These are the riskiest topics for businesses to address

Today, everything feels political. It can feel hard for a company to say anything at all without catching flack from the public or politicians. 

But some topics are even more explosive than others — and will remain so for the foreseeable future, according to a new analysis from Gravity Research. 

Gravity Research’s Q2 2024 Risk Index examined a number of hot-button topics, particularly in America, to assess just how much of a threat they pose to organizations. The index is designed to give an apples-to-apples comparison of the risk inherent in addressing various social issues as an organization. 

Luke Hartig, president of Gravity Research, said the index can work to ground companies and help identify what topics are worth avoiding, and which risks might still be worth taking. 

“There are plenty of loud issues that don’t have a lot of corporate implications. And there are plenty of things that are really relevant to companies that are not particularly loud,” Hartig said.  

Their methodology weights business impact at 50% and staying power, polarization and volume at an additional 50%.  

The highest risk topics 

Anyone who watches the news will be unsurprised to hear that the two topics posing the biggest risk to businesses are DE&I/racial equity and climate and sustainability topics. Both ranked an 8 out of 10 on Gravity Research’s scale, a significant jump from Q1, when DEI rated a 7 and sustainability and climate ranked at just a 6.5. 

The issue of DE&I has escalated as organizations have dealt with the fallout from the Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action, which has had ripple effects through private industry DE&I programs, seeing many begin to abandon programs begun during 2020. 

But even outside of legal necessities, some members of the public are also beginning to dial back or even eliminate DE&I programs, most notably Tractor Supply Company, which entirely halted its DE&I initiatives after criticism from its conservative customers and commenters. Now, progressives are beginning to push back against the pushback, demanding greater commitments to diversity, leaving some companies in an unwinnable situation. 

Some organizations are addressing the situation by continuing DE&I activities but using different vocabulary. 

“The terms that we’re seeing grow most prominently are things like diverse perspectives, diverse viewpoints and diverse experiences,” Hartig said. “Belonging” is also a surging term.  

ESG is also facing pressure from both the left and the right. Hartig attributed at least part of the bump in its risk index to the end of ESG report season, when the volume increases, but there are other societal factors at play too. A Texas school fund terminated an $8.5 billion contract with BlackRock over investments in ESG funds. At the same time, activists and consumers are also targeting companies over their use of plastics and demanding more accountability for putting items in landfills. 

This activity is leading some organizations to keep quiet about their ESG efforts, including carbon emissions programs, even as they continue with them as planned. “Most companies are moving forward operationally with their ESG programs, but not publicly touting them, or describing them in different ways,” Brad Karp, chair of law firm Paul Weiss, told the Wall Street Journal in January.  

The perceived need to remain mum, but proceed with programs that meet regulations around DE&I and ESG, may send communicators and PR pros looking for other aspects of the business to tout. 

LGBTQ+ issues and voting rights 

While addressing DE&I and ESG issues were deemed the biggest risk to a company’s bottom line, they aren’t the only items to watch out for. 

Topics around LGBTQ+ equality, especially around transgender rights and queer youth, were also of increasing concern in Q2, jumping from a 6 to a 7 between Q1 and Q2. Hartig attributed at least part of this to June’s Pride month.  

Pride was mostly quiet after a tumultuous 2023. And while Hartig doesn’t see these issues disappearing, he also doesn’t think they’re likely to worsen in the coming months.  

“We think that’s going to kind of hold steady, maybe increase if the presidential campaigns engage on it,” Hartig said. “But we don’t see a factor right now that’s gonna lead to a surge on LGBT issues.” 

One predictable issue that certainly will grow louder in the coming months is voting rights. The topic increased from 5.5 to 6.5 quarter-over-quarter as the election grows nearer. The interconnected issues of voter fraud and election integrity and security are seen as an area of deepening concern.  

The index was completed before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, but Hartig believes that seminal event will serve to alert companies for the need to plan for a number of scenarios that once seemed unthinkable. 

“If we’d talked month ago, my view would be that companies were kind of sleepwalking into this, this (election) … I think they’re no longer able to do that,” Hartig said. “And the events over the weekend certainly have the effect of waking them up from that.” 

In addition to scenario planning, Hartig advised leaders and communicators to find a group of like-minded companies to plan with, in case the politically unforeseen happens. 

“So that if you get into a situation where there’s one of these tough election-related scenarios, you have an idea of who you can rely on and what some sort of a group action might look like,” Hartig. “Because I think going it alone on this is going to be very difficult.” 

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.