Author Archives: Emily Holbrook

About Emily Holbrook

Emily Holbrook is a former editor of the Risk Management Monitor and Risk Management magazine. You can read more of her writing at EmilyHolbrook.com.
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The Countries Most at Risk for Energy Security

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Achieving a stable energy supply in times of political upheaval, overpopulation, dwindling traditional resources and a transition to a low carbon world is downright challenging. And for some countries that challenge seems nearly impossible, according to risk analyst firm Maplecroft, which rated the following countries at “extreme risk” for energy security:

  1. Sierra Leone
  2. Gambia
  3. Guinea-Bissau

The area is commonly known for severe political conflicts, corruption and frequent violence, which further weakens already-fragile communities and governments. In the case of the one country most at risk for energy security, Maplecroft found that:

Sierra Leone emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002 and despitereconstruction efforts and recent economic growth, it is the worst performing country in the Energy Security Index (short term). Sierra Leone was also categorized as extreme risk in the 2011 Energy Security Index (short term). Nearly 10 years after the end of the war only 10% of the country’s population has access to electricity and the supply is erratic and limited to major towns. This highlights the lasting effect that conflict can have on the energy security and infrastructure in vulnerable nations.

But these West African countries are not the only ones at risk for energy security.

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Most of the G-7 nations are included in the short-term “high risk” category, including Italy, Japan, UK, Germany, France and the USA.

The world’s second largest consumer of energy, the USA, rates as ‘high risk’ in the short-term, primarily because of the high imports of fossil fuels and electricity needed to support its colossal demand for energy. The largest percentage of US oil imports come from Middle Eastern countries – leaving the country at continual high risk of supply interruption and price shocks.

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In 2008, the US imported an average of 12.9 million barrels of oil per day, which represents 15.10% of world production in that year, with 23.36% coming from the MENA region.

Canada is the only G-7 nation rated as “low risk,” most likely because of the country’s abundant energy production and exporting business, coupled with its wealth of energy expertise, science and technology.

Japan’s ranking as “high risk” was due to many factors, including the earthquake and tsunami in March, which severely damaged the country’s ability to generate energy.

There is a silver lining, however, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan recently unveiled plans to bring down the cost of solar power generation by 2010 and to install solar panels in 10 million Japanese homes.

E. coli Outbreak Is One of the Worst in History

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Germany is reeling from what could turn out to be the worst E.

coli outbreak in history after more than 1,500 people have fallen ill and 16 killed from a severe strain of the foodborne illness. As a reference, this outbreak is three to five times worse than the 2006 U.S. outbreak of E. coli spread by bagged spinach, which killed three and sickened 276.

Germany initially pointed the finger at Spain and their alleged bacteria-infested cucumbers. But German officials are backtracking — quickly — after it became clear that the sources is still unknown and Spain began threatening legal action over the allegations.

“We do not rule out taking action against authorities which have cast doubt on the quality of our produce, so action may be taken against the authorities, in this case, of Hamburg,” Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told radio station Cadena Ser.Spanish farmers say lost sales resulting from the crisis are costing them 200 million euros (5 million) a week, and could put 70,000 people out of work in a country which already has the highest unemployment rate in the EU.

Health Commissioner Dalli said he was looking at what the European Commission could do about the impact on producers.

What has come to the surface during the rapid spread of this deadly illness is the weaknesses of the European Union’s food safety monitoring, “where there is a free market across countries but individual nations are tasked with monitoring safety.” To just about anyone, that seems like a lousy risk management technique that has, in part, led to a fast-spreading, deadly outbreak.

And that outbreak has now spread to eight other European countries, killing one woman in Sweden, which became the first non-German fatality.

Let’s take a look at some of the more recent, and thankfully less deadly, instances of foodborne illness outbreaks:

  • 2010: The largest food recall in history was prompted when dangerous levels of Salmonella were detected in the eggs of two Iowa produces, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farm. In all, more than 400 million eggs were recalled and approximately 2,000 illnesses were reported.
  • 2009: Peanut butter was blamed for killing nine and sickening 22,500 in one of the worst foodborne illness outbreaks in history. Georgia-based Peanut Corporation of America was found to be the culprit.
  • 2003: Green onions served at a Chi-Chi’s restaurant in Pennsylvania spawned the largest Hepatitis A outbreak in U.S. history. Four people died and more than 660 were infected.

Great Video Coverage of RIMS 2011

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The staff over at PropertyCasualty360.com continues to do an impressive job posting daily commentary on the industry’s pressing topics. Today they are showcasing a well-crafted video featuring coverage of the RIMS 2011 Annual Conference Exhibition in Vancouver, including an interview with Bermuda Premier Paula Cox and a preview of some of the most exciting booths in the exhibit hall. Here it is, for your viewing pleasure:

Thanks again to PropertyCasualty360.com.

Excellence in Risk Management

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The Great Recession is not known for inspiring great things, but it did spur the creation of the Dodd-Frank bill, which, among many things, created the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Insurance Office. And the near-collapse of the U.S. economy did wonders for the discipline of risk management.

As a result, according to a new survey from Marsh and the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), executives in the C-suite are expecting much more from the risk managers at their company.

Below are a few of the key findings from the report:

  • An overwhelming majority of respondents said that senior management’s expectations of their organizations’ risk management departments have grown over the past three years. Senior management’s list of desired changes from risk managers includes integrating risk management deeper with operations, executing daily risk management activities more efficiently, providing improved analysis and quantification, and leading enterprise risk management (ERM) activities.
  • The most common focus area for 2011 is strengthening strategic risk management, which was cited by more than half of survey respondents. For the second year, this area came out on top, although barriers to doing so remain.
  • The top barrier cited to senior leadership understanding of the risk landscape was silos within the organization. This is the same answer given in prior years, and is something that organizations should begin to confront if they have not already done so. One way to tear down the silos is to create or strengthen cross-functional risk committees.
  • As the role of chief risk officer (CRO) continues to develop, we are beginning to see some differences in how they view and prioritize the issues. For example, CROs were much more likely than other risk managers to categorize senior management’s change in expectations a “very significant.” CROs said strengthening ERM capabilities and integrating ERM into strategic planning were focus areas for 2011.
  • Economic conditions ranked as the number one risk among respondents, and was also the risk that they were least comfortable with their organizations’ ability to manage. In other areas, such as business disruption, risk managers and the C-suite are not as aligned in their views of how prepared their companies are to manage the risk.
  • Nearly 60% of companies said their use of data and analytics has changed over the past three years. This is likely a reflection of leadership’s desire for there to be more transparency and quantification around risk decisions, particularly the economic implications. Despite the stated changes, however, there appears to be a need for companies to better use the available tools and analytics.

And let’s take a look at the areas in which senior management’s expectations of the risk management department have grown:

It seems the financial crisis continues to shine a light on the importance of risk management as a whole and, more specifically, enterprise risk management and strategic risk management.