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By: DMS NPC | 12-02-2024
Climate change and the effects of natural and unforeseen hazards have in part hampered the progress of certain Sustainable Development Goals. The demand for consolidated efforts and investment on behalf of the corporate sector has never been so critical.
One thing is for certain, accelerating and implementing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures to enhance resilience remains necessary to the agenda of any DRR initiative, as well as the bottom line of corporations based in SA.
The private sector plays a pivotal role in structuring humanitarian and economic preparedness, particularly in Africa and developing countries. Corporates can not only invest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through their contributions to DRR NGO’s, and governmental efforts in the space, they can also limit the downstream consequences of disasters in their communities which will inevitably affect consumer behaviour and supply chains.
Currently, supply chains are impacted severely by geo-volatility and natural disasters, which have been exacerbated by climate change. Since 2000, East Asia and the Pacific have experienced between 20 – 50% of all losses in supply chains (including downstream), due to natural climate hazards. This, in turn, impacts SA-based companies who rely on suppliers or stakeholders in these regions.
The collaboration of executive leadership in both the private and public sectors requires pointed attention to business continuity. With the case studies of the impact of both the Pandemic and the 2021 riots and looting fresh on all executives’ minds, companies are beginning to value the need for preparedness and even mitigation of recurrences.
What’s more is that companies are becoming increasingly sensitive to the role the informal market in SA, worth R750 Billion, plays or could play in profitable market expansion and diversification. Thus, the need to capacitate local communities to withstand political, socio-economic, technological, and environmental threats is no longer solely a PR consideration, but a strategic growth imperative.
HUB’s 2024 Outlook Survey reveals that only 12% of US businesses have comprehensive business continuity plans in place, while 43% of organisations are aware of an imbalance between the Executive Committee’s objectives and the risk strategies or priorities they have in place.
This data could be extrapolated out as indicative of corporations operating in other nations and their priorities, including within SA.
Seeing that SA is still developing, with one of the largest class and income gaps in the world, it is likely that the rate of disasters and the cost of recovering from and rebuilding after these disasters will be higher than in many other nations.
This makes valuing DRR as a South African corporation even more time-sensitive.
Prior to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), in order to best understand how the private sector could effectively contribute to DRR, preparedness and response, the United Nations consulted with more than 900 stakeholders. The outcome was the call for a three tiered approach, bringing governments, humanitarian actors, and the private sector together to address DRR and humanitarian challenges facing the global society.
As outlined in the diagram below, corporations can contribute to DRR in their communities and in South Africa across four main levels:
If you're ready to take steps towards protecting your company’s future, you need to take steps towards investing in DRR.
Does your team want to prepare for and mitigate risks on the horizon? Get in touch.