Corporate risk and strategy were redefined in 2025. Global trade relations shifted, geopolitics intensified, and expectations of business expanded well beyond traditional commercial performance.
At the same time, the era of broad global proclamations and generic ESG positioning has given way to a more nuanced reality. Reputation is increasingly judged on tangible local impact, not on statements or frameworks. What people experience on the ground now matters more than what companies say at the global level.
As a result, corporates are having to rethink how they engage with governments, communities, and stakeholders. Corporate diplomacy has become a practical necessity, helping businesses navigate political complexity at the macro level while delivering commercial outcomes and social value locally.
Looking ahead, corporate affairs leaders are pivoting again. After a period of rapid adjustment to constant disruption, the challenge now is to build sustainable, long-term strategies that reflect new global norms, emerging geopolitical alignments, and deeply fragmented stakeholder expectations.
The SEC Newgate Impact Monitor, a global study of more than 20,000 people across 20 countries, shows that the public expects business to provide strong leadership rooted in ethical, responsible practices that deliver real-world impact, alongside profits, jobs, and growth. It also highlights a clear expectation that businesses engage openly with a complex and often divided stakeholder environment.
As SEC Newgate prepares to launch the Impact Monitor, Group CEO Fiorenzo Tagliabue shares his perspective on how corporates must respond to a world in which both risks and opportunities are becoming more local, more political, and more consequential.
2025 has seen significant change in global trade, geopolitics, and attitudes toward business. How has this reshaped corporate strategy and the role of corporate affairs?
The most important shift is that uncertainty has become structural rather than episodic. Businesses are no longer responding to isolated shocks. They are operating in an environment where trade, regulation, politics, and public expectations are continuously evolving.
This has elevated the role of corporate affairs. Strategy can no longer be developed in isolation from geopolitics, public sentiment, or government intervention. At the same time, global strategies need far more flexibility. Broad mission statements or uniform approaches are rarely sufficient in markets where expectations differ so sharply.
What we are seeing instead is a greater focus on locally grounded execution, supported by strong global coordination. Corporate affairs now sits at the center of that effort, helping organizations manage risk, maintain credibility, and align commercial objectives with social and political realities.
Political intervention is increasing in many markets. Can business still separate itself from geopolitics, or does it need to engage more directly, even when that engagement can be polarizing?
In practice, separation is no longer possible. Business has become deeply politicized, whether through trade policy, energy transition, industrial policy, or the use of investment as a geopolitical tool.
Large organizations operate across borders and are therefore exposed to multiple political systems, shifting alliances, and conflicting expectations. Decisions taken in one market can be interpreted very differently elsewhere.
This is why corporate affairs is now critical a capability. Businesses need to engage thoughtfully and consistently, recognizing the diversity of audiences they face and the need to define and defend their own values and strategy. The goal is not political alignment, but resilience. That requires understanding the geopolitical context, anticipating change, and navigating complexity in a way that protects long-term value and license to operate.
We have seen a pullback in the public language around ESG, sustainability, and DEI. Does this signal a deeper retreat, or simply a change in how companies approach these issues?
What has changed most is the narrative, not the underlying imperative.
Many companies have stepped back from broad public declarations, but that does not mean they have abandoned environmental or social responsibility. In most cases, these issues are now being treated less as positioning and more as core elements of risk management, resilience, and long-term competitiveness.
Climate risk, supply chain disruption, workforce expectations, and talent attraction have not disappeared. If anything, they have intensified. Our research shows continued public support for responsible business behavior, even if there is skepticism toward labels or perceived posturing.
The same is true for DEI. While some policies and language are being reconsidered, good governance, fair treatment, equal opportunity, and inclusive cultures remain fundamental to reputation and performance. The emphasis is shifting from proclamation to practice.
You have renamed the ESG Monitor as the Impact Monitor. Does this reflect a belief that ESG is no longer strategically relevant?
Not at all. ESG remains a useful framework for organizing how businesses think about responsibility. What has changed is how that responsibility is judged.
Over five years of research, we have seen a clear shift in public expectations. People are far less focused on terminology and far more focused on outcomes. They want to see tangible, positive change in areas that affect their daily lives and communities.
The Impact Monitor reflects that evolution. It sharpens the focus on what actually builds legitimacy today, which is delivery, relevance, and authenticity at the local level. In that sense, impact is not a departure from ESG. It is its practical expression.
One of the strongest findings in this year’s research is the emphasis on localization. How should global businesses respond without undermining the benefits of globalization?
This is not a rejection of global business. It is a call for balance and accountability.
People value global innovation, investment, and connectivity, but they also want to see local jobs, local contribution, and local responsibility. That is why localization consistently emerges as a driver of credibility, even when it may imply higher costs.
For global businesses, the challenge is to demonstrate commitment where they operate. That includes how they employ people, source materials, pay taxes, and engage with communities and uphold values that matter to local audiences. Global scale remains an advantage, but legitimacy is increasingly earned locally.
Looking ahead to 2026, what are the key risks and opportunities corporates should be preparing for, and what mindset will be required to navigate them?
We are entering a period of sustained instability. Geopolitical competition, trade friction, populism, and regulatory intervention are likely to intensify rather than recede.
At the same time, this environment creates opportunity for businesses that are prepared. Those that invest in insight, anticipate change, and engage constructively with governments and stakeholders will be better positioned to adapt and grow.
The most important shift is recognizing that responsibility is now operational. Credibility is built incrementally, through everyday decisions and local outcomes. Corporate affairs and corporate diplomacy are no longer peripheral functions. They are central to managing complexity and enabling long-term success in a fragmented world.
Thank you Fiorenzo.
The SEC Newgate Impact Monitor is released at a time when expectations of business are being fundamentally reshaped. Across markets, people are judging organizations less by what they promise and more by the impact they deliver in practice.
The findings underline a clear message for leaders. Responsibility has become operational, reputation is built locally, and navigating political and social complexity is now a core part of doing business.
As companies look ahead to 2026, the Impact Monitor offers a grounded, global perspective on how stakeholder relationships are formed, how expectations differ across markets, and what it takes to build resilient strategies in a more fragmented world.
The SEC Newgate Impact Monitor launched on January 14, with the Global report and all country-specific reports available on SEC Newgate website.