(Photo by Maxim Tolchinskiy via Unsplash)

One important role for departments promoting CSR and sustainability within companies is to understand stakeholder expectations regarding social issues. In particular, they are expected to proactively identify and address perception gaps both inside and outside the organization and feed this understanding back into management and corporate strategy in order to create future business opportunities and mitigate risks.

The Global Risks Report, a useful reference for understanding future trends, is published annually by the World Economic Forum in conjunction with its annual meeting in Davos. Based on the results of surveys of experts around the world, the report provides an overview of trends related to 33 global risks. These are listed by severity in the immediate term, short term (2 years) and long term (10 years), enabling companies to grasp medium- to long-term trends.

In the 2025 edition, the top four long-term risks looking ahead 10 years were environmental issues such as extreme weather events and biodiversity loss. Pollution, which ranked sixth in the short term and tenth in the long term, is particularly worth highlighting regarding the perception gap between internal and external stakeholders.

Increasingly diverse and complex risks of pollution

Concerns are growing over various pollutants, which can be categorized into air, soil, and water pollution.

• Air pollutants: Short-lived climate pollutants, known as super pollutants, which have a short atmospheric lifespan but a significant impact on air quality and the greenhouse effect. These include black carbon, which is a component of PM2.5, and methane emitted from agricultural activities.
• Water pollutants: Key concerns include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics and nanoplastics, as well as pollution from antimicrobials found in personal care products, sunscreen, insect repellents, and detergents.
• Soil pollutants: Nitrogen runoff from agricultural fertilizers, and chemicals arising from inadequate waste management.

Pollution can have significant impacts on ecosystems and human health. However, in many cases, the scientific understanding of these effects remains limited due to insufficient data, highlighting the need for further research. Additionally, people in socially vulnerable situations often suffer more severe health impacts. This makes it important to adopt precautionary measures against pollution while also addressing the issue in terms of intersectionality with human rights.

 Attention on pollution and countermeasures

There is a gap in how the severity of pollution is perceived between companies and other stakeholder groups. While governments, academia, and civil society rank pollution among the top 10 long-term risks, the private sector does not. Top approaches considered to be effective against pollution include national and local regulations (63%), global treaties and agreements (54%), and research and development (53%).

In terms of risks and opportunities for companies, the accumulation of scientific knowledge could lead to regulatory discussions on pollution advancing faster than companies might anticipate, both domestically and internationally. Demand may also increase for technologies such as filtration  systems and proper segregation at source for removing pollutants, as well as measuring and monitoring technologies.

For companies to understand future trends and gaps between internal and external perception, direct dialogue with stakeholders is essential. Departments promoting sustainability should take the lead in collecting information and engaging in such dialogues. Ultimately, embedding these practices across all departments and functions will accelerate the integration of sustainability into overall corporate management.

(Author: Takeshi Nozawa, Translation: Rowan White)