Building resilient food systems: A resilience assessment framework for food supply

This study investigates corporate strategies for integrating non‐financial risks and stakeholder engagement into business management frameworks. Our inquiry analyzes the extent to which companies explicitly or implicitly incorporate stakeholder perspectives into their risk management practices. Based on the four fundamental pillars of risk management outlined by the Institute of Risk Management (IRM 2002), this study seeks to elucidate the multidimensional and comprehensive nature of stakeholder engagement in risk management processes. This study is based on a content analysis of 253 sustainability reports and Non‐Financial Statements drawn from different categories of companies representing the Italian market: large companies, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives, and public utilities. The results reveal that companies primarily address risk management and control in their reports, aligning with the literature. Although risk components are equally important in managing adverse events, the results show a high percentage of risk analysis unlike what emerged from the literature, and a smaller percentage of companies focused on risk monitoring and risk communication. Stakeholder engagement levels vary based on company type and the activities performed in the risk governance process. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to systemic risk management research by integrating stakeholders into risk governance models. From a managerial perspective, this study offers implications for both risk management and sustainability disclosure practices. Limitations include the sample of Italian companies only and the different publication years of the collected reports.

Much of the risk science literature, in an increasingly complex world, suggests a transition from conventional risk management to risk governance. Risk governance, which highlights the multiplicity of actors and interactions among them, requires a new holistic, inclusive, and adaptive approach to managing systemic risks that cannot be addressed by traditional risk assessment and management schemes. Although nuclear risks have long been characterized as typical examples of systemic risks, the established framework of nuclear risk management has not necessarily been oriented toward risk governance. This study aims to analyze the features and challenges of the nuclear safety principles and safety goals from the risk governance perspective. The analysis shows that while the structure of existing safety goals focuses on reactor safety and quantifiable factors under the licensee’s control, it is silent on the factors that are difficult to quantify and beyond the licensee’s control. The structure of the responsibility and management framework for nuclear safety has systematically oriented the practice of risk assessment and management toward a circumscribed and compartmentalized approach. To overcome these challenges, this study presents a new conceptual framework for hybrid safety goals, reflecting the perspectives of risk governance and disaster studies. The hybrid safety goals consist of the goals for ‘artefacts’ to address reactor safety, and the goals for ‘area’ to reduce local vulnerability. The goals for ‘artefacts’ prioritize preciseness, quantitativeness, and practicality, whereas the goals for ‘area’ emphasize inclusivity and adaptability, which play a catalytic role in the collaborations between nuclear practitioners and local actors. The significance and future challenges of hybrid safety goals are discussed, particularly in terms of control and responsibility.

Chemical analysis of estragole in fennel based teas and associated safety assessment using the Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach

The global financial crisis of 2008 exposed significant weaknesses in the corporate governance practices of banks, leading to excessive risk-taking, lack of oversight, and eventual failures. In response, corporate governance reforms have been implemented in the banking sector to enhance stability, restore public confidence, and protect the interests of depositors. Effective corporate governance ensures that banks are managed responsibly, aligning the interests of various stakeholders. Key areas of focus for these reforms include board composition and effectiveness, risk governance and management, remuneration policies, internal controls and auditing, transparency and disclosure, and stakeholder engagement. Reforms emphasize the importance of having a diverse and independent board, robust risk management frameworks, aligning executive compensation with long-term performance, strengthening internal controls and auditing processes, enhancing transparency and disclosure requirements, and engaging with stakeholders, including depositors. Initiatives such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's guidelines and the European Union's Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) have aimed to strengthen governance frameworks and promote best practices within the banking industry. These reforms mandate the establishment of dedicated risk committees, stress testing practices, clawback provisions in remuneration structures, and the implementation of effective compliance and auditing functions. Effective implementation of corporate governance reforms is crucial for enhancing financial stability, mitigating systemic risks, and protecting depositors' interests. By promoting responsible and ethical practices, strengthening oversight mechanisms, and aligning incentives with long-term sustainability, these reforms aim to restore public confidence in the banking industry and contribute to the overall resilience of the financial system. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Banking Regulations, Risk Management, Transparency, Financial Stability

