaper will help you understand the depth of risk assessment and why it’s an important part of any EHS program. We’ll go through the process involved in a thorough risk assessment, the common challenges faced in implementing a robust program, and how technology can help combat them.