Resilience: Not Just Another Buzzword Recent years have shown how quickly assumptions can be overturned: from the return of global pandemics to war on European soil to sudden shifts in geopolitical alliances. In parallel, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly more visible, with extreme weather events intensifying, sea levels rising, and ecosystems facing unprecedented stress. These challenges and uncertainties impact people, businesses, and institutions. So, how are we supposed to navigate through this maze of a crisis? A starting point is through strengthening our resilience. Resilience takes many forms, from individual mental strength and business continuity to the ability of supply chains to withstand disruptions and overall security. It’s about acknowledging and understanding challenges and the confidence and ability to act effectively when needed. Circular economy to mitigate geopolitical limbo Resilience does not operate in isolation—it is deeply intertwined with sustainability, biodiversity, and how we organise our economies. The circular economy illustrates this well. By keeping valuable materials in circulation, businesses—particularly those reliant on critical minerals, rare earths, or metals—can achieve a meaningful degree of self-sufficiency, reducing dependence on fragile global supply chains. Likewise, the transition to renewable energy strengthens independence from geopolitical uncertainty. Where biodiversity meets resilience Sustainability and biodiversity agendas also increasingly overlap with this risk logic, not only because ecosystems and their services shape exposure and vulnerability, but also since “working with nature” can deliver measurable co-benefits for natural disaster risk reduction and adaptation. This is not merely an environmental argument: biodiversity has found its way into National Security and Defence Strategies, where it is categorised as a systemic risk capable of triggering a whole web of threats—from the loss of raw materials to outright conflict over resources. Biodiversity and ecosystem services are now treated as material to human well-being and policy choices in major science–policy syntheses. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment, for example, positions nature’s contributions as a decision-relevant knowledge base rather than only a conservation concern. In disaster risk reduction, this becomes concrete through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based approaches: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) documents that NbS can provide multifaceted benefits, including biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation/adaptation, and enhanced disaster resilience, and links this “working with nature” logic to implementing the UNDRR Sendai agreement on disaster risk reduction alongside other global frameworks. Resilience and preparedness as key factors for business continuity On the business side, continuity planning institutionalises resilience by turning disruption into a managed operating condition, which is why ISO 22301 is framed as a security-and-resilience standard for business continuity management systems. Companies rely on public infrastructure and public services, while governments and communities rely on private operators for critical functions, requiring coordination and cooperation of public services, military, emergency service organisations and communities. Business continuity also depends on social stability—when employees cannot perform their duties because they are torn between navigating imminent threat and having to provide for their families, companies begin to falter. This, in turn, can lead to further instability, and the system enters a vicious cycle. Resilience requires systems thinking When resilience is treated as a system property (not as the mandate of a single agent), investments that improve the continuity of essential functions—whether through infrastructure design, governance arrangements, or ecosystem restoration—can simultaneously strengthen security, civil protection, and societal resilience and preparedness. In times of crises, it is crucial to work hand in hand—this requires trust and trained routines. We’re in it together, and that is how we become resilient Resilience is strongest when actors jointly reduce exposure and vulnerability while strengthening response and recovery capacity. At the CSCP we have been thinking systems for 20 years. Working with diverse stakeholders, including those who start at very different positions, has become one of our unique strengths. This is an essential setting for achieving resilience: building bridges that help people, no matter their perspective, come together to find solutions that benefit all. Would you like to engage with us on enabling resilient societies? Reach out to Dr. Esther Heidbüchel to start the conversation!