Risk assessment for pyrrolizidine alkaloids detected in (herbal) teas and plant food supplements

Risk Management Priority Assessment of heritage sites in China Based on Entropy Weight and TOPSIS

This study investigates the relationship between the implementation of ISO management standards and the prioritisation of risk management activities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Slovak Republic. Using a quantitative approach based on a survey of 375 SMEs conducted between 2022 and 2023, the authors tested three hypotheses regarding the statistical dependence between implemented ISO standards, the designated person responsible for risk management, and the primary focus areas within the risk management process. The results demonstrate a significant dependence between the degree of ISO implementation and both the risk management priorities and the person responsible for risk management, particularly in small enterprises. The findings indicate that while small businesses tend to prioritise risk identification, medium-sized enterprises focus more on risk evaluation. The study highlights the importance of integrating ISO standards to enhance risk management efficiency and recommends further attention to the allocation of responsibilities and resources in SMEs to improve risk governance. The implications support the strategic value of risk management integration in organisational decisionmaking and sustainability.

There is a growing effort worldwide to develop objective indicators for animal welfare assessment, which provide information on an animal's quality of life, are scientifically trustworthy, and can readily be used in practice by professionals. Animals are sentient beings capable of positive and negative emotion, and so these indicators should be sensitive not only to their physical health, but also to their experience of the conditions in which they live. This paper provides an outline of ethological research aimed at developing practical welfare assessment protocols. The first section focuses on the development and validation of welfare indicators generally, in terms of their relevance to animal well-being, their interobserver reliability, and the confidence with which the prevalence of described features can be estimated. Challenges in this work include accounting for the ways in which welfare measures may fluctuate over time, and identifying measures suited to monitoring positive welfare states. The second section focuses more specifically on qualitative welfare indicators, which assess the 'whole animal' and describe the expressive qualities of its demeanour (e.g. anxious, content). Such indicators must be validated in the same way as other health and behaviour indicators, with the added challenge of finding appropriate methods of measurement. The potential contribution of qualitative indicators, however, is to disclose an emotional richness in animals that helps to interpret information provided by other indicators, thus enhancing the validity of welfare assessment protocols. In conclusion, the paper emphasises the importance of integrating such different perspectives, showing that new knowledge of animals and new ways of relating to animals are both needed for the successful development of practical welfare assessment tools.

