Kearney releases new year-ahead predictions for 2022

The long shadow of COVID-19 and the cascading effects of its latest variants will condition what happens in the next 12 months

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Kearney

Dec 15, 2021, 11:05 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A year ago, as Kearney's Global Business Policy Council released its annual predictions about a highly uncertain year ahead, the conventional wisdom was that the introduction of promising vaccines would push humanity into a post-pandemic period marked by rapid economic growth. Unfortunately, the reality has been more tumultuous. Kearney's latest Year-ahead predictions points to continuing turbulence in the global operating environment while also pointing to some silver linings in the outlook.

Embedded in this years predictions are increased demand for virtual healthcare, continued pressures on the availability of critical raw materials and advanced manufacturing products,and lingering social and economic pressures. All have been magnified by the festering pandemic.

We can expect to see continued supply chain issues and shortages in the year ahead, says Erik Peterson, managing director of Kearney's Global Business Policy Council and co-author of the document. And the lasting damage inflicted by COVID-19 will not only impact trade. Governments and businesses have the important task of not only ensuring that supply chain challenges are mitigated, but also that the COVID-induced mental health challenges inflicted on the worlds youth do not leave us with a lost generation.

The report also outlines important inflection points for technology and energy. First, virtual healthcare will gain even more momentum this year as broadband infrastructure improves. Further, innovation and investment in the semiconductor sector will propel it to new heights. And as lithium mining continues, greener solutions to the practice will emerge.

The full list of predictions included in Year-ahead predictions 2022 is:

Governments worldwide will mount campaigns in 2022 to address behavioral and economic scars left by the pandemic on youth. Too little, too late. We are risking a lost generation.
Governments and companies alike will face mounting social and political pressure to take genuine action on ESG challenges, starting with measurable progress on climate change in the wake of the UN COP26 summit. More pressure will come.
Virtual healthcare will expand to unprecedented levels, reshaping the industry.
Lithium will reach an inflection point in 2022 as geopolitical, economic, and environmental forces collide.
A semiconductor boom will be a silver lining but the Great Shortage will persist.

Read the full report here.

About Kearney

Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries. Since 1926,we have been trusted advisors to the world's foremost organizations. Kearney is a partner-owned firm, committed to helping clients achieve immediate impact and growing advantage on their most mission-critical issues.

To learn more about Kearney,please visit https://www.kearney.com/.

About the Global Business Policy Council

The Global Business Policy Council is a specialized foresight and strategic analysis unit within Kearney. Since its first CEO Retreat in 1992, the Council has been a strategic service for the world's top executives, government officials, and business-minded thought leaders. Through exclusive global forums, public-facing thought leadership, and advisory services, the Council helps to decipher sweeping geopolitical, economic, social, and technological changes and their effects on the global business environment. The Council consistently ranks near the top of the University of Pennsylvania's list of best private sector think tanks, and currently holds the second spot globally.

To learn more about the Global Business Policy Council, please visit https://www.kearney.com/business-policy.

Media contact:
Meir Kahtan
Meir Kahtan Public Relations, LLC
+1 917-864-0800
[email protected]

SOURCE Kearney