CEO risk in ’22: Losing culture battles

Corporations will have to spend more to navigate demands by consumers and employees “empowered by ‘cancel culture’ and enabled by social media,” Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer and Cliff Kupchan write in a “Top Risks 2022” report to clients, out this morning.

Why it matters: The year’s political and sports calendars give activists “ready-made flashpoints … the Beijing Winter Olympics (forced labor, human rights), the FIFA World Cup in Qatar (ditto), and the US midterms (voting rights, abortion).”

What’s happening: “Compliance is expensive. It means reorienting supply chains. Firms will have to monitor beyond first- or even second-tier suppliers,” the Eurasia Group report says.

“[M]ultinationals caught between the West and China will face a ‘two-way’ risk. If they speak out against forced labor in China, they face fury from Chinese regulators and consumers. If they don’t, they face backlash from regulators and consumers” in the West.

Go deeper: Read the “Top Risks 2022” report.

Πηγή: axios.com