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Companies involved in disaster relief have been advised to put their
efforts into long-term recovery rather than providing immediate
assistance.
The suggestion comes from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, which says businesses should stick to what they are good at doing, which in many cases is reconstruction that requires economic and business expertise. Some 75 per cent of US business disaster aid is at present given as cash, says the center.
In a new paper, Disaster Relief: lessons learned and future preparation, the center says companies should be wary of becoming involved in medical and humanitarian emergencies that are best left to specialist relief agencies and governments.
'Because they know the terrain, businesses are in a good position to devote some of their resources to recovery and reconstruction,' it says. 'In the midst of the disaster, people tend to focus on people over place, the immediate over the distant, and the dramatic over gradual improvement. Therefore, the relief stage gets much more attention than recovery and reconstruction.' Business can play a valuable role in redressing this balance, it says.
The center's conclusions are drawn partly from an online seminar it held for members in August to discuss what US businesses have learned from their recent experiences of disaster relief efforts.
One of the seminar speakers, Stephen Jordan, executive director of the US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center, which runs a business disaster assistance and recovery programme, said business should play 'only a minor direct role in the emergency response phase'.
He added: 'When it comes to repairing or reconstructing infrastructure, businesses have the strategic skills, knowledge of the business environment and patience to assist with what is both longer-term and more technically complicated.'
Jordan said companies should ensure that recovery plans are made early in the relief process because 'if people do not return to their community in six months, the likelihood of them ever returning decreases significantly'.
The chamber says that it helped the government to set up relief funds in New York City after September 11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, offering small businesses up to $10,000 (£5200) to support their cashflow until they were up and running again. However the challenge for most small firms was not reopening their doors, but keeping them open, with a 40 per cent failure rate for small businesses in the impact zones after one year.
The paper suggests that companies involved in disaster reconstruction:
avoid funding business start-ups as part of reconstruction and instead
work with organizations they know or that have a proven track record.
see that insurance needs are met first, otherwise 'developers will stay away'
keep
corporate involvement at realistic levels, as becoming too involved
'may reduce capacity to commit in other areas such as schools or
hospitals'.
The suggestion comes from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, which says businesses should stick to what they are good at doing, which in many cases is reconstruction that requires economic and business expertise. Some 75 per cent of US business disaster aid is at present given as cash, says the center.
In a new paper, Disaster Relief: lessons learned and future preparation, the center says companies should be wary of becoming involved in medical and humanitarian emergencies that are best left to specialist relief agencies and governments.
'Because they know the terrain, businesses are in a good position to devote some of their resources to recovery and reconstruction,' it says. 'In the midst of the disaster, people tend to focus on people over place, the immediate over the distant, and the dramatic over gradual improvement. Therefore, the relief stage gets much more attention than recovery and reconstruction.' Business can play a valuable role in redressing this balance, it says.
The center's conclusions are drawn partly from an online seminar it held for members in August to discuss what US businesses have learned from their recent experiences of disaster relief efforts.
One of the seminar speakers, Stephen Jordan, executive director of the US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center, which runs a business disaster assistance and recovery programme, said business should play 'only a minor direct role in the emergency response phase'.
He added: 'When it comes to repairing or reconstructing infrastructure, businesses have the strategic skills, knowledge of the business environment and patience to assist with what is both longer-term and more technically complicated.'
Jordan said companies should ensure that recovery plans are made early in the relief process because 'if people do not return to their community in six months, the likelihood of them ever returning decreases significantly'.
The chamber says that it helped the government to set up relief funds in New York City after September 11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, offering small businesses up to $10,000 (£5200) to support their cashflow until they were up and running again. However the challenge for most small firms was not reopening their doors, but keeping them open, with a 40 per cent failure rate for small businesses in the impact zones after one year.
The paper suggests that companies involved in disaster reconstruction:
avoid funding business start-ups as part of reconstruction and instead
work with organizations they know or that have a proven track record. see that insurance needs are met first, otherwise 'developers will stay away' keep
corporate involvement at realistic levels, as becoming too involved
'may reduce capacity to commit in other areas such as schools or
hospitals'.Super Featured
No
Featured
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