Alice Lamb, Senior Vice President in our Corporate team, recently shared her perspective on reputation, risk, and sustainability in an interview with Roastbrief, exploring why reputation as an asset is becoming increasingly critical in today’s operating environment.
In an environment defined by geopolitical uncertainty and economic volatility, reputation has become one of the few assets that can strengthen under pressure. Yet, as Alice highlights, many organisations still underestimate the role communications should play in protecting and building it.
A common misconception is that communications sits downstream, something to activate once decisions are finalised. In reality, it is a strategic discipline that should be embedded from the outset. As Alice puts it, “communications is a strategic discipline that should be factored into decisions from the outset.” When brought into decision-making early, it enables organisations to anticipate risk, shape outcomes, and ensure actions stand up to public scrutiny. When treated as reactive, teams are left managing consequences rather than influencing them.
This distinction is becoming increasingly important as expectations around transparency and accountability continue to rise. Today’s audiences are more informed and more sceptical, particularly when it comes to sustainability. As Alice explains, the starting point for any credible sustainability story is not messaging, but measurable operational change. Without clear progress across areas like supply chain, procurement, and governance, communications alone cannot build trust.
Her experience also highlights that many of the most significant risks organisations face are not external, but internal. Misalignment between leadership, legal, operations and communications can delay action and create vulnerabilities. Early warning signs such as hesitation, unclear ownership, or siloed decision-making can quickly escalate if left unaddressed.
Across sectors, the fundamentals of reputation as an asset remain consistent, but how they play out can differ. Consumer-facing brands often face rapid, high-visibility issues due to their scale, while service-based organisations may experience less frequent but more complex challenges. In both cases, clarity, consistency and strong decision-making frameworks are critical.
Having worked across both public and private sectors, Alice also points to a key gap in how organisations approach scrutiny. In government, scrutiny is constant and expected, shaping how decisions are made and communicated. In contrast, many private sector organisations still treat scrutiny as situational—an approach that is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Perhaps most importantly, the interview explores the tension between trust and transparency. While many organisations claim transparency as a priority, it is often the first thing to falter under pressure. As Alice notes, “when organisations feel exposed, the instinct is to narrow the narrative… in practice, that often undermines trust further.” True transparency is not about saying everything, but about being clear, consistent and proportionate, and maintaining that discipline even in difficult moments.
Read the full interview with Alice on Roastbrief.
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From reputation management and corporate communications to sustainability strategy and risk advisory, The PHA Group is an award-winning PR agency that helps organisations navigate complexity with clarity and confidence.
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