What is ISO/TS 31050?
ISO/TS 31050 is a technical specification that gives organisations structured guidance for managing emerging risks: threats that are still forming and cannot yet be measured with confidence. It extends the ISO 31000 risk management standard into territory that conventional risk methods handle poorly, from detecting weak signals to treating risks whose probability and impact are still unclear.
ISO/TS 31050 is an international technical specification, published by ISO to help organisations identify, assess and treat emerging risks. A technical specification sits alongside a full standard and carries authoritative guidance, and this one was written to extend ISO 31000, the core risk management standard, rather than to replace any part of it.
The subject it addresses is a specific category of risk. Emerging risks are those that are developing but not yet well understood, where there is little or no historical data to draw on and the usual measures of likelihood and impact do not yet apply. Generative AI, climate volatility and fast-moving regulation are current examples, and they tend to slip through risk processes designed around known, quantifiable threats.
ISO/TS 31050 gives risk teams a structured way to work with that uncertainty. It sets out how to establish scope, context and criteria specific to emerging risks, how to detect weak signals, how to assess a risk by its uncertainty, velocity and potential impact, and how to select a proportionate treatment before the risk is fully formed. It also introduces the risk intelligence cycle, a continuous method for turning external signals into decisions leadership can act on.
For risk, resilience and governance professionals, the specification matters because boards increasingly expect a credible account of exposure to risks that cannot be neatly quantified. The PECB ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager certification is built on this specification, and it trains people to apply its guidance inside an existing ISO 31000 process rather than treat emerging risk as a separate discipline.
Related Information
- A technical specification that extends ISO 31000
- Focuses on emerging risks: developing, uncertain, little historical data
- Covers scope, weak-signal detection, assessment, treatment, monitoring
- Introduces the risk intelligence cycle
- Basis for the PECB Emerging Risks Manager certification
“People come to 31050 expecting a whole new discipline. It is really a way to handle the risks your existing process was already quietly dropping.”
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Related Answers
What is the difference between ISO/TS 31050 and ISO 31000?
ISO 31000 sets the general principles and process for managing any risk, while ISO/TS 31050 is a technical specification that extends that process to emerging risks: threats that surface as weak, uncertain signals with no historical data. You apply 31050 inside the 31000 framework, not as a replacement for it.
byHenri HAENNI
What is the ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager certification and what does it qualify you to do?
The PECB ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager certification proves you can identify, assess and treat emerging risks using ISO/TS 31050 inside an ISO 31000 process. It qualifies you to run an emerging risk programme in a risk, resilience or governance role, and to give a board a credible read on exposure that cannot yet be quantified.
byHenri HAENNI
What is an emerging risk, and how does it differ from a conventional risk?
An emerging risk is a threat that is developing but not yet well understood, with no reliable history to estimate how likely it is or how hard it will hit. A conventional risk is already known and can be measured against past data. The difference matters because standard risk tools tend to overlook emerging risks until they are already causing damage.
byAlexis HIRSCHHORN
More from ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager
What is the ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager certification and what does it qualify you to do?
The PECB ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager certification proves you can identify, assess and treat emerging risks using ISO/TS 31050 inside an ISO 31000 process. It qualifies you to run an emerging risk programme in a risk, resilience or governance role, and to give a board a credible read on exposure that cannot yet be quantified.
How is the ISO/TS 31050 course delivered?
Abilene Academy delivers the ISO/TS 31050 course in three formats: in person in Morges, virtual live with an instructor, and self-study at your own pace. All three cover the same two-day programme and lead to the same PECB exam and certification.
How long is the ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager training?
The ISO/TS 31050 Emerging Risks Manager training runs over two days. The certification exam is a separate two-hour session, and at Abilene Academy the same two-day format is available onsite in Morges, as virtual live training, or as self-study.
What is an emerging risk, and how does it differ from a conventional risk?
An emerging risk is a threat that is developing but not yet well understood, with no reliable history to estimate how likely it is or how hard it will hit. A conventional risk is already known and can be measured against past data. The difference matters because standard risk tools tend to overlook emerging risks until they are already causing damage.
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