While much attention is given to climatic vulnerabilities and physical risks, social risks are at the centre of resilience and are crucial for long-term asset sustainability.
Social vulnerability refers to a community’s resilience when facing external stressors. It comprises the inherent social conditions that make societies susceptible to hazards and their capacity to respond and recover.
Frameworks for identifying risks:
Various frameworks have been established which identify social risks for organisations to consider. The World Economic Forum, for example, publishes an annual Global Risk Report, highlighting severe risks anticipated over the next decade amid technological change, economic uncertainty, climate change and conflict. Additionally, the UK government has created a National Risk Register that assesses significant emergencies the UK may face, complementing local Community Risk Registers. These risk registers are driven by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which examines the responsibilities placed on responders to prepare for emergencies and places a legal duty to carry out risk assessments.
Groups of risks:
Utilising a range of sources including the World Economic Forum, National Risk Register and London Risk Register, we categorise social risks into five broad groups based on the type of threat to society:
- Geopolitical: Global risks that may be caused by international or national political change and conflict, such as interstate/intrastate conflict, cyber insecurity, terrorism, state collapse and technology-related risks.
- Socio-economic: Social risks that result from systemic economic strains. Examples include inequality, unemployment, disruption to services, debt and the housing crisis.
- Health: Health risks include those which threaten human health and wellbeing, including infectious and chronic diseases, as well as building health and safety.
- Societal: Social risks relating to societal polarisation, forced migration, erosion of human rights, disinformation and misinformation, criminality and labour shortage.
- Climate-related: Climate-related social risks include those which impact social infrastructure, human health and interaction as a result of climate change events.
A social risk assessment identifies the susceptibility of a building’s users and the surrounding community to adverse social conditions. The methodology evaluates both the likelihood and potential impact of various social risks, resulting in an overall risk rating of one (Low) to 25 (Very High). This scoring system helps clients prioritise which risks to address based on their relevance to the asset. The assessment also considers the local demographic context, including factors such as age, income, education level, and specific areas of deprivation like crime, living environment and barriers to housing and services. By evaluating these vulnerabilities, the assessment aids in addressing underlying stressors and enhances the asset’s ability to generate additional community benefit.
BREEAM In-use
Social risk assessments are a component of BREEAM In-use, specifically Part 2 (Management Performance), and they can improve an asset’s score. These assessments can also contribute to earning credits for a GRESB submission. Additionally, social risks are expected to be integrated into future frameworks. For instance, the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) is creating a global framework to help companies and financial institutions provide more effective public disclosures about the impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities associated with social issues, including inequality.
It is thus evidently important to move away from traditional approaches to risk management and consider both climate-related and non-climate-related risks to build adaptive capacity and to create resilient buildings and communities.
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