Integrated development projects in the oil and gas industry are exposed to multiple layers of risk, including operational, financial, and stakeholder-driven challenges. Effective risk management frameworks are essential to balance technical uncertainties with commercial constraints while maintaining project efficiency. This paper presents a structured approach to risk management in a high stakes drilling environment, focusing on a lump sum turnkey (LSTK) project executed for a Middle East operator. The study highlights best practices for risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and stakeholder engagement to enhance project resilience and long-term value creation. The primary objectives of this paper are to establish a structured risk management framework tailored for complex drilling and well development projects. To analyze financial and contractual risk mitigation strategies in LSTK projects. To demonstrate the role of stakeholder engagement in reducing project uncertainties and commercial disputes. To provide practical recommendations based on real-world project execution in a Middle East field. This study adopts a multi-dimensional approach to risk management, combining technical, financial, and stakeholder-driven methodologies. The framework is derived from actual project execution experience in a high-risk drilling environment and is structured as follows. Risk Identification & Categorization: A systematic evaluation of drilling, well integrity, and commercial risks, incorporating real-time operational challenges such as the risk of stuck pipe, wellbore instability, and cost overruns. Risk Assessment & Quantification: Utilization of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) techniques and scenario modeling to quantify potential project impacts. Mitigation Strategies: Implementation of proactive measures such as design optimization, real-time monitoring, and contingency planning to minimize risk exposure. Stakeholder Management: Development of risk-sharing mechanisms through collaborative engagement with key stakeholders, including operators, service providers, and regulatory bodies. Financial & Contractual Risk Management: A case study of commercial claim resolution, analyzing negotiation strategies and contract interpretation to mitigate financial exposure. The risk management framework presented in this paper was successfully applied in a Middle East project, leading to improved decision-making, reduced financial exposure, and enhanced operational performance. Key outcomes include: Reduction in Operational Downtime: By proactively addressing drilling risks and implementing advanced well planning, the project achieved a significant reduction in non-productive time (NPT). Effective Stakeholder Alignment: Strategic engagement with stakeholders facilitated the resolution of contractual ambiguities, minimizing disputes and improving collaboration. Optimized Cost Management: A structured risk register and financial monitoring process enabled better budget control, preventing cost overruns in the LSTK contract. Enhanced Project Resilience: The integration of technology-driven risk mitigation strategies, including real-time monitoring and optimized well design, contributed to overall project success. This paper provides a unique, field-tested approach to risk management in LSTK projects within the Middle East region, offering practical insights beyond theoretical frameworks. Unlike conventional risk management studies that focus solely on technical aspects, this research integrates financial and stakeholder considerations to develop a comprehensive strategy. The case study illustrates how real-world challenges in high-risk drilling environments can be effectively managed through a structured approach, making it a valuable reference for industry professionals involved in complex oil and gas projects.

Purpose: The paper analyzes the efficacy of risk management governance, which takes the form of a dedicated risk governance committee and the executive board with the CRO. It illustrates which aspects of risk management and governance are crucial for the banks' financial performance. It also emphasizes financial sustainability through risk management and governance. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative research approach is employed with secondary data from published and reliable sources. Regression analysis is employed for estimating the impact, and a t-test is performed for estimating the difference. Findings: It concludes that the financial performance measured using returns ratio significantly differs among the banks with the executive board having a CRO and the executive board having an absence of a CRO. The financial performance variable taken as a function of the bank's corporate governance variables assumes a positive and significant impact. It infers that risk governance can lead to sustainable financial performance. Research Limitations and Implications: This study contributes to the risk governance structure of banks. The future work should consider different samples and extended risk-based variables for more implications. Originality: The banks performance with a risk management approach in South Asian economies after the global crisis is a valuable addition to the corporate governance of banks in the studied countries. The comparative analysis of banks with and without the role of the CRO is a unique contribution in the provided setting.

This study determined the extent to which fall risk assessment and management practices for older patients were implemented in Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) in a defined geographic area in southern New England that had participated in evidence-based fall prevention training between October 2001 and September 2004. The standardized in-service training sessions taught home health nurses and rehabilitation therapists how to conduct assessments for five evidence-based risk factors for falls in older adults--mobility impairments, balance disturbances, multiple medications, postural hypotension, and home environmental hazards--using techniques shown to be efficacious in clinical trials. Twenty-six HHAs participated in these in-service training sessions; 19 of these participated in a survey of nurses and rehabilitation therapists between October 2004 and September 2005. Self-reported assessment and management practices implemented with older patients during home healthcare visits were measured in this survey, and HHA-level measures for each fall risk factor were constructed based on proportions of clinicians reporting assessment and management practices that were recommended in the fall prevention training sessions. For all fall risk factors except postural hypotension, 80% or more of clinicians in all HHAs reported implementing recommended fall risk management practices. Greater variation was found regarding fall risk assessment practices, with fewer than 70% of clinicians in one or more HHAs reporting recommended assessment practices for all risk factors. Results suggest that evidence-based training for home healthcare clinicians can stimulate fall risk assessment and management practices during home health visits. HHA-level comparisons hold the potential to illustrate the extent of diffusion of evidence-based fall prevention practices within and between agencies.

