South Africa, April 2 -- Extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions and shifting regulations are now part of the operating environment. But what follows these events is just as important. Stakeholders are asking harder questions. Who is accountable? Who is prepared? Who is honest?

In that moment, communication is not about crafting the right message. It is about whether there is anything credible to say at all.

Too often, there isn't.

From my time as the global director of communication at IDH, working across multiple markets, I've had close visibility of how sustainable trade and agricultural landscape programmes operate.

One lesson stands out: you cannot communicate your way out of a credibility gap. You have to build trust lo...