Energy costs rank among the top ten threats to Italian businesses

High energy prices, the economic crisis, cyber-attacks and growing geopolitical instability: this is the four-pronged uncertainty shaping 2025 for Italian businesses. This is according to the biennial ‘Global Risk Management Survey 2025’, conducted across 63 countries amongst nearly 3,000 companies by Aon, a firm specialising in insurance brokerage and consultancy for risk and human capital management. The risk of rising raw material prices – a category which in Italia also encompasses the impact of energy costs – remains at the top of the list: almost 63 per cent of the companies surveyed have already suffered direct losses. This is followed by cyber attacks and the economic crisis, which has affected seven out of ten companies. The picture reveals a country still exposed to market shocks and energy costs, but one that is more aware of the significance of risk in business management. Now in its tenth edition, the survey is one of the most comprehensive global barometers of risk perception and reveals how, in 2025, Italian companies find themselves on the front line when it comes to costs. In addition to losses due to rising raw material prices, 70 per cent of companies report that they have been affected by the effects of the economic crisis. Rising energy prices and dependence on imported resources are exacerbating a structural vulnerability that leaves the industrial system more exposed than in other European countries. According to Marco Dubini Daccò, executive chairman of Aon Spa, these findings ‘reflect the pressure Italian businesses are facing, amid economic and geopolitical volatility, rising costs and digital transformation’. The executive emphasises that the burden of raw material costs “highlights the vulnerability of supply chains and the impact of inflation on industrial strategies”, whilst the prominence of cyber risk “comes as no surprise, as Europe is one of the regions most affected by cyber-attacks worldwide”.

In addition to the risk ranking, the survey also measures companies’ ability to respond. Only half (50 per cent) have a formal mitigation or review plan in place to address rising raw material costs, and just 8 per cent have quantified their cyber risk exposure. Fewer than one in three companies (30 per cent) have an operational risk management plan. These figures highlight a gap between perception and action, and contribute – as Dubini Daccò observes – ‘to a structural under-insurance that exposes companies to financial and reputational losses’. Despite these weaknesses, however, the survey highlights significant progress in risk culture. Over 73 per cent of Italian organisations now have a dedicated risk management department, compared with the global average of 68 per cent. However, only 37.6 per cent use a structured risk identification process at company level (compared with 46.9 per cent globally) and just 19 per cent have working groups with annual planning. According to Dubini Daccò, this is a sign “of a growing but still evolving maturity, which must be transformed into a proactive and integrated approach”.

The report also highlights an often-overlooked aspect: over 60 per cent of Italian businesses have suffered losses linked to at least one of the ten main risks, a percentage higher than the global average. The economic fabric, comprising largely small and medium-sized manufacturing firms, amplifies the impact of external shocks. The most severe effects stem precisely from cyber risks and business interruptions, with significant financial and reputational consequences. In this context, explains Dubini Daccò, it becomes ‘essential to integrate risk management into business planning processes, adopting prevention, simulation and transfer models that enable companies to react swiftly and protect their value in the long term’.

Looking to the future, however, the risk landscape for the next three years is shifting towards environmental and social issues: climate change has, in fact, entered the top five priorities for the first time, alongside the economic crisis and cyber risk. Italia, whilst maintaining a strong focus on costs and productivity, is showing a growing awareness of sustainability. This is a sign of cultural evolution that aligns the country with the major global trends that are reshaping the geography of vulnerability. “Italian businesses are evolving in the way they perceive risk: environmental awareness is growing and a more integrated vision is taking hold, one capable of linking digitalisation, climate change and geopolitical volatility,” emphasises Dubini Daccò. The 2025 Survey thus describes a changing country: a production system that is exposed but no longer oblivious, and which is beginning to view risk as a component of its own competitiveness. “Italian businesses,” says Dubini Daccò, “are learning to turn complexity into opportunity, by combining data, predictive analytics and long-term resilience strategies.” And on this path, the real challenge will be to reconcile protection with growth. Because, as the president explains, “attention to global risks and the environment must go hand in hand with the development of an adequate corporate welfare system”. The message is clear. In this new landscape of permanent uncertainty, it is no longer enough simply to avoid risk: we need to know how to manage it. And that is where the strength of ‘Made in Italy’ is already being tested today.

Whilst in Italy the risk takes the form of high energy prices, in the rest of the world it takes the form of cyber threats and international tensions. In 2025, according to Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey 2025, global businesses are operating in a context of permanent instability, where cyber-attacks and geopolitical volatility are shaping the new landscape of threats. For the first time in the history of the survey, geopolitical volatility has entered the global top ten, having jumped twelve places compared with 2023. But the digital dimension remains at the top of the ranking:cyberattacks or data breaches remain the number one risk for businesses, followed by business disruption and economic slowdown. Rounding out the global top ten are regulatory changes, increasing competition, commodity-related risk, supply chain disruptions, reputational or brand damage, geopolitical volatility and liquidity risks. This reflects a global risk that has now become systemic, in which technology, politics and the economy are intertwined and mutually reinforce one another. Despite widespread awareness, the survey reveals a picture of continued weak preparedness: only 14 per cent of organisations monitor their exposure to key risks and just 19 per cent use analytical tools to assess their insurance programmes. The result is widespread underinsurance, which leaves businesses exposed to increasingly frequent financial and reputational losses.