This paper proposes a framework for the planning of the structural integrity and risk management (SIRM) of offshore structures by utilizing the value of information and action (VoIA) analysis. Multiple structural health information sources, i.e. inspections, structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection systems (DDS), are modeled in dependency of the information acquirement state. In the probabilistic modeling, it is distinguished whether the information are predicted or already obtained. Two deteriorating structural system modeling approaches are illustrated and the pre-posterior and posterior updating of the structural system performance is formulated. To enhance the efficiency of the analysis of complex structural systems, a response surface method for load modeling is derived and the model uncertainty of the response surface is explicitly modeled. The formulated approaches are applied to a generic structural system and a typical deepwater jacket platform analyzing four SIRM scenarios. The optimal SIRM strategy is identified by maximizing the VoIA. The results show that the implementation of SIRM can reduce the failure risks and the expected total costs over the service life compared to a scenario without SIRM. It is also observed that information from SHM and DDS can reduce future inspection efforts and enhance the value of SIRM.

Over the last few years the importance to the strong corporate governance of managing risk has been increasingly acknowledged. There is more opportunity and risk in today’s complex, dynamic and fast changing environment The new reality is that risks are swift, sudden and relentless; the sources of risks being less predictable, which not only adds to the challenge of managing, but forces businesses to review their approach to risk management and control. Organizations are under pressure to identify all the business risks they face: social, ethical and environmental as well as financial and operational, and to explain how they manage them to an acceptable level. Organizations operate in the environments where factors such as globalization, technology, regulation, restructurings, changing markets, and competition create uncertainty. Uncertainty is caused by an inability to precisely determine the likelihood that potential events will occur and their associated outcomes. Risk usually can be understood as an uncertainty about the events and their outcomes that could have material effect on the goals and objectives of the organization. Risk is the threat that the organization will not reach its objectives both facing the negative circumstances and also failing to utilize the opportunities, i.e. risk is a set of circumstances that hinder the achievement of the determined objectives. Therefore in order to reach its objectives each organization has to develop and implement an approach to assessing and managing the uncertainties and opportunities it faces in the pursuit of its business strategy, with the intention of maximizing shareholder value and performance, i.e. meeting the determined objectives. The underlying meaning of the risk management is that every organization, whether for-profit, not-for-profit, or a governmental body, exists to provide value for its stakeholders. All organizations face uncertainty, and the challenge for management is to determine how much uncertainty the organization is prepared to accept as it seeks to grow stakeholder value. Risk management of the organization provides a framework for management to effectively deal with the uncertainty and associated risk and opportunity and thereby enhance its capacity to build value. Any change in stakeholder value sooner or later must be reflected in the financial statements of the company. Only quality financial statements presenting true and fair view of the company’s activities can be used by stakeholders in decision making process. Effective risk management process ensures both increasing stakeholders value and quality of the financial statements, together supporting stakeholders trust. In case quality of financial reports is poor, companies might loose financial sources, trust of the investors, public, customers and suppliers. In current environment top and senior management of the organization more and more rely on the internal audit to evaluate whether controls are sufficient to manage risks and uncertainties. That is a tremendous responsibility, and over the years, leading internal audit functions have strived to meet this challenge. This developing role of the internal auditing is also reflected in its current definition, i.e. internal auditing is “an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes”. Efficient internal audit assisting the company in improving risk management and governance systems takes an active role in assuring high quality financial statements. Therefore internal audit is an important value added function each company should use to gain competitive advantage. These developments are very important for Lithuanian companies due to growing economy, increase in foreign investments and stronger pressure from business environment to improve risk management and governance systems. The purpose of this article is to research efficiency of the risk management systems in Lithuanian companies from the perspective of the quality of the financial statements and also to research whether the existence of the internal audit function impacts the risk management system efficiency through the quality of the financial statements, i.e. researching whether internal audit is effective in Lithuanian companies.

The article presents the authors’ understanding of qualitative risk assessment of criminal offenses in the national economy sector, based on the premise that the mission of qualitative risk analysis is to identify the sources and causes of risk at each stage of its formation. The content and key scientific principles of assessing qualitative indicators are revealed. These principles involve the use of expert methods necessary for preparing, selecting, and evaluating risks, as well as making substantiated, rational, and effective decisions in risk management within the economic domain. The article substantiates a qualitative indicator that enables evaluation (together with quantitative indicators of criminal offenses) of deviations in the priorities of a state body responsible for implementing national policy in a particular sector (budgetary, tax, customs, monetary-credit, or investment) from the actual execution of that policy based on a defined risk or its components. It is determined that the qualitative indicator reflects the opinion of the expert community within the institution, in accordance with its powers and based on relevant knowledge and experience. Based on the analysis of existing expert assessment methods, the study updates and proposes a questionnaire for assessing the risk of committing a criminal offense. Taking into account the specifics of this research, the questionnaire is divided into institutional blocks according to the competence of state bodies within the risk cluster. The paper emphasizes the crucial role of principles that perform integrative, synthesizing, and organizing functions in risk assessment. These principles are visualized as the coverage of powers of the relevant state institution concerning the management of the risk of criminal offenses or the phenomena that form them. As a result of the study on qualitative risk indicators, the necessity for the development and testing of methodological approaches to assessing quantitative indicators is substantiated.

Achieving long-term effectiveness in natural disaster risk management needs a multifaceted approach. This approach should integrate the disaster’s impact with the region's social, economic, and physical characteristics. A variety of models have been developed to measure the disaster’s impact and propose risk reduction solutions. However, finding the optimal local solution is challenging. To enhance the sustainability of these solutions, it is crucial to consider the local pressing issues, which may be social, economic, cultural, or physical in nature. These issues manifest in the decision criteria when determining the most appropriate risk mitigation or management strategies. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods are instrumental in evaluating suitable solutions by integrating the outputs of risk assessment models with local priorities, which are represented as rankings of the decision criteria. Since the local experts and community representatives have the most practical information regarding regional issues, their input is essential in ranking the decision criteria. Various preference elicitation methods can be employed to capture experts’ perceptions on important issues.When it comes to disaster risk mitigation and management, the elicitation of stakeholders’ collective perception on important issues is challenging. Different experts with different backgrounds, concerns, and visions for the future can have different perceptions on important issues that should be addressed by the disaster risk mitigation solution. This difference of opinion can lead to conflict of priorities. Since the disaster risk mitigation and management solutions are usually led to policy making or implementation of those solutions, the existing conflicts can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of these solutions. As such, it is vital to address these conflicts and elicit the collective priorities of local stakeholders.In this research, a Simos-based silent negotiation process is developed for eliciting the stakeholders’ collective priorities for natural disaster risk mitigation and management. The developed process is designed to engage the representatives of local communities and other experts and decision-makers and systematically direct them to compromise on less important issues. The designed process benefits from different methods to increase robustness. By directing participants to compromise on their less important issues, this process provides the collective local priorities in mitigating disaster risk. Furthermore, it can gauge the level of conflicts among the stakeholders at the end of the silent negotiation. Additionally, it creates equal opportunity for all the participants to raise concerns and argue their point of view. This creates the opportunity to address issues and concerns from different communities.The process is developed and implemented in the Horizon Europe project MEDiate (Multi-hazard and risk-informed system for Enhanced local and regional Disaster risk management). The MEDiate project is dedicated to creating a decision-support system (DSS) for disaster risk management that considers the complexities of multiple interacting natural hazards and fits the final disaster risk management solution to the characteristics, priorities, and concerns of the local communities and decision-makers. The MEDiate framework is implemented on four different testbeds (Oslo (Norway), Nice (France), Essex (UK), and Múlaþing (Iceland)), each of which has a different multi-hazard pair and different socio-economic characteristics.